4 Step Guide to Winter Wellness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Getting your 5+ a day during winter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fresh fruit and vegetables can become more expensive during this time of year, but the vitamins and minerals are as important as ever. It can be tempting to pop a vitamin C tablet and call it a day, but the range of nutrients in fruit and veg is something a supplement will never be able to replicate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top tip in our guide to winter wellness is utilising frozen fruit and veg, but also check out what is in season during the next couple of months. We might not want to eat fresh salads as often, but cozy winter soups and roasted root vegetables<\/em> are still nutritious, easy to make and can be prepped in advance. Take a look at these 3 simple recipes to get started!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The humble potato is a great source of vitamin C? And pumpkin, which is super cheap in winter, is a rich source of Vitamin A.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. Vitamin D and sun exposure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mathew Waters<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Second tip for our guide to winter wellness, Vitamin D. In the summer months, most of us are able to get sufficient vitamin D through sun exposure. The Ministry of Health guideline for sun exposure between May and August is a daily walk or activity outdoors in the middle of the day. In the South Island where the UV index is particularly low in winter, you may need to expose larger areas of skin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you have lived in the South Island like me… you’ll know that there is little motivation to take off your puffer jacket and roll up your sleeves.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Aim to get at least 10 minutes of sun every day<\/strong>. It can be hard when it feels like you walk into uni when it’s dark, and leave campus again when the sun has gone down, but a little effort goes a long way. Take a walk during your lunch break with the added bonus of upping your step count for the day, or just drink your coffee outside.

There are small amounts of vitamin D in foods like egg yolks, fatty fish and dairy products. However, the easiest way is to get a little sun. If you think you are at risk<\/a> for deficiency, talk to your GP about alternatives such as supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. Regular physical activity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Content Pixie<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Waking up early to exercise is one thing when the sun is already shining, but the moment daylight savings kicks in and your alarm goes off in what seems like the dead of the night… well there just isn’t anything more comfortable than your bed is there?

Don’t let the weather be an excuse to slack off, and look at how you can adapt instead. If you don’t think you can keep running when it’s cold and dark, see if you can find an alternative activity indoors. Les Mills On Demand<\/a> has hundreds of workouts which require no equipment, and ClassPass<\/a> has a bunch of home workout videos available to stream.

If you live in a cold flat, at least you’ll feel warm for a bit without spending a single cent on heating. It’s a win-win. Exercise also boosts your endorphin levels, and can reduce stress and improve sleep – all of which are important to support your immune system.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Get your flu vaccination <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The vaccine does not eliminate your risk of getting the seasonal flu, but it can still protect yourself and those around you to a certain degree. Find out if your university health centre offers discounted or free vaccines, or make an appointment with your GP or pharmacy. Chemist Warehouse<\/a> is offering vaccinations for $20 which is slightly cheaper than other pharmacies (at time of writing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

---

\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

On top of what was mentioned above, other factors like socialising can also have a huge impact on our well being. Food, sleep, exercise, stress and immunity are all linked to one another. It can often feel a bit much trying to juggle all this on top of uni, but if we’ve learnt anything from being in lockdown, it’s that we all need to slow down a little and focus on ourselves a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You got this guys! Comment below what you want me to write about next, and check out my page @balanceyourplate<\/a> for more health and wellness content. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our immune system is a complex and mysterious thing. It can’t be ‘boosted’ by a single supplement or pill and is affected by a range of elements which work in conjunction to support it. Our guide to winter wellness will help you spend more days healthy rather than sick. 4 Step Guide to Winter Wellness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[159,261,258,260,259],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/carolyn-v-dPkn4562j3E-unsplash-e1588736125798.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3969,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/how-to-start-a-plant-based-diet\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":0},"title":"How To Start A Plant-Based Diet","date":"October 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"THINKING ABOUT GOING PLANT BASED? HERE IS THE BASIC INFORMATION YOU NEED AND 4 RECIPES TO GET STARTED. Going plant-based, or vegan, is something I always think about. It has become increasingly popular, and there are many different reasons why people choose to follow this diet and lifestyle. I decided\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"eat more plants banner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-09-26-at-2.47.22-PM-e1586313554178.jpg?fit=735%2C489&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3030,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/4-ways-to-cut-your-grocery-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":1},"title":"4 Ways To Cut Your Grocery Bill","date":"March 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A STUDENT FINALLY SOLVES THE MYSTERY OF HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES WHILE STILL EATING WELL. 1. Read Labels & Choose Your Battles When deciding between brands like store-brand (such as Essentials, Pams, Value) versus name-brand, I always\u00a0read the ingredients list first. If the cheaper alternative has similar, or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cheap-Groceries-Budget.jpg?fit=1200%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4047,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/food-sustainability-what-is-the-link\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":2},"title":"Food & Sustainability - What Is The Link?","date":"August 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT IS NOT ALL ABOUT METAL STRAWS, KEEP CUPS AND PLASTIC BAG BANS. The food we eat has a huge impact on the environment, from the soil, to waterways, to our Earth\u2019s atmosphere. We have to eat every day, and small changes to our food choices have the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"Person looking out to sea on pier","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Person-looking-out-to-sea-on-pier.jpg?fit=1200%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4271,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/living-on-2-85-per-day-for-five-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":3},"title":"LIVING ON $2.85 PER DAY FOR FIVE DAYS","date":"April 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"$2.85 MIGHT NOT EVEN GET YOU A STORE BOUGHT COFFEE. IMAGINE LIVING OFF THAT FOR YOUR WHOLE LIFE. Food insecurity: the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. A few weeks ago, my dietetics class was tasked with the\u00a0Tearfund Live Below the Line\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"Curried Pumpkin With Homemade Flatbreads","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mexican-Beans-With-Rice-and-Curried-Pumpkin-With-Homemade-Flatbreads.jpg?fit=1200%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5795,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/guide-to-waiheke\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":4},"title":"Guide to Waiheke Island - One Day Travel Plan","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Overseas travel may be off the books right now, but why not plan a few local trips? It's less admin to plan, and there's the added bonus of supporting New Zealand businesses - especially those that relied heavily on tourism. My guide to Waiheke Island is an easy 40-minute ferry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"one day waiheke guide niesh blog","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/casita-miro-2-e1594125656696.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4361,"url":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/blog\/health-lifestyle\/how-to-meal-plan-3-easy-recipes-to-get-you-going\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":5},"title":"How To Meal Plan & 3 Easy Recipes To Get You Going","date":"April 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"HOW TO MEAL PLAN IN FOUR EASY STEPS WITHOUT NEEDING TO EAT CHICKEN BREAST FOR 7 DAYS IN A ROW + THREE EASY RECIPES TO GET YOU STARTED. We all have those days where we open our fridge, stare, shut the door and proceed to order Uber Eats (or have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health & Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"Chia Overnight Oats K\u016bmara and Crunchy Chickpea Salad Pumpkin and Leek Tray Bake","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Chia-Overnight-Oats-K\u016bmara-and-Crunchy-Chickpea-Salad-Pumpkin-and-Leek-Tray-Bake.jpg?fit=1200%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5383,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/5383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niesh.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}