This is the key to ramping up your immune system and protecting yourself against the cold and flu. Sometimes your body needs a little help along the way, so it’s important to supplement it with the right nutrients in order to stay healthy during these uncertain times. What should you be taking? Vitamin C, always! Not only is it an essential nutrient for humans, but it is responsible for a specific role in the antiviral immune response during the early phases of infection. Studies have also found vitamin C to be effective in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections. Elderberry and vitamin D are two additional antivirals that are commonly used to protect against influenza and can also be taken daily to improve immunity. In addition to eating a healthy diet including lots of fruit and vegetables, supplements should be considered for both immune health and protection.

• Herbaland Immune Plus for Adults (contains elderberry, zinc, vitamin C and D3)
• Herbaland Acai Berry Twist (contains acai, vitamin C and E)
• Herbaland D3 and B12

With everything that is happening throughout the globe due to COVID-19 and the constant media exposure, it can be difficult not to feel stressed or anxious. Mindfulness is a simple way to combat stress and anxiety to help keep you grounded and calm your mind. Meditation in general, is a great tool to practice, it can be done anywhere and is highly effective! There are a few different ways you can get started: download a meditation app -- Headspace and Calm are the top two apps, use Youtube for a guided meditation video, or sit in a dark quiet room in complete silence, close your eyes, relax and collect your own thoughts for 15 minutes uninterrupted. For the best results practice this daily, you will notice a huge improvement in your mood and stress levels!

 

With all the extra time at home, learn to become your own chef and make it a priority to cook healthy meals! If you need meal inspiration Pinterest is a great app for virtually anything along with the internet's countless recipes. Cooking can be fun and delicious, it’s also a great activity to keep the kids entertained!

• Add something green to each meal (spinach is a great option because it’s flavourless)
• Order a healthy cookbook such as: Oh She Glows or Healthier Together
• Use unsweetened non-dairy milk like coconut, almond or oat
• Make daily smoothies, this is a great way to get more fruit and veggies into your diet and the yummy recipes online are endless
• Don’t go grocery shopping on and empty stomach
• Limit the amount of snacks/junk food in your cupboard (if it’s not there, you won’t eat it)
• Snack simple: apples, bananas and celery with peanut butter, homemade popcorn, or hummus and carrots are great healthy and satisfying snacks
• Always have Herbaland Vegan Protein Gummies on hand, it’s a guilt-free snack for both adults and kids that will help curb sweet tooth cravings and satisfy you

Lack of movement and sitting all day due to being inside (especially if you have bad posture), can cause your hip flexors to shorten, resulting in back pain, stiffness and aches. To avoid this, try to make a habit of moving and stretching daily! Start your morning off with a 10-minute yoga stretch Youtube video or end your day with a relaxing night time stretch video to relax and prepare you for bed. Youtube and smart phone apps are both great sources for finding effective guided home workout, yoga or stretching videos to keep you active and moving. Set a daily reminder in your phone to keep you on track with moving your body, the best way to make a routine out of something is to practice it every day at the same time.

Making a to-do list helps you stay productive and feel accomplished each day. There is no better time than now to get started on your spring cleaning! Make a daily cleaning list and choose one cleaning task you may have been ignoring lately to complete. Here’s a sample checklist to help get you started:

• Vacuum the house
• Mop the floors
• Clean all your mirrors/glass windows
• Clean out and organize closets/dressers
• Disinfect all your surfaces and handles
• Clean and whiten shoes
• Bleach your white towels
• Catch up on laundry
• Clean scuffs and marks out of the walls
• Dust the entire house floor to ceiling
• Deep clean the bathroom or kitchen
• Organize your pantries
• Wash your bedding
• Organize messy drawers
• Clean your cluttered space and sell unwanted items