by Jennifer Rose Goldman, Essential Rose

Winter is a wonderful time to cozy up at home and reconnect with our deeper selves. It is also, however, the season in which colds and flu viruses make their rounds. So, what can we do to boost our ability to keep seasonal sniffles at bay? Here we will explore seven Essential Rose top-tips for excellent winter health. Enjoy higher energy and radiant skin this winter, by keeping your immune system firing on all cylinders.

Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine

This popular proverb holds more truth than we might be inclined to imagine! Having a good laugh with friends increases our natural production of immune cells and infection- fighting antibodies. Research has revealed that one minute of laughter can ramp up the immune system for 24 hours! So gather your besties and get your laugh on. The endorphins that flood our brains when we have a good laugh also act as a natural pain killer. This combination makes us much more resilient and makes health-related challenges much easier to manage.

Create A Self Care Toolkit

With the non-stop demands of modern life, self-care can all to easily go out the window. Especially when we are busy trying to look after everyone else, it is easy to forget that we need to care for ourselves first, so that we are charged up to also care for others. The more present we can be for ourselves, the better we are able to serve the world! Neglecting our own well being can leave us physically and emotionally stressed, hampering our body's natural immune response.

Building your own self care toolkit can be a great way to commit to taking more “me time”. Consider starting with some relaxing music, candles, and Essential Rose's very own Brighten Mood Mist. The uplifting lavender and citrus essential oils will facilitate the relaxation your body requires, balancing out the central nervous system while protecting your skin from the drying effects of the cool winter air.

Plant A Winter Garden

There is no doubt that gardening is hugely therapeutic. Watching a little effort turn into something beautiful, or bountiful – if you grow your own veg – offers great satisfaction! What you might not know is that getting your fingers into the dirt will also boost your immune system. The native bacteria found in the soil make a perfect addition to your body's own bacterial biome.

Getting muddy can help your immune system ward of allergens, and even support your mental health. Dig around in your garden or window box to find friendly bacteria that will ramp up serotonin production. This “happy hormone” means that getting your trowel out will leave you feeling not only healthier, but more content too.

Add Fermented Food To Your Diet

Speaking of friendly bacteria, adding fermented food to your diet can offer a brilliant boost! 70% of your immune system is rooted in your gut biome, so looking after these little guys is a must! Invigorate your inner health-squad with fermented foods such as kombucha, kimchi, and live apple cider vinegar. Nourish your body, while creating beautiful and glowing skin, with a warming miso soup, for whole-body winter health.

Find Health And Happiness In A Hug

Stimulate your thymus gland by getting wrapped up in a lovely long hug. This little

known gland regulates the body's ability to make white blood cells. Think of hugging as reinforcing your tiny internal disease-fighting army!

A high quality cuddle can also reduce stress hormone levels, and boost the full
spectrum of happy hormones. Pressure receptors in the skin called pacinian corpuscles also activate immune system signals that lower your blood pressure, and balance your nervous system.

Get Spicy In The Kitchen

Science is making great leaps in understanding the connections between inflammation and a host of health problems. From impaired immunity to depression, an inflamed body simply can't work the way it's supposed to. Thankfully, adding some feisty flavor to your favorite dishes with the spices ginger and turmeric will send inflammation packing.

These powerful dried roots contain antioxidants that guard against arthritis, cancer, and many more conditions, while super-charging your general immune health. Throw in a good dose of garlic too, for good measure, as this fantastic little flavor-maker has antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.

De-Stress With Meditation And Mantras

Cultivating mindfulness by making meditation part of your daily routine offers so much more than mental benefits alone. Research tells us that tools such as meditation and mantras empower our immune system on a cellular level. For inner, and outer wellness, these moments spent with ourselves boost enzyme activity that guards against cell aging.

At Essential Rose, we understand the huge power to be found in reciting mantras, so we suggest one to use with each of our Mood Mists™ . Our natural beauty skincare products are created with so much more than beautiful skin in mind.

Make winter health a priority this year, by nourishing yourself in every way possible!

As a young woman experiencing emotional crisis, Jennifer Rose Goldman drew upon her inner strength to rise above. Her brand is inspired by her personal journey of transformation. Essential Rose is a line of natural beauty products Jennifer designed to enhance your wellbeing and help you live beautifully. We love having them at Indie Beauty Market!

Shop the Essential Rose collection here.