With summer upon us, there is no better time to take action towards improving your health and well-being.  Summer offers so many more opportunities for health improvement than are readily available during the rest of the year. 

​With that in mind, here are a few tips to better health that take advantage of these summer months:

• Stay Hydrated – Water is vitally important in the summer, especially when the temperatures start rising.  Keeping well hydrated will help prevent sunstroke or heat exhaustion.  Water also helps to rid our body of toxins that we’ve stored up during the winter, as well as improving digestion and keeping skin looking healthy and glowing.  Not a water lover?  Try some light refreshing drinks like mint ginger lemonade or iced mint tea, as it’s best to avoid sodas and other heavily sugared drinks.  But remember, simple water is always the best option.
• Increase Your Fruit & Vegetable Intake – Summer is the best time to modify your diet, especially when it comes to increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat.  This is the growing season for many wonderful foods: berries, peaches, corn, zucchini, etc.  Your meals will become more colorful and tasty, and you will have the added benefit of supporting local farmers, especially if you buy your produce from the source itself.  Plus, fruits and vegetables have many health promoting actions, such as supporting your immune system, improving digestion, and stabilizing blood sugar.

As I write this, I am looking out the window watching the snow fall. A blanket of white that covers so many wrongs and brings, if only for a moment, a sense of innocence back to the world. Last week, when the snow was never ending and rising up to the sky, there was something magical in the crisp air. A desire to stomp through the snow to see how high it was; to climb a drift and proclaim yourself king of the hill; to curl up in your blanket with a hot cup of tea and just be still. For that brief day, time stopped. We were at peace. The impassable roads proclaimed a day of rest. Even on the news, the topic of the day was staying home. But then, Thursday came. And with it came the urgency that is so much a part of our lives. Back to work, back to errands and stress and trying to get ahead. All too quickly, we lose trace of what we experienced when the world went white and silent.

The challenge, then, is how do we find these moments in our everyday life? As with everything, it requires a conscious choice. Yes, our lives are never-ending. And yet, taking 10 minutes a day for silent reflection or joyful abandon can have an incredible effect on your stress levels, and therefore on the quality of your life.

As February celebrates the heart, this is the perfect time to start. Challenge yourself to take 10 minutes every day for yourself!