Spring can be a great time to start fresh, and with things starting to open up again and the sun starting to peak out, it’s a great time to rethink your approach to your overall health and wellness. Instead of setting your sights on sweeping life changes like weight loss or deleting social media, we like to focus on the smaller stuff—whether that’s walking each day, cooking meals at home more often or limiting phone time. With a bit of consistent work and some small steps, you can slowly bring healthy habits to your daily routine with ease.
Vitamins and supplements can be a great way to support your wellness journey. This year, Jamieson turns 100 and to celebrate registered dietician Nishta Saxena shared all the essential vitamins and minerals you need to support your overall health. Plus, she shared her top tips on how to start small on creating healthy, long-lasting habits to carry all year long.
Digital detox
What is a digital detox? No phones, no social media, no computer for a full 24 hours. We know it sounds daunting, but trust us when we say everyone needs to try this at least once this year. This idea is to remove yourself from the stimulation. During the detox, try to get out in nature, cooking, spending time with yourself and your loved ones. It can help improve your mood, focus and sense of empathy for others.
Get outside
Our bodies crave movement and sunshine so spending 20 minutes a day outside can really do wonders on your mood and overall health. It can be a great tool to combat anxiety and depression, plus the exposure to the sun helps our body clock called our circadian rhythm to regulate itself which can affect our sleep, weight loss and more. And it doesn’t take much! Putting on your shoes and going for a walk outside is the perfect way to get out and move.
Start a breathing ritual
We know meditation has its benefits, but let’s be honest with ourselves—many of us can’t get into a practice they can connect to. Breathing is something we all do and it can very simple. Adding a one-to-five-minute daily ritual of this deep breathing technique is a great place to start. This technique follows the pattern of four, seven and eight. Inhale through the nose for four. Hold for a count of seven. Exhale for a count of eight through pursed lips. You can try four or five rounds of this kind of breathing, and you can completely change your state. Our exhale than our inhale because that’s when we’re really hitting our vagus nerve, the part of our nervous system that when strengthened can help with anxiety, mood and blood pressure.
Add one cup of veggies to every meal
Try adding one cup of vegetables to every plate you eat, including breakfast. This can be done in so many ways, whether you like broccoli, cucumber, carrots or peppers, get them prepped and ready to pop in the fridge so it’s easy for you to grab and go. This can also be done with frozen veggies, too. Vegetables are hydrating and filled with nutrients, so it’s important to make them a part of your daily diet.
Drink more water
This is something we could all do a lot more of! It’s not about having eight cups a day, it’s about the diet we consume which is full of salt, sugar and processed ingredients that dehydrate our bodies. There are a few ways to commit to drinking more water, including habit stacking. For example, if you love your coffee in the morning and its part of your ritual, include two glasses of water before you drink that coffee.
Healthy living essentials from Jamieson
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient to help with supporting our immune system and bone health. It’s unique because we can make it in our body through exposure to sunlight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re getting enough. There are many different impacts that can factor how Vitamin D is made in our bodies, including how far you live from the equator, if you use sunscreen, or have a dog in your home.
Jamieson Vitamin D 1000 Units is part of their essentials line up and it’s an easy and effective way to support immune and bone health and prevent Vitamin D deficiency.
SHOP: Vitamin D3 Fast Dissolving; $12.99 at Jamieson
Omega-3
The omega fatty acids are important to include in our diet to help us maintain overall health. There are several different types of omega fatty acids including omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9. And while all are important for health, omega 3 fatty acids are considered essential because we can’t make it in our bodies so we need to get it through what we eat. Omega fatty acid deficiency is common around the world, particularly in places where omega 3s are part of the standard diet. The potency of your omega 3 supplements will provide different health benefits including supporting health, cholesterol management, cognitive health and reducing the pain of arthritis. Jamieson Omega-3 provides that extra boost without the fishy after-taste.
SHOP: Omega-3 Extra Strength; $26.99 at Jamieson
Multi-Vitamin
It’s surprising to learn that a significant number of adults may not be meeting their optimal and essential nutrient requirements, which could lead to stress to your overall foundation. So how do you know need a multivitamin? Nutritional deficiency can show up in many different ways and can affect you both short and long term. Symptoms can include fatigue, slow metabolism, hair loss, skin and digestive issues, low mood and more.
Jamieson 100% Complete Multi-Vitamin for Adults contains the daily vitamins you need as recommended by Health Canada. This product is great for both men and women, and it’s easy to make part of your daily routine.
SHOP: 100% Complete Multivitamin Adults; $17.99 at Jamieson
Probiotic
When it comes to the gut, balance is key. Our gut contains trillions of bacteria that are so vital for maintaining our health. Supporting your gut health is supporting your overall health because your gut impacts everything from digestion to your immune system and energy levels. When certain bacteria are eliminated or not replenished, this can lead to potential bacteria overgrowth which can cause uncomfortable digestive issues.
Jamieson Probiotic Daily Maintenance contains 10 billion active cells as well as 14 unique strains of microorganisms that will support your digestive health. This product has been certified through True ID, a program that Jamieson uses to guarantee that the strains that are listed on the product are in the bottle.
SHOP: Probiotic Daily Maintenance 10 Billion; $30.99 at Jamieson
