3 Tips to Stay Healthy in the "Worst" Time of the Year

Before starting the article I try to explain why now is the worst time of the year: usually most people are suffering from influenza in February. This year March is ex aequo with February as winter has been long, it is still cold, there was not much sunshine until now, and everybody is sitting at home next to the fireplace. This is no healthy lifestyle! As it is said that it will become warmer and sunnier soon and will look like this (s. photo above) I hope that you and your beloved ones will leave home then, enjoy fresh air and loooooooong walks outside.

1. Eat healthy

Do your recognize these colorful and juicy things on the photos above and below? Yeah, it is fresh fruits, salads and vegetables! And you know what: you should take them as often as possible as it is THE thing to stay healthy and to deal with the period between now and real spring! May I invite you to go to the next whole food supermarket or to the next farmer´s market? You will be surprised seeing what they are selling.

You can for example buy there the ingredients to produce this (s. photo above). Find the recipe here – what you can see are Courgette Tomato Croquettes with “insalata rossa”, “red salad”, so typical Roman. The recipe really comes from Rome and I always imagine that the colors were inspired by the costumes of the Vatican´s higher clergy. Aren´t these bishop´s and cardinal´s colors?

2. Live a healthy lifestyle

As you will have noticed – eating healthy is the main target to stay healthy or to become healthy again. What the healthy lifestyle concerns, it is how you manage the day: going to bed before midnight, sleeping 8 hours, taking a healthy breakfast, doing the work with joy, taking a healthy lunch, working again and setting new goals, going shopping – I mean GOING shopping – and not driving the car to the next supermarket, preparing dinner for the family, enjoying the time together (problems should be solved before) and taking an evening stroll together afterwards.

3. Take a daily walk

… and exercise whatever your favorites are. I am running four times a week on the treadmill and training ballet an hour per day. If you like it and you never had done it before you can start in this very minute. Everybody can do it as good as she or he is able to. And everybody will improve within the first minutes. This is probably the biggest surprise: not only you are able to learn but also your body. Maybe quicker than your brain. Everybody´s body no matter what age. Do it, start now!

As the Easter week has begun – enjoy the photo of the hare, almost hidden by leaves and fruits, stealing my husband´s red gooseberries. It is a clever hare as gooseberries are very rich in vitamin C! Take the Easter Bunny as a role model and live a healthy lifestyle. And enjoy the Easter holiday with your family! Happy Settimana Santa/Semana Santa (as the Italians and Spanish say where the Holy Week is a very important time of the catholic year)! Happy Easter to everyone.