![[Photo courtesy of Nada on Flickr]](http://makingloveinthekitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/1491815164_aea0d1f1851.jpg "Vitamin C")
Photo courtesy of Nada/Flickr
Today being ‘Black Friday’ (biggest shopping day, retail goes into the black etc. etc.) it also seems to be the launch of the holiday season.
December is one of the busiest times in the year. With holiday parties, travel, end of year deadlines, less hours of daylight, and less sleep; we may find ourselves rolling in the New Year feeling a little worse for wear. With all the holiday celebrations we kick our health to the curb as we are immersed in the holiday good times.
But who really wants to stand under the mistletoe or ring in the new year with a runny nose and phlegmy cough? Avoid it. The trick is to boost up our immune systems so that we can stay strong through the season. We all know that vitamin C is a good thing to take for a cold, but vitamin C needs to be built up in the system.
We store vitamin C in our adrenal glands, the little glands that sit on top of our kidneys and do their darndest to help us cope with stress. With high stress, the vitamin C stores become depleted; why we often come down with a cold or flu after highly stressful periods.
Taking vitamin C at the onset of a cold or flu might not be that effective. It will first go to replenish depleted stores before it can ramp up the immune system so start popping the C now. Supplements are an option and chewables do not count! You might as well be eating orange Skittles for the amount of sugar those sweet little puppies have. Look out for what is called a ‘buffered’ vitamin C. The ‘buffering’ with minerals, often magnesium among others, helps to get the goodness absorbed into our cells.
The best place, of course, is through food. Citrus fruits including oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, and grapefruits, along with cherries, papayas, cantaloupes, and strawberries, red and green peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, asparagus, parsley, dark leafy greens, cabbage, and sauerkraut are all good sources.
Squeezing the juice of a lemon into a glass of water first thing in the morning is a great way to get a vitamin C boost. And a vodka/OJ does not break you even in the vitamin C pool.
So that’s what Black Friday refers to… in the black… never understood that (thank-you former fashion major!).
Also, you’ll be happy to know, I was JUST thinking about how I’ll probably need to boost my vitamin-C on account of all the hand-shaking and subsequent appetizer picking-up-and-eating during this year’s Christmas parties, so I bought a box of clementines and a glass jug of all-natural orange/carrot juice as a back-up. I’m determined to not get sick!
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