Support The Foundation of Your Health with Winter Wellness Essentials

November 2, 2023
, 7:19 pm
, Digestion, Stress Relief, Immunity, Sleep Support

St Francis Herb Farm

What is wellness? It has been defined as “the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.”

Many factors shape our wellbeing, like diet, lifestyle, and relationships. Some are not entirely in our control, but there are some substantial ones we can influence that contribute to our overall health: healthy digestion, stress management and a robust immune system.

Nurturing these facets of health is important all throughout the year but is especially important throughout winter – a season in Canada with less light when moods tend to be low, there can be too much indulgence in comfort foods, stress levels higher and common viruses run rampant.

Winter is also a time when we naturally tend to turn inward and focus on the self. What better time of year to focus on wellness!!

Wellness. The Stress — Immunity — Digestion Link.

Our health is holistic, meaning that all its parts are interconnected. There is a link between the stress levels we experience, the state of our digestive health, and the integrity of our immune systems.

Stress is a part of everyday life and serves a role to focus our attention and provide physiological coping mechanisms in certain situations. But when stress become too high, too frequent and accumulates – it can disrupt your sleep, digestion, mood and can weaken your natural defenses against illness and infection.

When the brain perceives stress, it sends messages to the endocrine (hormonal) system to prepare the body to react to an emergency (fight or flight). Chronic stress can cause the adrenal glands to hypertrophy, thus increasing stress hormone levels, while immune organs like the thymus atrophy. It also shunts blood away from the digestive organs that then function less efficiently.

In other words, stress focuses resources away from both the digestive system and the immune system leading to reduced nutrient absorption, uncomfortable symptoms from indigestion, lowered immune function and increased susceptibility to infections. All of which further contribute to stress load.

There are simple ways to help nurture these aspects of health, and plant medicines have traditionally been used to help manage stress, bolster digestion, and balance the immune system. We offer targeted formulas that can help strengthen resiliency and functioning of these synergistic elements of your health!

Calm – Reconnect with Your Natural Rhythms

Certain herbs can influence the natural rhythms of hormones and brain chemicals to improve your sleep and help you better manage your stress levels.

Adaptogens are specific plant medicines that function in the body like a thermostat, constantly working to return the body to a state of balance to increase its resiliency and optimize its functioning.

Ashwagandha Capsules contain the classic Ayurvedic rejuvenating tonic herb to help soothe restlessness and support resiliency in a high potency formula.

Strest® tincture and capsules contain ashwagandha and 5 other stress-supportive adaptogens in a synergistic formula to help build resiliency and relieve symptoms of stress, restoring mental, emotional, and physical equilibrium.

Stress also often impacts sleep: when the body “rest and repairs,” performing key functions related to growth, development, hormone balance, cardiovascular system repair, emotional and cognitive brain functioning, and regulating the immune system’s ability to respond to foreign invaders.

ValeriCalm® tincture and capsules provide the powerful synergy of six sleep-supportive herbs hinged on valerian, a classic sleep aid. These herbal formulas help to soothe and relax the nervous system and cultivate calm without grogginess the next morning.

Immune Support – with Adaptogens!

Balance. This is the key with immune health. Certain adaptogens specifically increase the body’s general resistance to threats by adapting their function to what the immune system needs to regulate back to its balanced, strongest state! This is especially vital throughout cold and flu season.

Deep Immune® is the ultimate herbal immunity support blend that brings together 8 powerful therapeutic herbs that work in synergy to balance your body’s natural defenses. There is a Deep immune® formula for the whole family.

Vitamin D supplementation is important in winter with the limited sun exposure in Canada. Vitamin D³ For-All is a simple way to get your daily D in the most absorbable form with optimal potency and stability.

Find the Immune Support formula that’s right for you.

Digestive Support

Ginger has been traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to help relieve digestive upset, including helping to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness.

Acidux Helps to ease symptoms of heartburn by soothing the burn from inflammatory conditions of the digestive system in a 6-herb tonic.

Bitter herbs can help stimulate the digestive system to operate in its optimal state. Our Canadian Bitters® formulas help relieve symptoms of indigestion and prepare and support healthy digestion – by:

Triggering the release of enzymes and bile production and flow.
Stimulating repair and strengthening of the intestinal lining.
Increasing abdominal blood flow to support absorption of nutrients as well as a healthy intestinal environment and microbiome.
Promoting appetite regulation and help with blood sugar stabilization.

Learn More: The Digestion – Immunity Link (And How Bitter Herbs Can Help!)

You can enjoy wellness all winter long, with some simple additions to your lifestyle that support the pillars of whole-body health.