Autumn is in full swing. The leaves are turning colors, the air is starting to smell like ‘that time of the year,’ the children are starting to count the days (more like weeks) until Christmas and all you can think about is freezing the morning time for at least a little bit as leaving your bed is becoming increasingly more difficult with one colder day after another. But you still get up, get ready for the day (while still fantasizing about your bed..) get the kids to school, get your daily coffee, and go about your day as usual, or at least try to.. Then you face the day with everything it might have in store for you, and, finally, you are home for the evening again. All day you have been surrounded by the people who either seem to be coughing, sneezing, or just simply look sick. Your shoulders are achy at the end of the day from having to carry around that extra weight of your wool sweater, fall jacket or blazer. Nothing is bringing you joy, you feel heavy and *sniffle* “What was that?!? I can’t get sick! Not now! I am in the middle of the biggest project of the year and it needs to turned in first thing Monday morning!!!”

Sound all too familiar? If so, read on to find out about the 5 best ingredients the nature has gifted us with that will help you stay energized, boost your immune system and help you avoid the trip to the doctor’s all while enjoying the best this season has to offer.

1. 1. Olive leaf extract: the magical component of a Mediterranean diet is now available in capsules. My personal favorite brand is available here. With modern advances in technology scientists were able to zero in on the ingredient found in olive tree leaves that makes it extremely beneficial for human health from an array of perspectives – oleuropein. Some of the valuable characteristics of the olive leaf extract are: lowering blood pressure, improving arterial health, controlling diabetes, reducing the risk of cancer, neuroprotection, elevating the pains of arthritis. Life Extension magazine published a great article on this which contains a lot of useful info along with cited sources to back up the information provided. For those of us who literally feeeeeel the cold in our bones, the arthritis-tackling characteristics of the olive leaf extract can really come in handy during this chilly season.
   2. Ginger – another ingredient that nature has gifted us with that has an array of healing characteristics. Traditionally, ginger was widely used as an aid in fighting  gastrointestinal discomfort. It was not until relatively recently that some other medicinal attributes of ginger have been discovered, such as its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as well as ginger’s certain types of cancer-fighting abilities. With its distinctive taste, ginger is perfect in tea on a cold rainy day, salad dressing for dinner or simply as a refreshing beverage a.k.a. ginger lemonade.
   3. Cinnamon is known for its savory taste & aroma combination equally as much as it is known for its healing properties. Not only will cinnamon help you get over the fall blues but it will also make it taste delicious. Cinnamon is full of antioxidants, bacteria-fighting compounds, and is also known as an excellent diabetes-preventing measure. My personal favorite way to digest cinnamon is in a cocktail 😉 But there are a number of other ways to integrate it with your fall diet, some of the possibilities can be found here.
   4. Now I am going to list an item that most of you are probably wondering why I haven’t included in this list yet – Garlic. Its potent medicinal properties make it a perfect natural antibiotic. Garlic is known for being effective in ridding an organism of bacteria, strengthening the bones, boosting immune system and stabilizing the blood pressure, to name just a few of its magical wholesome properties. A study conducted in 2011 on 146 individuals found that a daily garlic supplement over the course of 12 weeks reduced the number of colds by 63% compared with people who were taking placebo supplements and reduced the duration of the sickness by 70% in those who did fall ill. So go on, include that extra garlic in your spaghetti sauce, soup stock or salad, just remember to make sure that your partner eats some of it, if you know what I mean 🙂
   5. Last but DEFINITELY not least – Fruits and vegetables high in Vitamin C and antioxidants! To be  quite frank, ‘knowing your fruits and veggies’ is probably the best piece of knowledge you can put inside your head that will keep on giving for years to come. Below is a visual representation that lists some of the best fruits and veggies, so if you ever catch yourself in a supermarket this fall wondering which vegetable to get for dinner, keeping these in mind can really come in handy to help you and your family stay away from the doctor’s office. Please click on the image below to find detailed information in an item-by-item fashion done for BodyBuilding.com. 

I would love to hear some of your favorite recipes using one (or all) ingredients above and the stories about how you could see the improvements in your overall well-being and the ability to cope with the fall depression-anxiety-sniffles combination that most of us experience annually right about this time of the year!

Thanks for reading and Stay H-ealthy/appy!!