herb-garden_web.jpgSTATEPOINT – While you’re probably already accustomed with conventional ways of looking and feeling your best, this winter, consider more natural approaches to health and wellness.

Here are several good-for-you and good-for-the-planet steps you can take to help stay strong and healthy this winter:

HERBAL REMEDIES

Feeling under the weather? Before turning to your medicine cabinet, take a look at your kitchen cabinet. Herbs are not just a low-calorie flavor booster of meals, they’re said to also contain healing properties. Many herbs have been used for centuries as remedies for common ailments.

For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, sage may help ease your headache, hoarseness or cough, and is an effective remedy for a sore throat. Try infusing tea with sage, or using it to add flavor to your sauté or roast at dinner. Running a fever? Rosemary has been used to treat fever and headache.

So the next time you hit the grocery store, fill your cart with organic herbs that heal.

CHECK THE LABEL

Where natural ingredients are concerned, the focus is often on our plates. It’s easy to forget the range of items we put into our body daily. Given how often we use them, it’s worth a closer look at their ingredients.

Toothpaste, for instance, is something that goes in your mouth twice a day. Have you ever wondered what was on the label, where the ingredients are sourced or their purpose?

Ingredients contained in some conventional toothpaste are unnecessary or offer no health benefit. When choosing your next tube of toothpaste, consider a natural oral care option free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.

For example, Tom’s of Maine, a natural products company focused on oral and personal care, offers information about the purpose and source of every ingredient they use. This winter, try their seasonally-inspired Cinnamon Clove Whole Care natural toothpaste, made from real cinnamon leaves and bark.

Depending on your needs, Tom’s of Maine offers personal care products that are vegan and gluten free as well as kosher and halal-certified.

BOOST IMMUNITY

Help stay cold and flu-free this winter with some natural lifestyle tweaks. Proper hydration and nutrition are important for good health and your skin. In addition to drinking plenty of alcohol-free liquids, look for soaps and skin care products that have natural olive oil as a primary ingredient.

Natural oils help lock in moisture. Also, take steps to reduce stress from your life – which studies have shown can take a mighty toll on your body’s ability to fight infection, according to the American Psychological Association. When you’re feeling tense, try products infused with lavender or chamomile, both of which can help relieve stress, or use the opportunity to finally try that yoga class.

If you’re interested in achieving the best health possible this season, making positive lifestyle tweaks and exploring natural health alternatives are two great places to start.