This Thanksgiving, Be Thankful For Your Health

Thanksgiving offers the opportunity to do something we should really be doing every day of the year: Thinking about, and expressing, what we’re grateful for. Many of us take our health for granted every day. We forget that there are many people suffering with illness, pain, starvation and many other ailments. This Thanksgiving, take a moment to be thankful for your health and your freedom of movement. You are blessed if you are able to play with kids, do sports, work and enjoy your life without being in pain. Here are a few ways to celebrate your health this Thanksgiving.

• Take a walk after Thanksgiving meal. Burn off those extra calories and get your heart pumping. Walking is a wonderful way to boost mood and increase energy.

• Laugh. Yes, it’s that simple! Laughter is a powerful healer. It boosts your “feel good” hormones, beats stress and works those abs muscles all at once. When you are reuniting with your friends and relatives, tell stories of Thanksgiving long ago and enjoy yourself!

• Drink red wine instead of white wine or beer. Red wine has a wonderful phenol in it called Resveratrol that comes from grapes. This helps lower bad cholesterol, lowers blood sugar and protects your cells from harmful substances.

• Play football with your family. Many people enjoy the football season on the television. Why not have your own game? Get out in the fresh air and play a quick game. The weather this year is holding out so take advantage!

• Eat Gluten-free desserts. If you have never tried a gluten-free dessert, you are certainly missing out! So many individuals have a gluten sensitivity, intolerance, or allergy. It can cause inflammation throughout the body and symptoms such as irritable bowel, fatigue, depression and headaches. Gluten is found in wheat, breads, pasta, processed foods, desserts, etc. There are plenty of bakeries and grocery stores nowadays that offer gluten-free products.

• Give to those in need. If you are a blessed individual with good health, get out there and make a difference for those less fortunate. Whether it is a helpful hand at a soup kitchen, donate food cans to a local church, or just helping an elderly individual load their groceries into their car, be sure that no good deed goes unnoticed.

There’s a whole host of reasons why we should make gratitude a daily practice — research has shown that being thankful confers a whole host of health benefits, from improved immune systems, to feelings of connectedness, even higher team morale. So this Thanksgiving, be grateful for your health and choose to make healthy choices throughout this holiday season.

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