PHW Newsletter - Edition 8

A Word from Karen Wheeler, APRN

Back to School Health Tips

Can you believe it’s back to school time?? The weeks, months, & even years seem to fly by faster & faster! I’m not sure how to make time go slower, but I do have some suggestions to help make daily life easier and healthier.

School physicals.

Make appointments with providers to get school physical and health forms completed to allow for participation in school-sponsored events. This is also a good time for you, your child, and your healthcare provider to address any health and developmental concerns.

Meal plan for success.

During the cooler months, especially with busy school and work schedules, prioritizing healthy, fresh foods can be more difficult. Consider having your kids help pack their lunch with nutrient-dense real food rather than the prepackaged, convenience snacks. Bento boxes filled with selections of veggies, nuts/seeds, meats, cheese, and fruits can keep lunches from getting boring. Thermoses can be filled with homemade soups and casseroles made with seasonal vegetables. Stock your freezer with pasture-raised sources of protein. Plan ahead to make bigger portions of meats so they can be remade into a next-day meal with different sides.

Check vitamin D levels.

Low Vitamin D levels have been associated with worse incidences of respiratory illnesses including COVID, RSV, and influenza. As the days get shorter and sun exposure is limited, most people are not able to get adequate exposure to produce enough vitamin D. You can fortify your diet with cod liver oil, salmon, sardines, or beef liver to increase vitamin D or you can add a high-quality vitamin D3 supplement.

Prioritize sleep.

This is one of the Pillars of Health that PHW emphasizes for overall wellness. Even if you have a busy schedule, getting 8 hours of quality sleep every night is essential. Make it a priority to set an earlier bedtime. Avoid sleep disruptors like alcohol and caffeine. Limit blue light exposure through devices at least 2 hours before going to bed. It is a myth that you can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends!

Stock your “medicine” cabinet.

Illness never happens at convenient times so being prepared by having some essential supplements on hand is a good idea:

• High dose vitamin D3 – High doses can be taken for 3-5 days to give the immune system a boost.
• Vitamin C – Our body’s need for vitamin C increases when we are sick.
• Zinc – An important booster of our immune system.
• Immune Balance MD – A PHW unique formulation to support a healthy immune response.
• NAC – A precursor to glutathione which is an antioxidant that cleans up damage in the body.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! While nobody is bulletproof, we can certainly improve our odds of a happy and healthy school year by prioritizing our pillars.