Dr. Oz did a fair job of giving five suggestions, but there are a few additional solutions and corrections that need to be made in order to effectively address the Winter Blues.

Let’s begin with the wonders of Peppermint Essential Oils. Granted…Peppermint is well-known for being stimulating, but it is far too cooling to be used extensively during the cold Winter months without further forcing people to feel colder.

Peppermint is preferred during the spring, summer, and fall months; if you are looking for a quick pick-me-up mentally with a small energy boost. The better choice for an Essential Oil to give you that desired boost during the coolest Winter season is: Rosemary

Of course, we prefer blends of Essential Oils for the purpose of more balanced stimulation with a more even result, so we would blend Rosemary with Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Spruce, Nutmeg, and perhaps some Black Pepper. Besides stimulating, these oils will be more warming than Peppermint. You can use Peppermint in the Winter if you work indoors with temperatures above 70 degrees.

Cedar, Frankincense, Lemon, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Orange, and Thyme are good choices if you also wish to control pathogens along with the Rosemary.

The use of Light Therapy to ease depression and sadness during the Winter Blues season works exceptionally well! It is rather simple to install full-spectrum light bulbs and get the blue that is missing when you are indoors or during the winter months when the sun changes position in the sky and the days are shorter.

Light Therapy also will help your skin while it’s improving your mood. There have been some excellent developments in this area and the technology has advanced considerably. Take a look at what we feel is a good solution for you:

Chili Peppers may be HOT, but there are foods that might not be quite as over-stimulating as chiles. It’s better on most human bodies to use warming foods, teas, herbs and essential oils during Winter than so many hot foods which can lead to dehydration and result in bigger imbalances with too much heat. We do love our ethnic foods which produce some heat, but not in excess. Combine your chili peppers with cilantro, tomatoes, onion, and even go with a salsa. You can sprinkle some cayenne or pepper flakes on vegetable dishes, but go easy on all the hot sauce. Balance in all things!

Frontier carries all kinds of spices and seasonings from chili peppers, red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, adobo seasonings, chipotle, BBQ seasoning, cinnamon, peppermint, fajita seasoning, Garam Masala, ginger, and Mexican food seasoning blends.

Ginger is the best idea that Dr. Oz provided to his audience today for warming and giving that zizz during the Winter. Ginger herbal tea sweetened with stevia, honey, or blue agave syrup is especially effective when you grate fresh organic ginger root. It is good for digestion, too. You can add grated ginger root to your vegetable and fruit dishes.

We like Gingko Biloba, but it might take some time before you notice the advantageous mental health benefits. It brings energy to the brain through the movement of energy through the Spleen meridian and the blood. The effect is not necessarily immediate. Gingko is more of a long-term beneficial herb that is more gentle than what Dr. Oz was implying with drops in water of the extract. So you need to determine if gradual support is preferable to instant energy for you personally!

There is mounting evidence that taking supplemental vitamin D3 helps with both mood and calcium metabolism during Winter months while strengthening the immune system indirectly.

We highly recommend Honey Loquat Syrup during the Winter months, especially if you notice any cough, mucous, phlegm, sore throat, or breathing difficulty. The Prince of Peace brand of Honey Loquat Syrup is our favorite. It is sweet and warming and children will gravitate to it as much as adults.

Ten minutes of Rebounding when you feel like you need a boost or in place of exercise during the Winter weather extremes that keep you indoors is a solution that works quite well.

Massage Therapy will support your circulation, keep your muscles supple, and promote your health during the Winter…and the Blues will leave in a short hourly session.

There is usually some SUNshine during the Winter days that you can find enough time to spend ten minutes enjoying with a short walk in a local park or around the block. Although Light Therapy will suffice nicely during the Winter season, it never hurts to get some natural light whenever you can, even if it only on the weekends when you have time in the early afternoon to get some sunshine for a brief period of time.

Cupping or tapotement is something that you can do yourself or ask a partner or massage therapist to do for you. It moves the lymph and the blood to improve circulation and that will give you some energy and make you feel alive! It’s a great practice for the lungs. Just do not let anyone cup over your kidneys on your lower back! You can cup your chest region and have a partner cover your back.

That’s enough for today…be Well and find some time to enjoy the Winter season in all its snowy splendor.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.