Five Tips To Keep Away The Blues This Winter

Five Tips To Keep Away The Blues This Winter

Winter, glorious winter!

This season makes us fall in love all over again with keeping warm and rugging up. It is also the season that we remember the importance of staying warm and healthy. We look forward to fog glazed windows, a mug of hot steamy chai and wishing that these sweet moments would stay frozen in time.

Nothing can replace the feeling of snuggling up in a warm blanket, curled up with a good book and a great pot of chai.

Winter can be bliss, but it can be nasty too! So, Chai Walli has come up with some fabulous tips on how to stay warm this winter, to make your rendezvous with this season just a little bit spicier and much more pleasant. Have a go at the tips below and decide which one is your personal favourite. Enjoy!

1. DRINK CHAI, STAY SPICY!

There are lots of spices used in masala chai blends which are naturally warming. 

During the day, we recommend starting with our Golden Chai or 11 Spice Chai. Along with some amazing Ayurvedic herbs and spices, they also contain organic and fair trade black tea.

If you want that warming feeling all day while you’re out or at work, brew up a big pot of the chai in the morning, enjoy one cup for yourself and then put the rest in a thermos. This is bound to make everyone in your office jealous as they take in the aroma of your freshly brewed masala chai throughout the morning. 

There are certain spices that can help to relax, energise, stimulate and uplift, so it's best to stay away from the caffeine at night. The caffeine in chai along with the spices can help you kick start your day during winters and the spices will help you stay internally warm on those cold winter days! 

We recommend drinking our
Golden Chai Caffeine Free or Turmeric Latte blend before bedtime for the ultimate winter warmer. Turmeric, combined with ginger and a range of other spices will begin warming you up from the inside out. 

Ayurveda says that our metabolism needs to work harder in winter to fuel our agni, the inner digestive fire, and that warming foods and spices are needed to stay healthy, balancing our energy systems.

Tea, when combined with spices can be your superhero this winter. Not only does this combo help you keep warm during winter, but it is also believed to help in combating known seasonal infections.

Our Chai Walli blends have a lot of natural ingredients which are known to aid in your overall well-being during the winter months. For instance, our Golden Chai is an internally warming and grounding chai blend which contains turmeric, ginger, fennel, cloves and cardamom - all of which are essential during winter time.

Below are a few spices and their natural healing/warming properties:

Ginger: Ginger is known to have high concentrations of a compound called gingerol. Gingerol imparts spiciness and natural heat which can warm up the body during winter. Who doesn’t love a spicy ginger honey tea or ginger infused savoury treat?

Cloves: These are known to be antioxidant-rich, antiviral and anti-inflammatory which help stiff winter joints, colds, cough and fever. Cloves are also believed to be effective expectorants which can assist with congestion. Cloves are known to have Eugenol, which causes the dilation of capillaries and increases blood circulation, making the skin feel warmer.

Cardamom: Being from the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family, cloves not only provide warmth to the body, they also help relieve symptoms of cold and cough during the winter season. They’re also known to help open up the chest and uplift you - try chewing on cardamom seeds and you’ll feel fresh instantly! 

Fennel Seeds: Fennel seeds are known to be enriched with Vitamin C. Vitamin C has strong immune-boosting properties. Being a strong antioxidant, it also helps curb the free radical activity, which is responsible for causing various diseases. Fennel is believed to contain a mix of antioxidants, antimicrobial components and anti-inflammatory volatile oils, which help alleviate the risk of cold, cough and flu and provides instant relief. It also is known to help in keeping several seasonal infections at bay and keeps your body warm from within.

Turmeric: The brightly-coloured root is known to be the most powerful medicinal spice. It is believed to be full of wholesome, healing benefits for the human body. Among all the spices, we believe turmeric is the most versatile one. This root herb is believed to be helpful in a whole host of conditions, from arthritis and diabetes to cholesterol and increasing a poor immune system. Turmeric helps in supporting digestion, detoxification, immunity and energy, all of which are essential to keep us fighting fit during winters. In the colder winter months, it is apparently the best thing for prevention and cure for any cold, cough or flu, as per Ayurvedic practices.

Chai Walli is coming up soon with another spicy blog about the benefits of turmeric. Watch out for our next blog, to get all the juicy details about the benefits of this wonderful spice!

We can’t speak highly enough of how important a good quality, natural masala chai blend is to add to your lifestyle, especially during the winter. We drink it every day and at any time of the year (from minus 20 degrees to 40 degrees, we’ll have chai anytime)! If you want to deepen your understanding of the beautiful Indian culture of chai, Ayurvedic spices and how to perfect brewing chai sign up to our next Art of Chai Workshop here.

If you’re not a masala chai person, we also have a range of delicious loose leaf Ayurvedic herbal teas and Single origin organic tea leaves sourced directly from tea estates in India.

 

2. DRINK WARM WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY

It’s a no brainer that warm water is something we inadvertently go to when we have a cold or suffer from a sore throat. It is one of the most quintessential winter warmers. Warm water is believed to increase your metabolism and immunity. When consumed after or before food, it can help to aid in digestion as well. Experts say that hot water consumed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can increase your overall being. Winters will never be complete without the benefits of warming warm aqua!

3. GET YOUR BODY MOVING

Cold weather constricts our blood vessels and makes the circulation of blood in our body a tad bit more difficult than in the summer. We tend to become lazier and less active as a result. This is where (you guessed it) exercise comes to our rescue. It might not be much fun to get up in the freezing mornings to go for a run or rush to the gym to pump iron. But truth be told, if we are brave enough to overcome our initial reluctance, and exercise before heading out to work, our winters will be much more productive, healthy and fun. Exercise increases the blood flow in our bodies, naturally. Hence it warms the body fast and helps in warding off lethargy. It also increases the happy hormones in our bodies like serotonin and endorphins, which help us fight the winter blues. Yoga, pilates, running - take your pick - whatever works for you! Just keep moving and stay warm.

  • 4. WEAR GOOD QUALITY WOOLLEN CLOTHES

  • Come winter and we immediately get our woolies out- whether it be scarves, pullovers, cardigans or mittens! We can’t imagine surviving this season without our sure shot winter warmers. Woollen clothes are naturally insulating. Woollen fibres trap air in between them. This air prevents the outward flow of heat from our body. Wearing warm woollens also makes you feel cosy and pampered. It’s like the feeling of first love, just like a warm hug. In one word, it’s priceless! Our personal winter favourites are Leophil and Uimi, which we swear by, when it comes to style and variety - not to mention quality.

    5. MAKE CHAI MULLED WINE!

    Mulled Wine is a classic winter cocktail and easy to make. It’s yummy, sensuous and warming all at the same time. No wonder, it is one of the “go to” drinks this season. Chai Mulled Wine is a spicy twist to the original mulled wine cocktail recipe. This is a perfect drink for date night, when you just feel like indulging or want to impress your guests at your next gathering! A perfect Chai Mulled Wine is just what you need to make your winter weekends hotter! The cardamom and the 11 spices in our custom Chai Mulled Wine recipe will amp up your antioxidant levels too! You can read the full recipe in Chai Walli’s blog here.

     

    * Please note, this recipe is recommended only for adults of drinking age,  in Australia the legal  drinking age limit is 18+.

    Blog Sources:  
    www.livepure.com, Wikipedia, www.food.ndtv.com, www.foodal.com, www.google.com, https://www.livpure.com/blog/how-drinking-warm-water-helps-your-body-during-winters, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92752/,

    https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/blog-the-banyan-insight/details/6-essential-ayurvedic-herbs-for-fall-and-winter/

    Disclaimer: The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. 

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