Lipa’s Christmas Survival Guide!

Christmas is one of the most hectic times of the year. Often bringing different trials and tribulations. Amongst the joyful glee of opening presents and spending quality time with family and friends, you're also faced with mountains of preparation, be it in the kitchen cooking a 5-star meal or going through an endless supply of shops to find the perfect gift.

These activities can be a real juggling act, and supplements are particularly helpful at times like this, helping to make a real difference in how you feel throughout the festive period. So in this blog, we will look into the different events happening during this upcoming festive season and what are the best supplements to give you the ultimate chance at Christmas survival!

COQ10 to Keep the Christmas Spirit High

As we touched on earlier Christmas can be a really draining affair with all the different events and activities to keep track of, especially during the crunch time of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, where you need to fit in multiple house visits. COQ10 supplements are a great way to stay on top of all this. As COQ10 is a nutrient that your cells require to produce energy, helping to aid in functions like energy creation and transport, leaving you with boosted energy levels (2).

Milk Thistle to aid with the Christmas Detox 

During this festive season, you are likely to over-indulge a little more than usual. Be it filling up on some eggnog or going for something a little bit stronger and turning your head to some Christmas sherry, with multiple ongoing events, it's easy to have the glasses add up which can soon lead to you feeling less than your best. To help prevent this, look for Milk Thistle supplements, a popular herbal remedy derived from the powerful purple milk thistle plant (Silybum marianum) (3). Milk Thistle acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect your liver from free radical damage through toxins which are increased when consuming alcoholic-based beverages.

Vitamin C Supplements to Fight the Festive Flu

Flu season isn't just a season anymore, it's a part of life that we need to manage and limit where we can. During this upcoming Christmas season where there will be increased mixing with friends and family, which can increase your chances of getting sick, leading to countless undesirable effects including a sore throat, fever or coughing. To help keep your immunity levels high, it's important to take Vitamin C supplements, as it has been well-documented that Vitamin C helps increase the production and function of white blood cells (4). These are crucial in protecting the body against infection, leading to greater immune defence and functionality.

Probiotics to Help Keep Things Moving

Other than gifts, Christmas is all about food, food and more food. Therefore it shouldn't be a surprise that many of us are repaid with indigestion and other gut issues during this period. To help skip all the unpleasantries and bounce right back to the good stuff, take a Probiotic supplement, as multiple studies highlight the role that probiotics play in naturally stimulating the production of digestive enzymes (5). These assist in the breakdown of food protecting you against excessive bloating and indigestion, while also promoting healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients.

De-stress with Adaptogens 

Christmas is not always fun and games, as the copious amounts of planning, gift shopping, navigating family politics and combined with a disrupted sleeping pattern, can make Christmas a stressful occasion that can put your head in a spin. Therefore a worthwhile investment might be taking Adaptogenic supplements. For those not in the know, Adaptogens are certain herbs and plants, with key examples being Rhodiola rosea, Ginseng root and Ashwagandha (6). Adaptogens commonly help increase your body's resistance to stress allowing you to cope better during stressful times by improving the user's physiological function, allowing the body to reduce stress hormone levels (7).

Final Thoughts

Overall the thinly veiled idea of Christmas being just another event is a pipe dream. In reality, it's an arena filled with testing challenges that can push you to the limit. Therefore to give you that little bit extra support, consider taking any of the supplements mentioned in this blog (in addition to the advice of a healthcare professional) to help fight against a variety of issues like stress, low energy and indigestion. All of which you are likely to encounter during this festive period.

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Reference List

1. Filler, K., Lyon, D., Bennett, J., McCain, N., Elswick, R., Lukkahatai, N. and Saligan, L.N. (2014). Association of mitochondrial dysfunction and fatigue: A review of the literature. BBA Clinical, [online] 1, pp.12–23. doi:10.1016/j.bbacli.2014.04.001.

2. Ernster, L. and Dallner, G. (1995). Biochemical, physiological and medical aspects of ubiquinone function. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 1271(1), pp.195–204. doi:10.1016/0925-4439(95)00028-3.

3. Abenavoli, L, Capasso, R, Milic, N & Capasso, F 2010, 'Milk thistle in liver diseases: past, present, future', Phytotherapy Research, vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 1423–1432.

4. Huijskens, M.J.A.J., Walczak, M., Koller, N., Briedé, J.J., Senden-Gijsbers, B.L.M.G., Schnijderberg, M.C., Bos, G.M.J. and Germeraad, W.T.V. (2014). Technical advance: ascorbic acid induces development of double-positive T cells from human hematopoietic stem cells in the absence of stromal cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, [online] 96(6), pp.1165–1175. doi:10.1189/jlb.1TA0214-121RR.

5. Hemarajata, P. and Versalovic, J. (2012). Effects of probiotics on gut microbiota: mechanisms of intestinal immunomodulation and neuromodulation. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, [online] 6(1), pp.39–51. doi:10.1177/1756283x12459294.

6. Chesak, J. (2017). The No BS Guide to Adaptogens for Hormonal Balance and Stress. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/smart-girls-guide-to-adaptogens.

7. Anghelescu, I.-G., Edwards, D., Seifritz, E. and Kasper, S. (2018). Stress management and the role of Rhodiola rosea: a review. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 22(4), pp.242–252. doi:10.1080/13651501.2017.1417442.