Dr Jenny Goodman’s 10 Top Tips for Keeping Healthy at Christmas and Beyond

• Make the most of the brief daylight. Go for walks outdoors; this is the best way to avoid getting SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder (which does make you feel sad). The Pineal gland in your brain needs to see the light! But outside of daylight hours, hibernate. (Hibernus is Latin for Winter). Hide under the duvet when it’s dark! Don’t feel guilty. Do less, not more.

• December 21 will be the winter solstice; shortest day, longest night. From then on, light begins to catch up with dark. Hang on to that – the sunshine is returning!

• On December 25, if you do Christmas dinner, try to serve it early enough so you can have at least a brief walk afterwards before it gets dark – you will digest the meal much better than if you just fall asleep in the armchair!

• Brussels sprouts – how to get your kids to love them – coat them with a delicious sauce – because Putting the Good Stuff In is even more important than cutting the ‘bad stuff’ out.

• Cook casseroles and soups – hot food. Forget about salad for now.

• Take Vitamin D3, 2000 – 4000 iu, with your evening meal; it supports your immune system, brain, bones, muscles and mood, and is naturally anti-inflammatory.

• Take Vitamin C and Zinc daily; they are both anti-viral.

• If you come down with an infection, increase the doses of zinc and Vits D and C, and add selenium, iodine, Echinacea and Propolis.

• If you or your muscles feel tense, or if your fingers or toes go numb in the cold, take Magnesium.

• If you’re thinking of buying a new sofa, wait till Spring – most soft furnishings will “outgas” the chemicals they contain, so you need to be able to open the windows to let those out. Second-hand might be safer; the synthetic chemicals are already gone.

Staying Alive in Toxic Times by Dr Jenny Goodman is out now in hardback, ebook and audio.