NEWS RELEASE

SIMCOE MUSKOKA DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT

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From parades, tree adorning and menorah lighting ceremonies to the New Yr’s Eve countdown, the vacation season is right here, but it surely doesn’t must be time without work from sustaining your well being and well-being.

As you participate in winter vacation celebrations, following some easy suggestions is usually a recipe for a safer and more healthy vacation season.

The vacation season is a time to have fun by gathering with family and friends and it typically includes consuming and having fun with meals. Canada’s Meals Information gives some concepts that can assist you make nutritious selections and concepts for dishes that incorporate loads of fruit, greens and complete grains.

While you purchase, put together and retailer meals over the vacations, you possibly can scale back the danger of sickness for your loved ones and buddies by following easy meals security precautions. At all times wash your fingers and meals preparation surfaces with heat, soapy water. Ensure to separate your uncooked meals, equivalent to meat and eggs, from cooked meals and greens to keep away from cross-contamination. You’ll want to prepare dinner meals to secure inside temperatures. You possibly can test this through the use of a digital meals thermometer.

The vacations could be busy and disturbing for a lot of. Bodily exercise refreshes the thoughts, can relieve rigidity and stress, and may launch feel-good hormones (endorphins) that make us really feel higher. Take into account creating vacation traditions that emphasize being lively with the entire household.

Some folks might select to devour alcohol and hashish whereas celebrating the vacation season. Whereas the most secure choice is to not devour these substances, you possibly can scale back the danger of potential harms through the use of carefully and understanding the well being and security dangers. Verify Canada’s Steering on Alcohol and Well being and Canada’s Decrease-Threat Hashish Use Pointers for data that can assist you resolve when, the place, why and the best way to devour both of those substances.

For those who do drink alcohol and/or use medication, designate a sober driver, name a taxi or use a ride-share service to guard your self and others on the street. By no means drive if you end up impaired by alcohol and/or medication, and don’t permit your loved ones members or buddies to drive whereas impaired.

When getting ready to assemble with family and friends, keep in mind that COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) proceed to flow into in our communities. To scale back the danger of changing into in poor health and to guard these closest to us it’s important that everybody makes use of a number of layers of safety equivalent to staying updated with vaccinations, staying residence when sick, washing your fingers typically, and contemplate sporting a masks in indoor public locations, particularly if you’re at larger danger of extreme an infection or are in shut contact with somebody at larger danger.

For extra data on staying wholesome and secure in the course of the vacation season go to smdhu.org.

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