This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Nordic Walking and Nuts are my two favourite things for February.
Nordic walking
I have just discovered Nordic walking. What a delight, walking through Delamere forest with a wonderful group of people one cold January day was invigorating, challenging and pure joy!
I’m lucky to live near Delamere where a fantastic lady runs Kerleys Nordic Walking.
I was one of those people who often wondered why walkers carried walking poles – even on quite steady flat terrain. Well now I know. The poles help give a full body workout and increase the amount of calories consumed by walking. They can also help with weight loss and toning your arms and legs.
The Nordic walking steps and movements can be learned from a professional Nordic Walking leader. They have these professional walkers all over the country and you can find out more information here.
I went on my own and met some very interesting like-minded people. What we all had in common was a love of the outdoors, exercise and breathing in the fresh country air. Even though it was a cold day we soon got very warm. It’s best to dress in a number of layers so it’s easy to remove a layer or two if so required.
The best thing about Nordic walking is that it can be done at any level of fitness. As long as you can walk, the poles help keep you steady as you move along. When you’re used to them you can then learn how they can propel you to a very quick speed.
I was genuinely quite surprised as to the strength of workout it can give and the benefits to cardiovascular fitness.
If you are interested in being outdoors, getting fit and love nature, I would definitely give it a try.
Nuts!
So where do NUTS fit into this?
Firstly I took some on my walk as a nutritious snack!
Well, recently I have been studying the ageing and health benefits of different foods and the effects on longevity and superfoods in general.
Nuts are in the diets of most populations that are renowned for their longevity. Especially in places such as, the Mediterranean, Greece, Sardinia, Italy and Spain.
Different nuts have different health benefits but they are full of fibre, protein and vitamins, They are talked about a lot by Dan Beuttner, a leading health and longevity journalist, who writes the books about the Blue Zones where people live in the best health for the longest. All of these populations regularly include nuts in their diets.
I would highly recommend reading one of Dan Beuttner’s books. You can find his Blue Zones book by clicking on this photograph or here.
For more information on the super power of nuts click here.
Obviously a very small minority of people are extremely allergic to nuts and must never eat them!
So I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my two favourite things for February – maybe give them a try!!