SCOTT BROCATO:
Even though it's relatively warmer in the southwest--El Paso, Las Cruces--why do we still tend to become less active when this time of year rolls around?
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
The obvious answer to that is just that the temperatures are a little bit cooler, so it might be a little bit less pleasant to be outside, particularly if the weather gets below 50°. Fortunately in Las Cruces and El Paso and the southwest, those temperatures usually bounce back, and so that's an advantage to the southwest: if you don't like the weather, just wait a few days and it'll hopefully improve.
But with the cooler temperatures, you're gonna get shorter days, and so less opportunities to go outside. And so a lot of people who are working kind of the eight- to-five, eight-to-six jobs, you know, in the morning, it might be a little bit darker. So they might be discouraged to go outside and exercise if they're into an outdoor activity. And then in the evening, they get home and the sun is already setting. So the days are shorter, and the opportunities are less to do some outdoor activities.
Also, just the normal holiday things to do. They're just a lot more activities, festivities, family gatherings, friend gatherings. And so people just might not have that time to make to exercise like they used to in the spring and summer months.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And of course, the foods that are served at said gatherings, they surely don't help the situation.
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
(laughs) Yeah, they don't, unfortunately.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Well, as a physician, what types of illnesses have you seen become more prevalent during the winter months?
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
So our offices lately have seen a lot more flu, COVID, and strep throat. Those are probably the big three. Of course RSV is also prevalent in the pediatric populations, but also some of the elderly populations as well. And just the common cold, which is kind of the older version of the coronavirus before the coronavirus had that really sort of infamous name attached to it. But the coronavirus, or just the common cold, we're also seeing quite a bit: congestion, stuffy nose, sneezing, maybe some lower grade fevers. And so those are those are what we've been seeing a lot. But those top three that I mentioned earlier—COVID, strep, and flu--are probably the most common, more significant illnesses that we've been seeing in our offices in the last probably two months, two and a half months.
SCOTT BROCATO:
What are some of the ways then that we can stay more active during these winter months?
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
So some ways are just to create a routine. If you're used to going outside and exercising, continue to do that. Maybe going for a walk during a time that you weren't used to in the summer months, and maybe going for a walk in the middle of the day during your lunch hour, if you have one of those in the middle of the day; that's really important. Enjoy the cooler temperatures; and so maybe it was a little bit too warm during the summer months and you need to get outside, would like to get outside to enjoy those cooler temperatures outside. That can really be beneficial to you.
Also, there are a lot of indoor facilities that are low cost, sometimes no cost to certain populations. So joining the YMCA or the YWCA: good time to do that, to get inside and exercise a little bit.
SCOTT BROCATO:
We touched upon diet a while ago. What are some of the ways we can change our diet during the winter that can help us stay healthy?
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
One thing that I encourage my patients to do is to enjoy seasonal vegetables and fruits that you might not see during the other months: the pears, apples, some of the fall fruits and vegetables, squash, pumpkins, those types of things are in season and delicious that you can get them at local grocery stores or farmers markets. And those are fun to experiment with different recipes, and so I encourage my patients: just sort of a variety of different fruits and vegetables that they may not see normally during the year. That's one thing.
The other is to reset the calendar. I know it's a little bit cliche, but starting a New Year's resolution on January 1 or even before that, you're going to change your diet somehow. And it doesn't need to be drastic, but maybe cut down by half a teaspoon of that of the cream and the coffee; maybe cut down on sweets at the end of a meal to maybe once or twice a week; you know, make some sort of habit change that can really start on the new calendar year. That can be a good way of putting that on the calendar and starting a new habit during that time.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Finally, where can folks find more information online on how to stay more active and healthy during the winter?
DR. COLBY GENRICH:
There are a number of government resources. One is health.gov, and one of the programs they started is Move Your Way. It lists some exercise routines and ways to stay active. Some of the local county health offices like El Paso County Health has some resources. I encourage my patients to visit their local YMCA or YWCA and get some information on group activities that they could do.
UTEP and NMSU have some nice community events where you can sign up your kids for activities, swimming programs, and outdoor programs, hiking programs, walking programs. So those community resources are really important to explore and either low cost or no cost to certain groups.
