Healthy Holiday Gifts

December 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Want to give holiday gifts that can last a lifetime? Have you considered getting your friends and loved ones on the path to good health for the New Year? EverydayHealth.com, a provider of online health information, recently unveiled 2010’s top gifts to encourage a healthy lifestyle. There are many affordable holiday gifts that will show someone you truly care about them, inside and out. Following is a sampling of healthy holiday gift ideas recommended by EverydayHealth.com Editor-in-Chief Jenny Sucov and her team. All gift ideas have been medically reviewed and can be found at EverydayHealth.com.

Taking Steps to Stay Fit

Walking is one of the fastest, cheapest and easiest ways to get fit. A pedometer helps keep track of walking progress. It’s an inexpensive, healthy gift that clips onto a belt or waistband and measures how many steps the user take each day. A good goal is 10,000 steps a day, which is approximately five miles. Here’s a thought: Buy one for yourself as well, so you, too, can stay fit during the holidays.

Recipes From the Heart

Consider sharing your healthy recipes with those you love. Fill a pretty recipe box with your favorite heart-healthy home cooking classics — a personal holiday gift your friends will likely cherish for years. Not a cook? Buy a cookbook. Another great healthy present idea is a subscription to a fitness magazine. Getting monthly tips and advice may help your loved one stay on track all year long.

Drink to Good Health

Coffee and tea are healthy gifts brimming with antioxidants and flavonoids. Green tea is believed to possibly reduce the risk of heart disease, and research has shown that coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease and cirrhosis. A gift of wine is a great way to toast the season and can be healthy, too. It’s believed moderate alcohol use (one drink per day for women, one to two drinks per day for men) may slightly increase HDL, the so-called good cholesterol.

Brainy Holiday Gifts

Playing board games can keep the mind sharp. Games such as Risk, Pictionary, Scrabble and Boggle are good choices because they activate strategic, spatial and memory parts of the brain. Board games are also a great way to socialize, which can help form new neural pathways or connections in the brain. Giving a good book is also a healthy holiday gift — frequent reading may reduce the risk of dementia.

Give the Gift of Your Time

If money is tight — or even if it’s not — spending time with friends or loved ones could actually be the most priceless holiday gift you can give. Make a gift card redeemable for a run, bike ride, or workout to do together. Prepare a healthy holiday meal and deliver it during the hectic weeks before the holidays to give a friend a helping hand. These are gifts that will be remembered long into the new year.

Source: Everyday Health