Healthy Gifts for the Wellness-Conscience

By Betty Murray

With Christmas just around the corner, you may find yourself stumped on what healthy gifts to give the health-conscious person in your life. Although sweet, the traditional baked goods, or gift baskets overflowing with chocolates just won’t do.

Here are a few ideas of healthy gifts for the wellness-conscious:

Travel Yoga Mat – For the friend or family member who uses yoga to stay fit, a travel yoga mat is the perfect gift. The eKO SuperLite® Travel Mat can be folded easily to fit in a small travel bag. It is eco-friendly and made of biodegradable rubber that will not fade or flake. $40 on www.manduka.com.

Touch-Screen-Friendly Gloves — No matter how cold it gets outside, some fitness enthusiasts will continue their outdoor workout routine — with a few added layers, of course. Fitted running gloves with touch screen sensitive tips on the thumbs and forefingers make it easy to manage a playlist mid-workout without taking gloves off.  $30 on www.lucy.com.

BPA-Free Water Bottle — Non-plastic, BPA-free water bottles will keep the fitness enthusiast hydrated and healthy. The BKR Water Bottle is a glass and silicone, BPA-free, phthalate-free water bottle with a small opening for no-spill sipping. It is dishwasher safe, sleek, and just plain adorable. $30 on www.mybkr.com.

Healthy Snack Box Subscription — Snack box subscriptions are just part the newest trend of having personalized packages shipped to your home each month. NatureBox is the perfect healthy gift for the health-conscious. NatureBox allows you to choose from more than 120 products filtered for dietary preference, such as soy-free, gluten-conscious, vegan, and even non-GMO. Subscribers can give feedback on the snacks they receive, and NatureBox uses that feedback to determine future snack box deliveries. Monthly subscriptions to NatureBox range from $15.95 to $19.95 per month; gift cards are also available.

Digital Fitness Tracker — There are plenty of options on the market, but the FitBit is one of the most popular. Starting at just $59.95, the variety of FitBit models can track calories, count steps, decode sleep cycles, and more, helping the user get fit and stay motivated. www.fitbit.com

Massage Gift Certificate — Not a health food, or fitness gear, but a deep tissue massage may be just the healthy gift the fitness lover in your life needs to de-stress and relax. If you aren’t sure what spas are in the area, consider a SpaFinder gift certificate, which can be used at more than 20,000 locations nationwide. www.spafinder.com

These healthy gift ideas are just a few suggestions that tell your health-conscious loved one you are paying attention to their efforts to stay healthy. A meaningful message of support your loved one will greatly appreciate this time of year.

Betty Murray, CN, HHC, RYT is a Certified Nutritionist & Holistic Health Counselor, founder of the Dallas-based integrative medical center, Wellness and founder of the Metabolic Blueprint wellness program. Betty’s nutrition counseling practice specializes in metabolic and digestive disorders and weight loss resistance. A master of the biochemistry of the body, Betty teaches her clients how to utilize nutritional interventions to improve their health. Betty is a member of the Institute of Functional Medicine and the National Association of Nutrition Professionals.