Foods and Vitamins That Can Help You Stay Healthy During Winter Time
As the winter approaches, we seeking ways to stay healthy for the Christmas holidays. As we want to help you spend the holidays with your family and friends, rather than staying in bed, we prepared the following list. Here are ideas for enriching your diet in the following weeks, in order to boost your immunity and stay away from any type of flu that might be wandering around.
Honey
Honey is one of the healthiest and most delicious aliments in the world. It is impossible to list all the benefits it has for the human body. Raw honey is a powerful antiseptic and antibiotic. In some cultures, it is even used to heal wounds. You can relieve sore throat if you let a spoon of honey melt in your mouth. Remember to use only wooden or plastic spoons! Furthermore, honey is a rich source of antioxidants and vitamins.
Nuts
Apart from being a great snack idea, nuts are little healthy bombs. They are packed with proteins and healthy fats, which are necessary for proper immune system function. So much so that you should be careful with the amount of intake. For example, Brazilian nuts are super tasty and healthy, but eating more than 3 of those nuts a day can cause selenium overdose.
Root vegetables
Although you can find summer vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers) in the supermarkets during winter, it is better not to buy these. If it’s not their season, you know they have grown artificially and are full of additives. Therefore, it is better to search for carbohydrates and starch in carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beets.
Vitamin C
The star among vitamins, the body needs vitamin C to repair tissue damage, keep the nervous system healthy, and maintain the protective capacity of the skin. Other than supplements, it can be found in potatoes, broccoli, and citrus fruits.
Vitamin A
The uninterrupted intake of vitamin A is crucial for the health of our bones and teeth, but also our immune system. You can find it in spinach (Popeye knew what he was doing!), fish, and dairy.
Vitamin D
Naturally, the body synthesizes the vitamin D in the skin, in the presence of sunlight and UV radiation. You can imagine that the body is in trouble during winter: there’s not much sun and even if it’s there, we are wrapped up to our noses. So, help your body by eating more fatty fish, cheese, and eggs.
Zinc
There are many reasons our bodies need zinc during the whole year, and especially during winter. It is a powerful antioxidant and helps with the immune system, hormonal balance, and digestion. Look for it in pumpkin seeds, beans, and seafood.
Iron
Iron has this name for a reason. On the one hand, it is the reason why the blood tastes like metal, and on the other, it is the precondition of overall strength and resistance to disease. There is a lot of iron in dark leafy vegetables (spinach again, folks!), dried fruit, and lentils. Because they can be found in meat, iron and vitamin D are usually to be found in the best vegan multivitamin packages.
Conclusion
Although these superfoods will do a great deal to help your body fight the cold weather, it is best to think about our health throughout the whole year. Once the spring comes, we tend to forget about our immunity, although it is exhausted after months of fighting with all sorts of germs.
Also, don’t forget to hydrate and keep warm. Some soup, ginger, and green tea will do a great deal for both hydration and warming up. Finally, an old granny’s advice is to dress in many layers you can easily take off when changing from cold to warm environments. This is important because you shouldn’t get sweaty and then go out in the cold.
