Winter is here! Dark mornings, darker evenings, and chilly gray days are here! The changing seasons don’t delight everyone! With the coldest season come the winter blues. As the season is getting colder, the chances of falling sick are getting higher. Repeatedly switching between cold outside temperatures and dry, heated indoor environments can increase the risk of infection, while little sunlight depresses the mood. When people feel blue, it’s a signal that something in their life needs attention.
With the falling temperature, our craving for warm foods increases. Amazingly, the body engine works better in the winter and foods are better digested. This aids in providing more nourishment to the body. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the winter comfort foods, but if you make some changes in your diet then, you can actually stay fit and healthy during the winter season. One of the most important ways to strengthen your immune system and performance is through absorbing the daily nutrients we get from our food.
This winter, try these wellness tips to battle the winter blues and stay well all winter long.
Eat plenty of vegetables
Vegetables are nutritional powerhouses packed full of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. During the winter months, there are certain vegetables that warm you up and are available in abundance. Winter brings a whole lot of greens with its amazing nutritional value. Leafy veggies, as well as root veggies, help your body in gaining nutritional benefits during cold weather.
Onions are a year-round kitchen all-star. They might make you cry, but they are actually pretty healthy. Onions and garlic protect against pathogens. They are full of valuable ingredients that have an antibacterial and disinfecting effect. Include Ginger in your Diet. They keep you warm and help get rid away from cold and cough and helps to increase immunity.
Opt for seasonal fruits
In this season, we always look for foods that are comforting and can protect us from the cold winter. There is plenty of produce that is rich in nutrients and flavor during this time of the year and help us withstand cold, chilly winds of the harsh weather - Orange, Pomegranate, Apples, Kiwi, Pear, Guava, Papaya, and many others. So, its time to fill your kitchen shelves with the winter fruits that are beneficial for your family and loved ones.
Vitamin D against the winter blues
The best way to get enough vitamin D is through sunlight. Your body needs 15 to 20 minutes of sunlight to absorb enough vitamin D. Especially in the winter months, it can be difficult to get that daily amount of sunlight because people bundle up in cold weather and the sun stays lower in the sky. The better option to suffice this essential is to look for sources of Vitamin D in the diet. Fish are the highest in Vitamin D. For vegans, milk, yogurt, eggs, Mushrooms, Soybeans, spinach and some breakfast cereals can be an amazing source of Vitamin D.
It's difficult to meet our Vitamin D requirements with dietary sources only since there aren't enough foods high in that vitamin. Cold weather will leave you wanting to be indoors, but any opportunity you get to bare a little skin during the winter will help make sure you're getting enough vitamin D.
Nuts keep you awake
Winter is the right time to travel and stay outdoors, though with it come lots of diseases. But, the good news is that munching your favorite nuts can protect you. Nuts are warm in nature and are highly recommended in the winter months. They are a good source of arginine—an amino acid that plays an important role in wound healing, detoxification reactions, immune functions, and promoting the secretion of several hormones including insulin and growth hormone.
People believe that consuming nuts can lead to weight gain. But, nuts are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients, which help protect against cancer and other chronic diseases. They also contain other essential nutrients to your diet.
Cook with spices
When the weather is freezing cold, we tend to enjoy hot and sour foods. Hot foods with intense flavors and rich textures tend to give us a sense of well-being on cold winter days. We can feel the effect of hot food through our cells, warming the body and putting a content glow on the face. Winter spices offer bold flavors. Spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pepper, turmeric, nutmeg possess a valuable remedy for winter coughs and flu, stimulating appetite and digestion and increasing blood circulation.
Its time to get brave and bold with your spice cabinet!
Add honey to your diet
The chilly weather brings along various infections that are known to cause common cold, cough, and flu. In winters, along with covering oneself in the warmest winter clothes, one also needs to ensure there is a steady inflow of vital nutrients and antioxidants to keep the infections at a corner. One such nutrient-dense superfood that has been a favorite in Indian households is honey. Honey is warm in nature and its regular intake helps in keeping the body warm, too. Honey is packed with many essential vitamins and antioxidants. This liquid gold is a powerful anti-depressant, natural anti-bacterium, and anti-septic, soothing throat, reducing coughs, relieving nighttime cough and strengthening the immune system.
Add some honey to your salads or beverages or have a spoon of honey daily in the morning to keep yourself warm.
Make a date with soup
Winter is the season of soup. It is precisely the best time to have soups that are not just nourishing but filling and healthy too. During the winter, soup is an ideal way to help the whole family boost their health as it's packed with veggies, easy and budget-friendly to produce. They can be made as quick midweek meals. A soup can do what a medicine never can – soothe and relax you in an unexplainable way when you’re down with cold, cough and fever. It’s by far the most comforting food, healthy and delicious too. You can indulge in a variety of soups that are not just tasty but full of vital nutrients.
Warm-up even the chilliest winter night with your favorite soups. Every spoonful is packed with nutrition!
Sip a hot beverage
Foggy mornings, cozy blankets and a nice cup of piping hot coffee! Perfect..isn't it? Winter is a season of pampering. It is a time when the body craves for hot and sizzling food and beverages. The best way to heat up the body from within is to sip on hot beverages spiked with warming spices. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and peppers work like magic, and the flavors are such that they easily blend in with other ingredients used for the making of the beverages, including coffee and tea. Besides keeping you cozy, these warm beverages offer serious health benefits: helping with digestion, prevent cold and flu, boosting your immune system, and more.
Just as summer brings with it a host of cool drinks, winter is the time to indulge in warm beverages that help dispel the chills.
Keep hydrated
Most people associate dehydration with summer heat and humidity. But winter, too, can drain the body of essential fluids. Harsh winter weather can cause great damage to your system, leaving your skin dried and body dehydrated. Even though your thirst response diminishes because of low temperature, staying well-hydrated during winter is as crucial as it is during the summer season. Dehydration is a danger for the body. But most people don’t realize the risks it causes to the heart. Inadequate water intake can cause fatigue, muscle cramps, headaches, even dizziness.
Hydration is an important consideration despite the cold weather. Not only does water help you stay hydrated, but it also helps regulate body temperature and is essential to the function of cells, tissues, and organs. Drinking water can boost your immune system and prevent you from getting sick during peak cold and flu season. And, did we mention that drinking water can increase your metabolism and help you feel full, longer. This could help control your appetite and enable you to maintain healthy eating habits during the chilly season.
Remember that even a cup of tea counts! Try warming up with a nice cup of hot green tea, or even hot water with lemon. Drink warming liquids like Soups, decaffeinated coffee, and herbal infusions.
Pay attention to your lifestyle, too. Staying up late, working at night, eating at irregular times, exposing the body to stress and fatigue, and sleeping during the day can all affect the digestive and body rhythms. Strengthen your immune system rather than compromising with the circumstances. So this year, spend the cold season staying warm and healthy.
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