Since the cold days are here, the holidays mean more gatherings and more food to eat. Like any other season, it’s always best to be responsible for how much we eat and keep our bodies healthy. One winter health tip is taking food supplements that fill your body with the nutrients it needs.
However, just because you’re taking your vitamins doesn’t mean you get to eat unhealthily or maintain eating habits. While eating holiday food isn’t always bad, it’s still imperative to keep track of your food intake. You must also listen to your body’s needs and what you need to stop consuming.
Plus, the cold days are when it’s harder to dissolve unwanted fats, sugar, and oils.
In certain studies, winter is when your cholesterol levels get irregularly high. This is why adults have to do more intense exercises during winter. While you’re at it, it’s also your chance to get more sun. Many people say it’s not easy when, in fact, they’re just not willing. If you keep these unhealthy eating habits for the rest of the year, the more you’ll find it challenging to maintain healthy lifestyle habits for next year.
Supplements You Need Especially in Winter
With moderate food intake and regular exercise, taking these food supplements helps you keep your body healthy and free from sickness during this cold and flu season:
Vitamin D
Since the days get shorter in winter, you have less chance to get more sun, especially when you have a full-time job. In winter, the sunlight doesn’t contain enough UVB radiation for the human skin to absorb this vitamin. Some say that vitamin D is the least often vitamin you can find in meals unless you thoroughly plan them and regularly serve foods rich in vitamin D.
Therefore, it is highly recommendable to take vitamin supplements to avoid its deficiency. This vitamin helps you strengthen your bones and boost your immune system, which keeps you away from sickness as well.
Vitamin C and Zinc
These nutrients are best together because they fight viruses and help keep a robust immune system and healthy skin.
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects your body from free radicals and has antiviral properties to reduce viral infections. Zinc is an effective supplement to diminish cold symptoms. It prevents you from viruses and unwelcome bacteria, including pimples or acne.
Vitamin B-complex
B vitamins are packed with health benefits that nothing else provides. In summary, it helps strengthen your immune system and metabolism, provides physical energy, cognitive function, and mental sharpness. Studies also indicate that it lowers the risk of anemia, heart disease, stroke, and mental illnesses, such as anxiety and depression. It might also help build cells faster and keep skin and hair healthy.
B vitamins help you digest food and turn it into energy for your metabolism, which comes in handy with your regular exercise. You can even do more intense workouts with this. Therefore, you need these to keep your body healthy during winter.
As for your mood improvement, these vitamins help keep your hormones healthy, especially in women.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
This nutrient is especially essential to those in their mid to late 30s since the risk of heart disease increases. However, this doesn’t indicate that younger people don’t need this. Omega-3 fatty acids are present in fish, nuts, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, leafy vegetables, and vegetable oil. It helps you reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and blood pressure.
If you are less in control of your food intake this winter, this can be helpful to keep your levels at regular. Again, you still have to be careful about how much you eat, especially if you already have existing diseases.
Probiotics
You can take probiotic supplements only when you need them. If you don’t, it’s still essential to consume this nutrient since it balances good bacteria in your body and improves your digestive health. They also assist in boosting your immune system through these good bacteria, which benefits from the balancing.
Another benefit of probiotics is that they can also lower your cholesterol levels. Probiotics work in your gut to turn unwanted cholesterol into bile, which you naturally release regularly. A study also found that probiotic supplements can improve mood and mental health issues. This can help those who have seasonal anxiety or seasonal depression.
Vitamin supplements are not enough to keep your body as healthy as people often think. They’re called supplements for a reason, which means they’re only additional health benefits to your lifestyle. Their purpose is not to instantly or miraculously save you from an ailment. These supplements are nothing if you don’t help them improve your health.
