Are you one of those people that love the change in seasons as we head into autumn and winter or do you dread the clocks changing and it getting darker earlier along with cold weather? A change of seasons can be the perfect time to take a positive stance and have a look at your eating habits and the supplements you use. As the seasons change, so do our nutritional needs and it makes perfect sense to adjust accordingly. If you struggle with the changes in weather and light, making some adjustments can help you too.
Many people say that they find it easier to eat more healthily when the weather is warmer, a cold crisp salad can be highly enjoyable on a warm sunny day. Can we say the same about a cold rainy day? Not always! The good news is that there are some simple ways to continue to get plenty of healthy foods into your diet, even when it’s not ‘salad’ weather.
With most of the recent restrictions lifted and life hopefully getting back to more regular patterns, it is still very important to look after your health and help your body cope well with whatever bugs and viruses come your way. Rather than waiting until you are ill to reach for the vitamin C, why not create a wellness routine that keeps you well rather than waiting until you are ill to do something?
Thinking of foods, we can eat to give us a wide range of nutrients in the colder months, soups are always a great option. Sow cooking or a quick 20 minute recipe can give you a warming and nourishing meal. Using a wide range of vegetables in a soup ensures that all the nutrients stay within the soup as you are not throwing away the vitamins that leach into the cooking water. You can easily increase the protein content by adding some meat or some tofu. Filling, warming and doing you good, another positive is that there is research to suggest that eating soups are a great way to help you maintain a healthy weight or even lose a few pounds. There are endless recipes online, here are a few to start from BBC Good Food.
Soups are a great way to get plenty of healthy foods into your diet.
As always, a varied diet with a good mix of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses healthy fats and wholegrains are a good way to ensure that you are getting a wide range of important vitamins and minerals on a daily basis.
Supplements are useful to add to your wellness regime alongside your diet especially through the winter months. Certain nutrients such as Vitamin C and Zinc play a role in ensuring our immune systems are functioning properly. They are safe to take on a regular basis and can be just what you need to make sure your immune system is ready to respond when it needs to.
Vitamin C and Zinc, along with Vitamin D are needed for proper functioning of the immune system.
All summer we hear about getting out in the sunshine to help top up our Vitamin D levels, that is much harder to do when the weather is colder and the days are shorter. Vitamin D also plays a role in the proper functioning of the immune system, but it has many other roles too. Bone health and helping us to absorb Calcium is perhaps the most famous one, but did you know that it is also linked to helping us keep a stable mood? There is growing research linking Vitamin D consumption to support depression and general mental health.
Vitamin D is often sourced from lanolin, but the good news is that vegan options are also available sourced from sustainably sourced lichen and available in drops or capsules. Drops can be useful for the whole family as it is easy to alter to dose to the required amount.
Keeping hydrated is just as important in the winter as the summer. Use herbal teas with warming herbs such as ginger with perhaps a spoonful of pure honey, tastes lovely and can be soothing for an irritating non productive cough or sore throat.
Keep hydrated with warming herbal teas such as Honey and Ginger.
For many people, less daylight can bring low mood and anxiety. Wherever possible, try to get outside into some daylight every day. Even half an hour can have a positive effect plus give your body a little work out. Daylight bulbs that shine at a spectrum the same as daylight can be helpful too, You simply sit in from of one for a set amount of time a day.
Don’t let dark days get you down, get outside when you can.
Nutrients that can help keep us feeling balanced and maintaining good psychological health are the B Complex vitamins and the mineral magnesium. Many users report feeling more alert and focussed when taking them regularly.
L-Theanine is an amino acid found in green tea, it helps to calm and relax without making you feel drowsy. It works well alongside B vitamins, Magnesium and can be a useful addition when you need a little extra help.
The colder months aren’t always the best, but with a few simple techniques you can make it better and give yourself some seasonal TLC and a targeted wellness regime.
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