During the winter months, it’s essential to maintain your health by consuming a variety of vitamins and foods that support your well-being. Below is a compilation of five essential vitamins and corresponding food sources to incorporate into your diet during this season to ensure you stay fit and healthy.
Winter brings out the cozy socks, heavy jackets, and stylish sweaters, but along with the chilly weather comes potential health challenges. While some enjoy the season, it can take a toll on health. Despite the relief from summer heat, winter brings a slew of illnesses like colds, flu, and sore throats. Complicating matters is the Omicron variant, contributing to a surge in COVID cases in India. Amidst these concerns, the food you consume plays a crucial role in maintaining wellness and fighting off illnesses. Certain nutrients possess healing properties that address many winter-related health issues.
Here’s a compilation of five essential vitamins and food items recommended by Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma, Celebrity Dietician, and Nutritionist at Fat to Slim, to help you stay healthy during the winter months.
1. Vitamin C
During the winter season, and particularly in the era of COVID, the immune-boosting abilities of vitamin C are especially crucial. Adequate intake of this nutrient aids in shielding the body from viral infections, colds, coughs, and flu. Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma recommends incorporating citrus fruits like oranges, strawberries, lemons, and kiwis into your diet to maintain optimal levels of vitamin C in the body.
2. Vitamin E
Vitamin E, an antioxidant, is a fat-soluble vitamin found in eight forms. Ensuring sufficient levels of vitamin E in the body is crucial for reducing oxidative stress, managing diabetes, preventing eye-related disorders, lowering the risk of cancer, and alleviating symptoms of osteoporosis. Due to its nourishing properties, vitamin E is a key ingredient in various skincare and haircare products.
The significance of this vitamin escalates during the winter season, characterized by dry air that can lead to damage to the hair and skin. Consuming vitamin-rich foods such as cashews, almonds, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds can help maintain adequate levels of this nutrient and provide nourishment to the body, combating the effects of dry air.
3. Vitamin A
A vital natural antioxidant crucial for the body’s proper functioning, this nutrient plays a key role in maintaining optimal vision and shielding against conditions like night blindness and vision deterioration. Additionally, it supports a robust immune system, aiding in the prevention of various types of cancers. Moreover, this bone-friendly vitamin fortifies bones, guarding against winter-related joint pains. Foods such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and flax seeds not only enhance immunity but also promote reproductive health.
4. Vitamin D
Adequate levels of vitamin D, often referred to as the sunshine vitamin, can be lacking for many during the winter season. This nutrient plays a crucial role in enhancing bone health by improving calcium absorption, thereby helping to prevent bone and joint-related disorders such as arthritis. Additionally, vitamin D is an immunity-boosting vitamin that combats fatigue and promotes overall vitality, ensuring proper functioning of the entire system.
While sunlight remains the best and most abundant source of vitamin D, there are certain food items rich in this nutrient that can help maintain balanced levels in the body, especially during shorter days and longer nights. Foods such as flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, soy milk, dairy products, mushrooms, dark chocolate, ginger, garlic, and egg yolks are all rich sources of vitamin D.
5. Iron
Iron, a vital mineral crucial for overall growth and development, ensures the proper functioning of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in the body. It facilitates the distribution of oxygen to different parts of the body, providing energy and supporting various bodily functions. Maintaining adequate levels of iron helps prevent conditions such as anemia, enhances athletic performance, improves concentration, alleviates fatigue, and promotes restful sleep. Incorporating foods like spinach, beans, apricots, peas, seafood, and meat into your regular diet can help boost iron levels in the body.