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Our diet during cold weather
It should be borne in mind that when the
weather is cold, the body tries to com-
pensate and maintain its heat levels. This
could increase your appetite and, conse-
quently, the possibility of gaining weight.
A good diet helps our bodies to protect
itself against nasty weather and also in-
creases our defences.
Below are some recommendations for
our diet during this time of the year:
•
Fresh foods that are rich in vitamin
A and C are a very important part of
our diet. Vitamin A is found in dairy
products, enriched margarine, liver,
and egg yolks. It helps prevent dry
skin, chapped lips and even helps
to prevent frostbite. Citric fruits, to-
matoes, green peppers and almost
all vegetables are rich in vitamin C
which increases our body’s defences
and helps us prevent catching the flu
or cold.
•
Proteins, such as those found in
meat, eggs, fish, and legumes are
also an important part of the diet
since they are full of vitamin B which
naturally optimises our metabolism.
•
Zinc, found in meat (especially red
meat) plays a very important role es-
pecially in nasal congestion and sore
throats.
•
Our body needs more calories during
the winter months and it recommen-
ded that we eat small amounts of dry
fruits and to replace sugar with honey
which contains more fructose.
•
Eat more dairy food. The absence
of sunlight reduces our body’s ability
to assimilate vitamin D which regu-
lates the absorption of calcium and
phosphorus. Women who suffer from
osteoporosis should take an extra
calcium supplement. Potatoes are
also important since they are rich in
carbohydrates.
•
Drink more liquids, particularly hot
liquids since this helps keep our bo-
dies warm and well hydrated. It is
necessary to compensate the loss
of moisture in our bodies caused by
cold weather.