Vitamins in winter: a support to face the cold season
In collaboration with Polase Winter
Winter is a demanding season both physically and psychologically during which the body has to face a greater need for energy, mainly due to low external temperatures and the increased commitment of the immune system. These conditions can increase metabolism basal rate up to 20%. It is therefore good that you arrive at the winter months well prepared, following a correct and balanced diet at any time of the year to support the immune system: in particular, the diet should be enriched with fresh and healthy, rich foods of vitamins and mineral salts. So let's find out which are the minerals and vitamins for the winter that are most useful for the body.
Vitamin C to support the normal function of the immune system
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Vitamins are very important in winter and vitamin C is no exception, as it contributes to the normal function of the immune system, to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. What are the vitamin C for every 100 mg of fruit (against the average 50 mg of citrus fruits). There are also numerous vegetables (especially broccoli, but also carrots, squash, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, red beets, cauliflower and peppers) that are particularly rich in vitamin C and carotenoids. Finally, freshly squeezed orange or other citrus fruit juices are another way to get vitamin C.
We remind you that according to EFSA, the European food safety authority, small daily amounts of vitamin C are enough to meet the body's daily needs: respectively 90 and 80 mg per day for adult men and women in good health. (the amount changes in the case of children, adolescents and pregnant and lactating women).
The sun even in winter with vitamin D
During the winter there is a decrease in vitamin D reserves caused by less exposure to the sun, so it is important to reintegrate this substance which performs numerous and important functions for the whole organism, such as contributing to the proper functioning of the immune system. The natural supply sources of vitamin D are essentially two: sunlight and food. In the first case, about 40 minutes a day of sun exposure in summer is enough to build up a good supply of vitamin D throughout the winter. On the other hand, it is more difficult, but not impossible, to take vitamin D through food, since its presence in food is low: it is found in cod liver oil and in some fatty fish such as tuna, salmon and mackerel.
Even in winter, vitamins B6 and B12 help reduce tiredness and fatigue
The B vitamins, in particular B6 and B12, contributing to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, represent a valid support even in a season, such as the winter one, in which the body can be put a strain causing a feeling of fatigue.
In detail, vitamin B6 supports the normal metabolism of proteins and glycogen and is present in foods of plant origin such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and animals such as meat and fatty fish including tuna and salmon. Vitamin B12, for its part, supports normal energy metabolism and contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. It is found in foods such as beef (especially in the liver), herring, sardines, mackerel, shellfish, eggs, milk and dairy products.
The importance of mineral salts: magnesium, potassium and zinc to feel "at the top" even in winter
Not just vitamins: to deal with that general feeling of tiredness and irritability and the mood swings typical of winter, some mineral salts are also useful, especially magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Magnesium, found in abundance in green leafy vegetables including chard, artichokes and spinach, dried fruit (walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios and hazelnuts) and legumes such as lentils and beans, supports normal muscle function and physiological function of the nervous system. It also helps reduce tiredness and fatigue.
Potassium also contributes to normal muscle function and plays an important role in other physiological processes, such as supporting the proper functioning of the nervous system. In foods it is present in a variable way in green vegetables, potatoes, soy and beans, fruit (oranges, apricots and bananas), meat, brewer's yeast and whole grains.
Zinc is an essential nutrient for the body and supports the proper functioning of the immune system. Foods rich in zinc include fish, red meat, grains, legumes, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, oysters, yeast, milk, mushrooms, cocoa, nuts and egg yolk.
Vitamins and salts for the winter: how to take them
The vitamins and mineral salts that offer valid support to face the winter season should be taken only in conjunction with the cold months? Absolutely not: a correct and complete diet, to define it as such, must be followed regularly every day of the year, it must become an established habit. For one thing, vitamin C can be valuable if it is taken daily well before the cold arrives (after all, there are foods rich in vitamin C at any time of the year, just think of strawberries). Therefore, given that the diet must always remain varied, balanced and balanced during all seasons, on the winter table it is still advisable to never miss foods that help meet the needs of the body, i.e. abundant portions of fruit and vegetables that contain the vitamins and mineral salts just described. There are numerous healthy and complete dishes from a nutritional point of view such as cereal and legume soups (pasta and beans, pasta and lentils, pasta and chickpeas, rice and peas, etc.) and vegetable soup, possibly enriched with animal origin and the addition of grated cheese and extra virgin olive oil.
If, for various reasons, it is not possible to follow a varied and balanced diet, it is possible to evaluate the use of food supplements with specific nutrients, always remembering that, as the word itself says, supplements "integrate" and do not replace a diet correct and must therefore always be included in a healthy lifestyle and attentive to diet and exercise.
Polase Ricarica Winter, for example, is a food supplement specifically formulated to provide the body with important nutrients during the winter period. In fact, the supplement contains magnesium and vitamins B6 and B12, which as we have seen contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and potassium, which supports the proper functioning of the nervous system.
