Bella Adams
Short daylight hours, monotonous colors, low temperatures, strong winds, increased morbidity, and a lack of fresh vegetables and fruits are the main stressors for our bodies in winter. We can help it adapt to the winter season while maintaining efficiency and resistance to disease, by ensuring an adequate diet and drinking regimen.
For example, in the cold, the body produces more heat for heating and therefore spends more energy. Some of it will be taken from adipose tissue reserves, but a significant portion must come from food.
The law is that the more intense the biochemical reactions in the body, the more heat will be produced for heating. Therefore, high-calorie foods that require long digestion will give the body more heat and enough energy for other activities. These are primarily animal proteins. It is recommended to eat fish dishes two to three times a week, and on other days – veal, turkey, chicken, and dairy products in sufficient quantities.
An important component of the winter table should be complex carbohydrates – flour products and cereals and grains. Vegetables and fruits are indispensable in winter, but they are seasonal, as they contain the maximum amount of vitamins, especially A, E, and C.
These include carrots, onions, garlic, beets, potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, turnips, apples, and pears. Sauerkraut, cucumbers, and tomatoes will be very useful, as they retain a lot of vitamin C. Berries and fruits frozen in the summer will perfectly complement the winter diet.
In winter, it is not recommended to reduce the amount of fat in the diet. Eat butter, lard, and vegetable oils.
Dried fruits and nuts will help you quickly enrich your diet with glucose and fructose, fats, fiber, and vitamins. Of course, the winter diet is high in calories and is unlikely to help you lose weight, but it is necessary to ensure normal metabolism with increased energy expenditure, adequate immune system functioning, and the required level of physical and mental performance. Walks in the fresh winter air and winter sports will help you stay in shape.
Eating frequent meals, but in small portions, will protect you from overeating. A proper drinking regimen will also help you not to gain weight.
In winter, the drinking regimen should be adapted to the peculiarities of the season. First of all, because the body actively loses water through the skin (cold and wind dry it out). Also, urination becomes more intense for the purpose of heating (kidney function is accompanied by the generation of large amounts of heat). Breathing through the mouth, we lose water through evaporation. Therefore, clean drinking water should be consumed in winter along with warm broths, teas, and coffee, which quickly warm you up and make you feel full. You can also give your body water by eating tangerines, oranges, or cucumbers.
In frosty weather, before an active day in the park or on a slope, the right clothes, hearty food, and access to warm drinks will keep your body warm.
