Why is it important to eat healthy in the winter?

Winter season is full of tasty warm dishes, cozy coffee mugs and plenty of snacking involved. Not only this our body tends to use a lot more energy than usual and our body functions get a bit slowed down because of then temperature drop. 

Winter brings in a lot on the fresh produce side, be it citrus fruits, green vegetables, millets and lentils and a bunch of healthy stuff. But people tend to focus more on junk food, sweets, salty snacks and sugar filled beverages. All this is done to keep ourselves warm and energised during winters, but we need to ask ourselves is it really worth it? 

Do we really need to compromise our health to protect our body from winters, the answer would be No. It is not necessary to pick up habits that are not beneficial for you in any way. Think about it, we usually don't workout as much during winters and consume the most number of calories this time, which is why people gain weight faster during winter season.  

Why is it important to eat heathy in the winters?

Winters make our body more prone to seasonal flu and infections that requires a strong immune system to counter back. But as we now, our lifestyle and eating habits have changed drastically and has caused our body to become weaker and vulnerable to various diseases. 

That is the reason why we should focus more on good nutritional intake, proper physical activity and fluid intake. People that are older in age face pain in their joints and muscles especially during winters as the body's warmth is disturbed and effects damaged muscles and tissues. 

Nourishment of our body becomes crucial and especially needs energy, protein healthy fats and decent amounts of carbohydrate in the daily diet. Along with that essential vitamins and mineral is required for vitality, boosting immunity and body's overall growth and well-being. All these points make it essential for us to have a proper nutritious diet during winters and not engaging ourselves more towards oily, sweetened junk food. 

1. Energy Requirements: 

Energy is something that is crucial for sustaining our life and wellbeing. Having said that, winters allow us to have more options within our range, meaning we get access to more seasonal local produce that is healthy, easily available and nutrient rich. 

Similarly, incorporating more colourful foods in your diet would not only provide energy to the body but also fulfil the basic requirements of nutrients like vitamins and minerals. 

2. Regulate Body Temperature and Blood Circulation:

When it gets too cold our body tends to get colder and stiff, even the various body functions slow down because of the slow blood circulation of our body. Delayed body function can make your body feel more fatigue, drain out energy and cause issues with body metabolism.

To counter that we need to eat such food items that provide instant energy as well as warmth so that our blood circulation resolves back to normal and heat up body, start performing basic functions and strengthen immunity.

3. Immunity and gut health: 

Diet plays an essential role in building and supporting our immune system. Winter leads to more bacterial and viral infection where our immunity comes in handy and help our body to heal faster. Similarly, our immune health is related to the health of our gut health. 

Gut health is something that needs more attention during winters as the digestion process gets weakened and gut microbes also lack proper nutrition from our diet to grow. So, a diet rich in dietary fibre and nutrients are important to maintain good gut health and immunity. 

4. Weight maintenance:

I'm sure all of us at some point have had experienced a weight gain soon after winter season. This happens because of our unhealthy eating pattern that gets crazy during winters solely to keep our body warm. The intensity of fried and sweet food intake gets high during winters only to fuel up our body with more energy and warmth, but it brings along a lot more calories and unhealthy fats. And so, having a diet rich in complex carbs, protein, healthy fats and fibre can help fuel up our body and also help us maintain our body weight.

5. Hair and Skin care:

People tend to get more dehydrated during leading to a dry skin and hair problems. Proper nutrition with adequate fruits and vegetables intake provides better fluid intake and hydration to the body. Additionally, the vitamins and minerals found in the diet will help nourish our skin and hair, provide adequate protein, essential vitamins, major minerals, unsaturated fats and collagen that help in improving skin texture and provide nutrition to our dehydrated hair.

6. Helps with mood swings:

A balanced diet especially during winters ensures proper nutrition intake, that helps our body balance various hormonal levels, blood pressure, blood sugar levels and a healthy body weight. All these levels require management and nutrition to manage and that's how it helps with mood swings. Mood swings can get worse if the diet is filled with junk and unhealthy food and strictly needs incorporation of a healthy yet nutritious diet meal.

7. Encouraging Bone health:

Bone health becomes a major concern with people of a certain age group plus, with a bad nutritional intake. And so, having a diet with proper nutrition like vitamins and minerals like potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc is really essential to maintain a healthy body with adequate nutritional support. Food sources that are high in calcium and magnesium are considered of greater importance in maintaining a good bone health.

Conclusion:

Maintaining adequate nutrition during winters is crucial. In this blog, I've mentioned as to why it's essential to have a decent diet filled with nutrition and minerals and why it's important for people who face weight issues and bone health problems. 

FAQs

Q. Does eating healthy in winters help with weight management?

A- Having a balanced and nutritious diet is crucial to maintain during winters as it ensures the intake of required nutrition and help repair ruptured tissues and muscle, rapid healing and also ultimately in weight loss.