Chilly winter weather impacts more than just your closet and your heating bill. Your body also encounters changes in metabolism, energy levels, and even food preferences.
Do you react to the bitter cold by persuading yourself to deserve a calorie binge to warm up and balance your discomfort? Keep in mind that you are not alone.
However, the cold reality is no weather warrants unhealthy eating practices. Just as you should not spoil ice cream during hot summer days, you should not live on a steady diet of warm cookies and hot chocolate during winter.
Here are some superfoods, herbs, and spices to add to your diet.
Garlic
Garlic has been utilized as a treatment for many diseases for thousands of years. It’s recommended to consume between 2-4 whole cloves of raw garlic each day as a natural health supplement.
However, if you cannot face that, you can take an odorless garlic supplement each day while you have a cold. It will help to fight it off in no time.
Dark chocolate
This has to be one of the favorite winter superfoods of many. Dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants, magnesium, zinc, and iron—all of which boost your immune system.
Zinc is the most integral—adults require about eight milligrams every day, and unsweetened cacao offers about 9.6 milligrams of zinc per 100 grams. If you cannot find pure cacao, you can look for 70-80 percent cacao dark chocolate.
Salmon
Vitamin D is a crucial vitamin, as it regulates your immune system. It is often obtained through spending time in the sun.
Even Americans struggle to get enough, with about forty percent of Americans being deficient in vitamin D despite their long sunny days.
Also, salmon is an excellent source of dietary vitamin D. Try eating it at least once per week. A 120-gram serving is equal to 15 minutes in the sun, keeping your immune system in top shape.
Yogurt
Did you know that natural yogurt is loaded with prebiotics that is important for good gut health? Probiotics also improve immunity by safeguarding against stomach diseases—viruses entering through the stomach tract could be destroyed easily by probiotics.
For a healthy dose, you can try adding yogurt to your cereal meal or combining yogurt with berries or cinnamon for a healthy snack.
Fennel
Fennel is another delicious winter superfood—it tastes like licorice! It is also low in calories, yet rich n the phytonutrient anethole, which is considered to be a crucial part of the immune system. It’s also rich in vitamin c.
You can try eating it raw in your salad or cooking it into a stir-fry. You can enjoy it with a roast dinner.
Wheat germ
Wheat germ is also loaded with vitamin E, zinc, iron, and B vitamins, which support your body’s immune response. Fortunately, it is also delicious—it has a naturally nutty taste that makes it ideal for baking.
You can add it to your porridge, cereals, casseroles, salads, muffins, and bread.
These winter superfoods are certain to keep your immune system stronger and lessen the chances of getting struck down with winter flues, colds, and D&Vs.
