Boost Your Immunity: Essential Autumn-Winter Health Tips

Winter is not far off, so it's time to prepare yourself and your body for the cold. We decided to consult with Yulia Povorozniuk, a doctor-dietician, a therapist, a member of the Association of Dietitians of Ukraine, and to find out all the intricacies of care and support of strong immunity in the autumn-winter period.

Costless: We all well understand that we need to prepare our body for the winter. But how to do it - the question is open. What should you pay attention to prepare yourself?

Julia: First of all, it's a balanced, healthy diet. Autumn is pleasing to us with paints not only on the street, but also a multitude of bright vegetables, fruits, and berries, which are an excellent source of nutrients, and most importantly, vitamin C, which is extremely important for strengthening our immunity and protection against seasonal viruses.

Start every day with a glass of warm water, you can also add a couple of drops of lemon juice.

Use vegetables daily and in any convenient way - in the raw, baked, or stewed form.

Proteins are very important in the diet: eggs, fish, poultry, legumes, and dairy products - they are needed to support various biochemical processes in our body and the synthesis of antibodies that resist bacteria and viruses.

Fats: sea deep-water fish (herring, mackerel, wild trout, salmon, cod liver) are an Omega 3 source of unsaturated fatty acids that have a positive effect on brain function, increase the ability to learn, improve memory, and concentration. This is important for adults and children.

Also, do not forget about nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils (olive, coconut).

A very important role for a good state of health is rest. Try to go to bed no later than 23:00. It is important to go to sleep on the day that they awoke!

C.: What kind of autumn products can be called must-haves for use and why?

J.: Onions, garlic, ginger, and horseradish contain a lot of phytoncides fighting against viruses and bacteria. Very good, 1 clove of garlic to add to salads, and ginger to the tea.

According to studies that lasted 12 weeks (from November to February), participants consumed garlic daily, which allowed them to reduce their disease by 63% compared to the other group that did not use garlic.

Vegetables, herbs, berries, and fruits are sources of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is water-soluble and does not accumulate in the body, which means that its reserves in the body need to be replenished daily. The easiest way is to split a lemon into pieces and use it during the day.

And yet, autumn is a pumpkin season. Try to use it 2-3 times a week, for example, pumpkin porridges, soups, salads. This vegetable and its seeds have incredible benefits to the body due to a large amount of vitamins and minerals.

In the cold, the body spends more energy to keep warm. Therefore, pay attention to the caloric content of food, with a constantly low-calorie diet (about 1200 kcal), the body will find it more difficult to defend against bacteria.

What vitamins, vegetables, and fruits are needed to strengthen immunity?

C.: What vitamins does the body need, especially in the autumn?

J.: First of all, it is vitamin C (vegetables, herbs, berries, fruits) or vitamin C preparations. In the autumn-winter period, the prophylactic dose is 500 mg/day. The best forms of drugs are Ascorbate sodium, Esters C in combination with bioflavonoids, and liposomal vitamin C.

Also important is vitamin D. Prophylactic doses of 1500-2000 IU.

The source of vitamin D is primarily the sun. But from the middle of October to mid-April, vitamin D is not synthesized by the skin under the influence of UV rays.

It is therefore extremely important to get it with food, for example, cod liver, fatty fish, butter, sour cream, and mushrooms.

Vitamin D enhances immunity, helps to cope with a cold. It is also important for autoimmune, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and body mass deficiency.

Omega-3 fatty acids. Norm from 1000 to 2000 mg per day.

Also, in the autumn-winter period, you can drink a vitamin and mineral complex for health, beauty, and well-being. When choosing a complex, it is important to study the composition and form of vitamins and minerals.

For example, vitamin C should be in the form of sodium ascorbate, vitamin B9 - 5 methyltetrahydrofolates (not folic acid), and vitamin B12 - in the form of methylcobalamin.

And do not forget about the diversity of nutrition!

C.: An important issue (especially for women): how not to gain extra pounds during the autumn-winter period?

J.: When it comes to cold, the body spends more energy to warm up, so appetite increases and it's normal! And in order not to gain extra kilograms for the winter, you need to, of course, control and observe simple rules:

1. Use warm soups, salads, this kind of food is well satiating for a long time.
2. Remove refined sugar and white flour from the diet. You should also not abuse honey. Optimally, it is 1 teaspoon a day.
3. Be sure to try to stick to the diet - eat 3 times a day + snacks.
4. Consume enough protein, including animal: eggs, fish, poultry, meat, seafood, and cheese.
5. Each of the 3 main meals should contain proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
6. For example, an excellent breakfast option: porridge with butter + 2 eggs + vegetables/fruit. This type of food is well satiating, does not cause a sharp jump in glucose in the blood, and provides a long sense of satiation, a minimum of 4 hours.
7. Fruit, cereal, and bread are eaten in the first half of the day.
8. A light dinner is a guarantee of successful weight loss, as well as a decrease in the volume of the abdomen.
9. A break between dinner and breakfast is recommended for at least 12 hours. For example, dinner is at 18:00, and breakfast is not earlier than 7.00. This is the best detox for our cells, which promotes self-cleaning from cell waste.
10. In order not to eat at night, it is important to go to bed by 23:00.
11. Not enough sleep stimulates overeating for the next day by 500 kcal!
12. Do not forget about warm drinks: tea, water with lemon, drinks with ginger. They fill the stomach and eliminate the feeling of hunger. When you come home hungry, do not throw on food; first, drink warm water, place your food nicely on a plate, and slowly start to eat. To include enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract requires time, and if you eat with no hurry, taking a meal for 20 minutes, then your food will be well digested without causing discomfort, bringing pleasure and a sense of well-being for a long time.

Sure that the performance of these tips will help you and your relatives strengthen their immunity and be healthy throughout the autumn-winter season. Also, we would like to remind you that proper nutrition is a guarantee of excellent health and good moods in any period of the year!

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