Winter has us in its grasp now… temperatures all around the UK are regularly going below zero, it’s dark in the afternoons and the mornings don’t lighten up until 8 or so!
Winter colds are abound, and the time where we burn the candle at both ends is approaching fast. Less light exposure, more drinking, late nights, parties, fewer healthy food choices, possible stress rises and reduced exercise.
I’m not putting this out there as a sign of impending doom - it’s just an explanation as to why we’re more vulnerable in the winter.
It can also serve as a warning as to what we need to do to protect ourselves better. Health is about balance - so the further we go one way, the more we have to go the other in order to maintain health. If we’re sleeping less drinking more, and eating more unhealthy foods then we have to help ourselves rebalance that.
It means supplementing our diet well. It means when we get a chance, exercising effectively. If we’re sleeping less at night, schedule in naps or ‘recovery sleeps’, where we can have a longer sleep to recover.
In this article we’re going to discuss winter supplementation and lifestyle factors to help you stay healthy across the Christmas period, and the rest of the winter…
Winter Supplementation - Getting it Right
To stay healthy throughout the winter, it’s less about supplement quantity and more about quality. We have three major obstacles to deal with…
Lack of sunlight - reduced vitamin D levels
Prevalence of winter bugs - immune system pressures
Sleep issues through booze - general health decline
What we need to do then is supplement to address these points. We can’t rely on supplements alone to cure all of our ills and prevent anything going wrong with us, but they help. There are also lifestyle factors I’ll address later on in the article to help you too.
Vitamin D
This is arguably the most important supplement you’ll take all winter. Throughout the summer months we generally enjoy benefits of the sunshine (as long as you’re out in it), which naturally take care of our vitamin D requirements. In the winter though, things change.
We see less of the sun. We’re less exposed to the sun. Finally, the sun isn’t as powerful, so even if you get some exposure to it, you won’t enjoy the benefits as much. What this means is we need to take a vitamin D supplement to help us.
I could talk all day on the benefits of vitamin D, but I’ll summarise them with this list. Here’s the benefits you’ll experience from having healthy vitamin D levels…
Reduced cancer risk
Lower obesity and diabetes risk
Improved brain function
Stronger bones
Improved mood
There are plenty more, but this is a blog post, not an essay! You can read more about the benefits of Vitamin D here.
Multivitamins and minerals to support immune function
In an ideal world, we’d meet all of our vitamin and mineral needs from whole food sources. The reality is however, we just don’t manage it. That can be for a number of reasons, including lack of food seasonality - we simply might not get food at its best in the winter. We don’t always make good food choices either. That’s not a good thing, but it’s the reality of life.
We can accept this, and make a point of addressing the issue. We know that vitamins and minerals play a key role in immune function (as well as general health), and we know that we’re unlikely to meet our needs with diet alone. Add to this the increased demands as we’re exposed to the winter and Christmas period stresses, and it becomes clear we need help.
A good quality multivitamin will help to plus gaps that our diet can’t fill. A daily multivitamin will provide both vitamin and mineral support, and whilst it might not be perfect, it’ll be a good second.
Sleep help
We know that sleep is the bedrock of recovery - there’s no element of health that isn’t improved with good quality sleep. Promoting quality sleep isn’t easy though - it depends on a lot of lifestyle factors such as caffeine and alcohol consumption being limited, reduced exposure to screens, reducing stress levels etc.
Assuming all of these issues are being address, one of the more surprising supplements that have been linked with improving sleep are amino acids. This is particularly true when paired with vitamin D (which you should already be taking!)
For a long time amino acids were a staple of the bodybuilding world. They were seen as a muscle building supplement only, but a lot of research has been done about the impact protein has on other aspects of health and this appears to be one of them
Improve sleep and you’ll improve a lot of other health markers, so make amino acids a go-to on your night time supplement lists.
Lifestyle factors to consider
The reality is that all of the supplements in the world won’t undo the damage that long-term poor choices make. They’ll help to improve matters, certainly. If you think though that surviving on 5 hours of sleep every night, eating a crappy diet, drinking every night and never exercising won’t matter if you’re taking your supplements, you’d be wrong.
Very wrong!
Here’s a few tips to help stay healthy…
Exercise when you can. It doesn't have to be a brutal, lung-burning workout (especially if you’re under-slept), but do what you can. Lift weights, do a bit of cardio. Stay active - it’s really important to move your body. It’s great for body and brain.
If you’re drinking alcohol, don’t drink caffeine too. One of those substances impacts sleep… adding them together is a recipe for sleep disaster.
On that point…
There’s a concept known as ‘sleep banking’ that you can use. It’s where you sleep for longer in the lead up to a time when you’re likely to be sleep deprived. So for example if you know that you have a party on Saturday night, you can allow for the reduced sleep by getting a couple of good nights in on the nights beforehand.
Research shows it’s an effective aid for short term sleep deprivation (but don’t rely on it as a long term strategy - it’s very much a short term thing!)
When you get the chance, eat well. Chances are any food you eat at a party isn’t going to be great for you, so when you get the chance, stack up on the good stuff. Start your day with plenty of protein. Get your fruit and vegetables in when you can. Smoothies and soups are great for this.
Drink plenty of water. As Paul Chek says… the solution to pollution is dilution. It’s hard to argue with that!
Let the AdMac Fitness Personal Trainers help you stay healthy!
With personal training studios in South Woodford and Bow, let the best personal trainers in East London help you to look after yourself this winter…
For more information on who we are, what we do and how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, contact us on… 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our locations are…
AdMac Fitness Bow: 153-159 Bow Rd, London E3 2SE
AdMac Fitness South Woodford: Unit 4 Marlborough Business Centre, 96 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18 1AD