Stay healthy in winter, fit into spring!
Winter time is cold time – but it doesn’t have to be that way! Whether it’s breathing exercises or diet, even simple, everyday things can help you lose weight. With these tips you can do a lot of good for your immune system and get through the winter healthy.
Eating healthy in winter
During the cold winter months, many people feel like eating hearty, warming meals. But this does not necessarily mean that you can not eat healthy food. Our local winter vegetables in particular are full of healthy nutrients and vitamins. These include:
- Savoy cabbage,
- Chinese cabbage,
- Celery,
- Broccoli.
Popular cabbage varieties such as savoy cabbage or Chinese cabbage contain a lot of vitamin C. For comparison: Savoy cabbage contains as much vitamin C as lemons! Potatoes, peppers and broccoli are also true vitamin C bombs.
So if you want to get into spring healthy, treat yourself regularly to a delicious stew with these vegetables. As a guideline, you can remember that you should eat at least five handfuls of fruit and vegetables per day.
Vitamin C is important for the body‘s defenses, it protects and strengthens the body’s cells. Zinc is also indispensable. You can replenish your body’s zinc levels with foods like poultry and eggs.
Seafood such as oysters and shrimp also contain a lot of it. Furthermore, the vital trace element is contained in shepherd’s cheese and legumes (best utilized by the body when pickled).
Drink enough
In the summer, most people are much more careful to drink enough. Heat and sun provide a natural feeling of thirst. In winter, however, it is easy to drink too little. But not sweating does not mean that you should not take care of your fluid balance.
Especially in the cold months, the dry air from the heating system causes problems for our mucous membranes in the throat and nose. However, the mucous membranes only function well as a natural protective barrier against bacteria and viruses if they do not dry out.
A fluid intake of at least two liters per day supports the mucous membranes and thus the body’s defenses.
Get plenty of exercise and fresh air
With moderate exercise you train not only your muscles, but also your defenses. The adrenaline from exercise boosts your immune system. Regular exercise can not only protect you from colds and infectious diseases, but also from cancer.
Ideally, you should not completely exhaust yourself, but exercise at a low to medium intensity. If the weather permits it, nothing stands in the way of outdoor sports even in winter. Fresh air is another factor that is important for your health, especially in winter.
This is also related to mucous membranes, among other things, as good air is a boon to the mouth and nose. Try to spend at least half an hour a day outside, ideally moving around. Your body enjoys the oxygen and daylight.
By the way, you can find detailed information about the importance of healthy breathing on atem-kunst.de. Breathing exercises for relaxation are also described there, which can help you to keep fit.
Time out and relaxation instead of stress
Permanent stress is a real health killer, because it affects the immune system. The number of immune cells in the blood decreases with constant stress, and you get sick more quickly. It is all the more important to relax more often.
Regular meditation or yoga exercises have been shown to lower the body’s stress level and thus help us to stay healthy. Even just consciously coming to rest and simple breathing exercises are ideal for bringing calm into your everyday life.
Important in the exercise is the perception of the breath. Breathe deeply through the nose into the abdomen, hold the breath for a short time and then exhale again. Breathe out through the mouth in a long stream. After just a few minutes, you will feel yourself becoming more relaxed.
Daily breathing exercises can help get you through the winter in good health.
Sauna visits for the body’s defenses not only in winter
Regular sauna visits (at least once a week) also strengthen your immune system. On the one hand, the warm temperatures relax you and lower your stress level. On the other hand, the alternation between heat and cold trains and strengthens the blood vessels. This ultimately benefits the immune system again.
If you don’t want to or can’t go to the sauna, at least do your body some good with Kneipp baths. Kneipp „hardens“, so strengthens the immune defenses and the body’s circulatory system by increasing blood flow.
In a classic Kneipp facility, you wade in cold water. But also quite simply under the domestic shower one can accomplish alternating showers. For about one minute, arms and legs are showered off cold (about 17 ° water temperature), then you shower for a few minutes warm to hot.
You should repeat this procedure a few times and preferably every time you shower. In addition to strengthening the immune system, you will also notice that Kneipp or alternating showers will give you a lot of energy, tighten your skin and greatly invigorate your body.
The „Kneipp“ is very nicely explained in a Youtube video from ARTE, you can find it here.
Summary
A poor immune defense is often not so much a consequence of the colder temperatures, but only a consequence of an unhealthy lifestyle. Therefore, even in winter you should remember to exercise a lot outside and eat healthy food to stay fit.