7 Changes In Your Diet For Winter!

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 12:18

The winter has just started showering cold bursts on us and before it turns white with snow for Santa Claus's sledge, it is pertinent to acclimatise your diet to winter. You cannot have a standard diet that you follow in every season because each season makes its special demands on your body. The diet changes you make for the cold season will help you cope with the harsh weather and the toll it takes on your body. Depending on how severe the cold in your region is, you need to accommodate some special winter foods in your diet.

Here are the 5 most important diet changes that you have to make in your winter diet.

Tips To Plan A Winter Diet:

1. Less Of Carbs: During winter you are not losing energy due to sweating. So in the absence of energy sapping heat you can cut down on your carbohydrate intake easily. Eat less of rice and potatoes; move towards more fibrous foods like whole grains, cereals, etc.

2. More Proteins: You have to compensate the lack of carbohydrates in your food with something, so get some proteins into your winter diet. Proteins help builds your muscles and produce heat in your body to beat the chills.

3. Go Green: Your diet changes must consider the fact that you need extra vitamins and minerals to fight the cold weather infections. For this you need to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables like Brussel's sprouts, lettuce, spinach collards, etc. It helps build your immunity.

4. Winter Fruits: It is always better to eat seasonal fruits in the particular season because they come with special nutritional value. Include lots of special fruits for the cold season in your diet like pomegranate, oranges, kiwis, etc. You will notice that citrus fruits are the best for winter and they come in colours ranging from red to yellow to orange. These fruits teaming with Vitamin C helps you fight infections and are anti inflammatory.

5. Eggs: These protein rich food are included in this list not just for their nutritional value. They are great as winter foods because they produce heat in the body. You need that heat to combat the harsh chilling winters.

6. Red Meat: If you want to indulge in animal proteins then this is the time. Red meat again is a food that increases your body heat and that warmth is welcome in the cold weather; keep it lean though.

7. Hot Chocolate: If there was ever a time to enjoy chocolate in a guilt free way then it is now. Chocolate gives natural warmth to the body. This is the reason that when someone passes out cold the first thing they are given is a mug of hot chocolate to keep them warm. Go for dark unsweetened cocoa chocolates instead of milk chocolates as you will be consuming lots of good cholesterol.

Use these good health tips to adapt your diet to winter months.