With the temperature dropping and the sun hibernating, there’s no denying that winter is finally here—and with the season comes increased stress and strain on your immune system.
Yep, it’s not just your imagination that you tend to get sick more often during the cold-weather months. While colds can strike at any time, they are more common in the fall and winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu activity also peaks between the months of December and February.
While all this news may tempt you to hide inside under a blanket until April, that’s hardly a realistic approach to thwart illness. Instead, wash your hands more frequently and avoid hanging out with friends who are sick.
And consider giving your body an extra boost by adding a handful of winter vitamins and supplements to your daily regimen. By taking just a few extra pills each morning, you could be saving yourself literal headaches in the future.
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Here are five winter vitamins (and supplements) you should take this season:
- B-Vitamins
Now more than ever, Vitamin B is an essential vitamin to add to your daily diet due to its immune system boosting benefits. Vitamin B1 has also been shown to help with heart function. Vitamin B6 is of particular importance as it supports protein and glycogen metabolism and along with vitamins B2, B3, B5, and B12 can help reduce tiredness and fatigue to support training intensity.
However, it is the benefits of in particular Vitamin B-12 that is what makes Vitamin B a must-have supplement during the winter months and plays a role in producing “happy” brain chemicals that can positively affect mood. Moreover, low B-12 levels have been linked to depression. Depression and stress increase during the winter months and so Vitamin B is highly recommended to keep you feeling spry and more hopeful during the winter. It’s also been reported that vitamin B has been found to reduce fatigue, which can be essential since most of us have been tasked with working from home, and have higher productivity expectations from our jobs.
- Vitamin C
Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin c is an antioxidant that helps ward off free radicals. It’s also known as a close friend of the immune system as well and has been known to assist in fighting off the common cold during colder seasons. Since we don’t naturally create vitamin C on our own, it’s essential to get it through our diets with green vegetables like broccoli, citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, and strawberries). Of course, supplements are a great source as well.
