What ever passes in England for a Summer has definitely gone, now the nights are drawing in and I am sure that most people have their heating on – Winter is coming.

 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin, in that our bodies can synthesise it in our skin when in contact with sunlight. The problem with winter is there is no sunlight, and so we cannot synthesise it ourselves meaning all the vitamin D our body will get in the coming months is dietary.
This isn’t too much of a problem, as vitamin D can be found in a number of common foods such as milk and eggs, which many people eat regularly. The problem is that, although we will be getting some vitamin D, we will not be getting the same amount as we would have been in the ‘sunny’ months. As a result of this mild vitamin D deficiency can occur which can result in a weakened immune system and a increase of heart disease for older people. Prolonged vitamin D deficiency will lead to diseases such as rickets and a severe increased risk in cancer development.
So to make sure that you are consuming enough vitamin D over the winter months, here are a few foods high in it.

 

  • Oily fish (especially mackerel)
  • Milk
  • Eggs (yolk)
  • Button Mushrooms

Failing these foods, fish oil supplements like cod liver oil do provide a high dosage of vitamin D (as well as omega-3 fatty acids).

 

Inactivity

No one wants to go out when it is cold and dark. Children and adults alike both stay inside more and spend more and more time in-front of computers and televisions. However, this inactivity is a growing problem in the western world, and causes less energy to be used and so people gain weight (which they then promise to lose by next year). This excess body fat will result in an increased risk of a vast number of diseases, from heart disease to diabetes, and it is important to not only ensure that you are not gaining fat, but also keeping active during winter.

Image courtesy of Rachel Kramer

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