It’s the time of year when you’re likely to stay under a warm blanket. But exercise in a winter morning and good nutrition are vital to keeping your immune system strong through the winter months, when we’re most vulnerable to the 200 varieties of virus that cause cold and flu.
Fighting flu
Vaccination is the most effective defense against the flu, but it only covers three main strains and offers no protection against a head cold that can leave you feeling just as ill as a mild flu. Vaccination is not widely practiced in our country. While cold and flu might be our worst enemy, plenty of other viruses do the winter rounds. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which causes pneumonia and chest infections like bronchiolitis, is common and usually accounts for most hospital admissions of young children in winter.
Other winter problems to watch out for include parainfluenza (which causes croup), rhinovirus (runny nose), rotavirus (diarrhoea), adenovirus (pneumonia, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis), coronavirus (common cold).
Most people take the right precautions, but those most vulnerable to winter sickness are the young, the elderly, the immuno-suppressed, chronically ill and smokers. And if you do get sick, keep your distance, stay home, don’t do anything strenuous, rest, eat well and you should be back to normal within days. Take every possible protection from winter and never hesitate to wear different winter clothes for different body part.
Food as a medicine
You must have enough protein in your diet to enable the body to respond to infection, while iron, zinc, vitamin C and amino acids such as lysine (found in beef and poultry) also bolster immunity. If you have good levels of those things to start with, then you’d have pretty good resistance to infection. Boosting your diet is a better way to go than supplements. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so if you’re tucking into a steak – which ticks the three boxes of being high in protein, iron and zinc – have some tomato and capsicum on the side.
Maintaining a healthy diet during winter is also good for the skin. Eat a diet rich in vegetables and increase your intake of foods that moisturise skin from the inside, such as omega-3-rich fish, walnuts and linseeds. If you’ve already got a cold, Fischer says to dose up on garlic, ginger and hot lemon drinks and eats chicken soup to help reduce mucous production.
Skin and hair care
Skin and hair tends to dry out in winter. The skin produces less oil, and it’s dehydrated further as we have hotter showers and are less physically active. Use a cream for thicker hair and a spray for finer hair.
Look for brands that contain omega-3 oils, lipids and vitamin E. Topically, look for moisture creams and lotions that contain hyaluronic acid to quench thirsty skin and help maintain its protective lipid barrier.
Take care of your lips
Having healthy lips in winter may be a dream come true for many. You tend to have very dry and cracked lips every winter. The skin on your lips is very thin and has no oil glands to prevent it from chapping.
Even the most expensive lipstick will not cure the dryness of your lips. Women, who like to chew on their lips wearing lipstick, will consume about 4 to 9 pounds of lipstick in their life time! Aging plays a very important role in causing dry lips. Biting your lips will result in bleeding and cracked lips. Licking your lips is the worst habit! So you have to avoid bad habits.
To protect your lips quit smoking! It will completely spoil your lips and it may become too late to regain the color and texture of your lips. Always keep your lips moisturized by applying a natural lip balm. Apply lip balm before going to bed. Licking your lips is a bad habit. Yes, it may look like it is keeping your skin moisturised for a moment, but it worsens the situation!
