Mid-way through winter, we’re all starting to feel the effects of the winter season. Diets have fallen by the wayside, the weather has struck many people down with seasonal fevers, and many of us are stuck cooped up in the house under artificial lighting. It’s fair to say that, of all the months, winter is the least conducive to good health.
But for many people, the new year is the heralding of that most ambitious of traditions;
New Year, New Me.
As we look longingly at the boxes of Christmas chocolates and biscuits while eating leaves, we thought it was time to take a look at the vitamins you’re likely to be deficient in this season. We also look at how a food intolerance test can help you identify the healthy stuff you need to be introducing to your diet this January.
Vitamin D
The sunshine vitamin. It’s almost as though we need to say no more. During winter, the shorter days combined with the increased cloud cover means that access to vitamin D rich sunlight is significantly restricted. A deficiency in vitamin D can have significant adverse impacts on health, including increased fatigue, depression, and increased risk of illness. Supplementation of vitamin D is increasingly common as the links between deficiency and poor mental health become more concrete. Our food intolerance test can help you identify whether you’re living in a vitamin d deficiency as it is one of 94 nutritional deficiencies tested.
Vitamin C
As fruit and veg gave way to chocolate and candy, it is likely your body fell into deficiency with several vitamins, one of which is Vitamin C. Vitamin C has been shown to help with the cold. While it doesn’t appear to protect you from getting the cold, it does seem to have a significant impact on the longevity of illness. So, while you might not help keep it at bay, you can make sure you aren’t struggling with the symptoms for longer than necessary. You can find vitamin C in a wide range of fruit and vegetables, including oranges, strawberries, peppers, and broccoli.
Vitamin A
Also known as retinol, vitamin A plays a vital role in two things that are essential if you’re going to try and feel healthier in winter. It plays a significant role in healthy eyesight, improving vision in darkness, which seems to be the default light setting for winter! It also helps play a vital role in supporting your immune system, which fights infectious disease and illness. During winter, you’re much more likely to get sick, so vitamin A is a vital tool in your battle to stay healthy.
Food Intolerance Test
A food intolerance test is essential before you introduce any new foods into your diet as food intolerance can introduce new symptoms or exacerbate existing ones. Our food intolerance test also assesses your deficiencies in the three vitamins mentioned as well as 91 more nutrition markers. It will also evaluate your intolerance to 725 food and non-food items. You can take yours here.
