Staying healthy during the winter months

It's much more difficult to eat healthy during the winter months because unlike summer, fruit and fresh produce choices are limited during this season. But that's not an excuse for not consuming your recommended 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables. Eating healthy during the winter season is very important for your body because it keeps you strong and more able to prevent and fight off possible illness.

To be honest I think the best thing about winter is the 'food'. Winter is the season of root vegetables like turnips and parsnips; squash, brussels sprouts; cabbage; and more. Winter root vegetables are healthy, delicious and easy to prepare. They can be roasted, cooked and mashed or pureed, made into winter hearty soups or added to stews. And think about all the juicy fruits available too: grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, pomegranates and more. Most citrus fruits are known to be high in vitamin C and potassium. We all know that consuming foods rich in vitamin C can help us recover faster from a cold or flu. Most fruits and vegetables are also rich in antioxidants, thought to reduce formation of substances that cause cancer and heart disease. Popping a pill to increase antioxidants in your body is probably not as beneficial as eating the fruits and vegetables that contain them naturally.

So chase away the winter sniffles and sneezes by including these fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet and experimenting with new recipes.

Have a wonderful winter!

Posted by Ant @ Thursday, December 8, 2005 | Permalink