Winter Foods That Keep You Warm and Healthy

In winter, darkness falls early, and daylight hours are shorter. This impacts our mood and eating habits.

Serotonin, the hormone released during daylight, helps balance our mood. In winter, its release decreases due to fewer daylight hours. In contrast, melatonin—the sleep hormone released at dusk—increases. This makes us feel tired, prompting us to seek more food.

As temperatures drop, the body seeks warmth. One way to increase body heat is through carbohydrates—sugars, sweets, and pastries.

Winter nutrition focuses on warming the body and offering essential vitamins and minerals to increase warmth and boost immunity, all without adding regrettable excess fat.

Every food provides different energy levels. Some offer cold energy, some neutral, and others warm energy.

Each season offers its suitable foods. In winter, we need foods with warm energy to help prevent illnesses. Cooked and hot dishes like stews and soups are preferable over sandwiches and raw vegetables. Consider incorporating legumes like beans, chickpeas, and lentils, which offer warming energy and a long-lasting feeling of fullness. It’s not advisable to combine soups with cream, soup nuts, or creamy toppings. Instead, try a few croutons or pumpkin seeds, considered the best choices.

Our thirst and hunger mechanisms are disrupted in winter. We feel less thirsty and tend to drink less, even though the body signals thirst, and we eat instead. However, heating a room with a heater or air conditioner causes us to lose fluids through the skin without realizing it, so it’s important to drink to replenish them. Try herbal infusions like cinnamon, sage, chamomile, anise, and star anise to help strengthen and warm up.

When it’s cold, the body demands energy to stay warm, which increases hunger. Therefore, ensure you engage in physical activity. It will improve your mood—boost serotonin release, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the craving for carbohydrates. If weather conditions prevent going out, exercise indoors.

White vegetables like cabbage, turnip, and radish are suitable for strengthening. Conversely, dairy products have cold energy and are unsuitable.