Supplements for surviving the season
Winter is a time for holidays, parties, family, and friends – along with stress, colds, and flu. Every silver lining has its corresponding cloud! To help you keep on the sunny side of this season, make sure you’re getting adequate amounts of these winter-surviving vitamins/minerals.
Vitamin C
Having healthy amounts of vitamin C in your system won’t prevent a cold, but it can shorten its duration and reduce its symptoms. That’s worth a lot. In addition, vitamin C is necessary for maintenance of healthy connective tissue and helps wound healing.
Vitamin D
Days are shorter in winter and it’s hard for us to get enough sunshine to make optimal amounts of vitamin D. Deficiency has been linked to a lowered immune system, impaired wound healing, depression, and increased risk of respiratory infections like colds, bronchitis and pneumonia.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral also known for shortening the duration of a cold and reducing its symptoms. This is especially true if zinc is taken at the first sign of symptoms. And like vitamin C, zinc helps with wound healing.
B Vitamins
B vitamins are essential for combatting the effects of stress, maintaining a healthy nervous system and creating neurotransmitters responsible for positive mood. B12 in particular can be helpful for seasonal affective disorder, or SAD Syndrome.
REFERENCES
Hippocratic Post
Integrative Nutrition
Just Vitamins
