Beat the blues and stay active this winter

As the last rays of summer fade away we trade our floral dresses and sandals for cosy jumpers and ankles boots with winter upon us. Although it can be tempting to stay indoors during the cold months, regular exercise helps to keep your muscles and bones strong, increases your circulation and energy levels and helps to keep your overall health at its peak. Don’t let your health disappear along with the sunshine! Below we have our top tips for exercising during the winter and the best methods of ensuring the cold doesn’t stop you from being active.

Tired today…Tired everyday!

During the dark winter months, many of us feel increasingly fatigued and our energy levels tend to take a hit as we reminiscence about summer. For some, this may be a result of vitamin B12 deficiency. B vitamins play an important role in converting your food into energy for your body. Most B vitamins are found quite easily in fresh fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, meat and fish. Yet, vitamin B12 is found only in animal foods and it can also be quite hard for the body to absorb from food. Vitamin B12 deficiency affects the body’s ability to produce red blood cells, causing symptoms such as tiredness, fatigue and muscle weakness. Constantly feeling fatigued can have a big effect on your motivation to exercise, especially when the temperatures drop over winter! So, to ensure you are getting the most out of your workout be sure to keep your vitamin B12 levels topped up. Try our Vitamin B12 tablets, which provide a healthy dose of B12 to help reduce tiredness and boost your energy, so you continue to stay active and keep your body strong throughout the winter.

Winter Aches and Pains

As we get older those aches and joint pains are more likely to occur and powering through a demanding exercise regime can become difficult, especially when the cooler temperatures arise. Yet, whilst some may believe exercising can increase joint pain, it can actually be the opposite! Regular exercise can strengthen the muscles around the joints, encouraging blood flow to the joints and preventing stiffness. Alongside exercising to alleviate pains, turmeric is known as an effective means of helping to prevent joint inflammation. Traditionally used in Chinese and Indian medicine, it is packed-full of antioxidants and has been hailed for its anti-inflammatory properties.  To help manage your joint pain over the months filled with icy winds and low temperatures, try our CurQuMax tablets. They contain curcumin, which is the main active ingredient in turmeric, helping to support your joint health as well as providing a natural pain relief for achy joints.

Slow and Steady

As the temperatures hit the lower end of the scale, your muscles and joints may take longer to get into the swing of things before a workout. In the winter months, make sure you dedicate more time to your warm-up and stretches than usual. This will help ease your muscles and joints into your movements to help prevent injuries and decrease that stiff feeling you get at the start of a workout.

Goodbye sunshine

We tend to suffer from the winter blues as the days become shorter and the rays of sunshine are scarce. While we retreat indoors for warmth and cups of hot tea, our exposure to vitamin D is reduced due to the lack of sunshine. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, so low levels can impact your physical ability to complete your usual exercise regime. To make sure your bones are kept strong and healthy, keeping your vitamin D levels topped up is important. Try our Once A Day Sunshine D supplement, which provides you with a healthy level of vitamin D to help support your bone health throughout the winter months.

Cold Hand’s, Warm Heart

There’s an old saying ‘cold hand’s, warm heart’, yet during chilly winter months this may not be true. The change in weather can affect your heart, with the cold weather constricting your blood vessels, which can lead to higher blood pressure. This can be especially significant when exercising in the cold, as your heart works harder to keep your body warm. So, it’s important to wrap up in layers whilst exercising outdoors, which you can remove once your body is warmed up and then replace when cooling down after your workout. For some extra help to keep your heart healthy and improve your circulation during winter, try our Kyolic 1000, which promotes normal heart, liver and immune functions as well as improving blood circulation and supporting healthy blood pressure levels.