Top Warming Foods for a Healthy Winter Diet: How to Stay Warm & Healthy During Winter

During the cold, winter months many of us experience a craving to eat more. Not only is our body expending more energy to keep warm and needs more calories, the act of digestion also raises body temperature slightly.

The natural tendency to eat more in winter, however, leads to the issue of putting on weight. Unfortunately, the food most often reached for includes high fat, high calorie comfort foods like meat, cheese and desserts. Overeating at night overloads metabolism and diminishes digestion, also leading to a drop in body temperature. The solution is to eat a little of nutrient dense warming foods rather than more of calorie dense foods.

Much of the animal based foods that fall into the warming category such as fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and venison make good winter food options, but such foods also contribute to weight gain. Better winter alternatives include low calorie warming food options such as fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, whole grains, herbs and spices, nuts and seeds.

Winter Fruits and Vegetables

Most winter fruits and vegetables come with nutrients required for the season. Seasonal winter fruits such as strawberries, oranges, and pomegranates, and vegetables that grow in winter such as onions, carrots, capsicum, beans, beetroot, cabbage, and broccoli are rich in vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants that boost immunity and keep the body warm. Ginger and garlic are two naturally warm vegetables that find widespread use as a traditional medicine to raise body temperature and boost immunity.

The human digestive system produces more heat on digesting raw foods rather than on digesting cooked food, and fruits and vegetables best serve the purpose of winter diet when eaten raw.

Some suggested winter recipes involving fruit and vegetables include:

• Fresh orange or pomegranate juice with a trace of mint provide the body with much needed Vitamin C, iron, and phytochemicals that cleanse the system and ward off germs.
• A mixed vegetable broth at dinner provides the body with adequate fiber to keep warm during the night.
• Summer dried apricots, cherries, figs, and cinnamon mixed with apple juice provides a highly nutrient-dense snack low in calories.

Herbs and Spices

Traditional herbs and spices such as black pepper, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, fennel, nutmeg, and coriander, though rare to find, are the best winter seasonings to warm the body and boost immunity. Some applications of herbs and spices during winter include the following:

• Vegetable soup seasoned with assorted herbs and spices clears blocked sinuses.
• Hot tea flavored with grated ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon warms the body and boosts immunity.
• Gingerroot tea is slow to warm up the body, but the warming effects lasts longer than normal tea.
• Cayenne pepper powder increases body temperature and blood circulation.
• Spicy chicken soup with garlic, ginger, and black pepper helps recovery from the dampening effects of cold weather

Other Winter Foods

Apart from winter fruits and vegetables, and herbs and spices, good winter foods include whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds.

• Whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat, oats, and quinoa are rich in nutrients, fiber, and phytochemicals to provide adequate energy to keep the body warm the whole day.
• Beans are an excellent source of protein that not only help in body rebuilding and repair, but also provide fiber for warmth without the accompanying cholesterol and saturated fats of meat products.
• Nuts and seeds are warming foods high in minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, and essential fatty acids. Walnuts provide the body with Omega 3 fatty acid, and sunflower and pumpkin seeds with Omega 6 fatty acids.

Foods to Avoid in Winter

Anti-nutrients such as alcohol and coffee, foods containing excessive sugar such as aerated drinks, and processed foods such as chips destroy much of the benefit gained by consuming nutrient rich warming foods. Such foods contribute to dehydration, dampen digestion, and weaken immunity.

Hot foods such as chili, Mexican tacos, Tabasco sauce and others give a napalm blast causing a rapid rise of body temperature, but the warming effects disappear soon in an equally rapid fashion. The correct selection of winter warming foods provides the body with much needed warmth and immunity.

References

1. Dasgupta, Meghna Nanda (December 2008). “15 Foods to Keep You Warm.” Prevention Magazine.
2. “Top Ten Health Tips for Winter.” Alternative Healthzine. Retrieved from https://www.alternative-healthzine.com/html/0200_3.html
3. “Healthy Eating with the Seasons.” Whfoods.com. Retrieved from https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=28