Best supplements for the colder months ahead: Three pills you need to take

Around this time of year, catching a cold is a high possibility. Considering the coronavirus pandemic too, it’s vital to top up your immune system as much as possible.

Aside from frequently washing your hands, and staying away from any sniffling noses, you can easily stock up on the right nutrients to put off a viral infection.

Holistic nutritionist Danielle Pashko stated how “70 to 80 percent of our immune system lives in our gut”.

For this reason, she recommends people to “use probiotics regularly” – widely available in supplement form.

The strains of bacteria is said to support diversity in your gut, which can strengthen your immune response this winter.

As the sunlight hours dwindle, and the evenings start earlier and earlier, you won’t get as much vitamin D as you would during the summer.

This is because vitamin D is synthesised when the sun’s rays land on exposed skin.

And, during winter, not only is the sun not as strong, most people cover up to keep themselves warm.

Pashko advises people to take a daily vitamin D supplement to keep healthy.

And she’s not the only one! The NHS suggests people should consider “taking 10mcg (micrograms) of vitamin D” every day during autumn and winter.

This is “to keep your bones and muscles healthy”, as “it’s difficult for pole to get enough vitamin D from food alone”.

Food sources of vitamin D include oily fish, such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel.

Signs of a vitamin D deficiency are outline by the Cleveland Clinic include fatigue.

Other symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency consists of bone pain, muscle weakness, muscles aches or cramp, and depression.

These are side effects one would really want to avoid, especially as this winter will be hard enough for everybody.

Another supplement to consider taking while it’s cold outside is echinacea.

The popular herbal supplement is believed to stimulate the immune system by boosting the number of white blood cells.

The University of Rochester Medical Centre explained white blood cells “protect you against illness and disease”.

Otherwise known as leukocytes, they “flow through your bloodstream to fight viruses, bacteria and other foreign invaders that threaten your health”.

White blood cells have short lifespan of up to three days, they continuously need to be made.

Wellness expert Leigh Winters recommends supplementing with 300mg of echinacea extract three times a day when feeling poorly.

Echinacea is also available as tea or syrup, as well as the supplement form.

And there you have it – three supplements your body will be better off with this winter: probiotics, vitamin D and echinacea.

Leave a comment below if you’ve got any immune-boosting tricks you live by come the winter months.

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