Tag: vitamins
Best Nutrition Tips During Those Cold Winter Months
Follow these nutrition tips to stay on top if it all during those cold winter months.
These cold winter months can be daunting but it never hurts to follow a good set of nutrition tips. For those in cold and snowy places, winter can be one of those times you just charge through. Even if you enjoy that kind of weather, it does get old eventually. Putting an emphasis on your nutrition is important and knowing what to eat, and what is best to eat, can improve not only your nutrition, but those other elements like immunity, sleep, and mental health that are so vital to staying healthy in these cold winter months.
Winter also has all of these fun holidays. Regardless of what you celebrate, December is a time of many different holidays with festivities moving into the New Year. Maybe your diet took a bit of a hit as you look to capitalize on those New Year’s Resolution goals. Regardless, you still have a few more months left of winter and that cannot be forgotten. Knowing the best nutrition tips for staying healthy in these cold months can help greatly as you seek to continue gains without falling victim to the icy temperatures of these remaining winter months.
Let’s take a look at some top nutrition tips for these cold months. With the right tips, we’ll talk how weather can affect your and your nutrition and why it matters to eat well for immunity, sleep, and other essential elements. The right approach will take you straight through the cold and into those more warm months we all know and love.
Best Nutrition Tips During Cold Months
Following the right nutrition tips can help greatly as you chug through these remaining winter months. Some of the best nutrition tips include:
Plenty Of Protein
Protein is essential for any time of year, but especially now during these colder months. By working to fill you up, protein can keep your body working so you feel more settled and still see great gains (1). Especially if you are working out, definitely don’t neglect protein.
Add Oats
Start your day with something warm and filling like a bowl of oatmeal. Great for weight loss and digestion, while being nutritious and high in antioxidants, oats can benefit your training and overall health in a number of ways. Plus, you can add fruits, nuts, and other ingredients to make this dish something to enjoy (2).
More Seed & Nuts
Seeds and nuts are loaded with vitamins and minerals that can work to boost your immune system and aid in other bodily functions to better your health and performance. Grab a pack of nuts and have a healthy and worthwhile snack as you sit under that blanket.
Load Up On Leafy Greens
Regardless of weather, you need to make sure your leafy greens are piled high on your plate. Keeping up those energy levels and muscle strength and working to fight inflammation will make your life that much easier once those winter months start to fade (3).
Vitamins, Vitamins, Vitamins!
It is imperative you keep up with vitamins and minerals, whether that be through the food you eat or through a great supplement in a multivitamin (4). However you get them, make sure you get plenty to keep you as healthy as possible in these freezing temps!
Soups & Stews
You can’t go wrong with soups and stews for these will provide for a warm dish while also adding variety to your workout. Whether it be broth-based or something more hearty, you get the best of both worlds with a great bowl of soups and stews.
How The Weather Affects You & Your Nutrition?
Depending on what the weather is, this can have a real effect on you. We aren’t necessarily talking eating a scalding soup on a hot day type different. Or drinking a cold slushy in twenty degree weather. More so how nutrition and how you feel impacts how you respond in certain weather. Eating the right foods can affect mood and work to alleviate any of those unnecessary negative thoughts and emotions that can drag you down. Putting an emphasis on what you eat during certain times of the year can be a game changer for your goals.
You Want To Make Sure You Eat For…
Immunity
Staying healthy is key and making sure your nutrition is centered around boosting immunity can prove to be very effective throughout these cold months. Plenty of vitamins and those immune boosting foods can help greatly in this endeavor. A more healthy you is able to work harder and smarter to see only the best gains for yourself, your health, and overall physical wellness.
Sleep
Sleep is so important and working to focus your nutrition around sleep can better prepare you for the long road ahead when it comes to boosting all areas of your health and wellness. With proper sleep, you can better tackle any workout that comes your way while also staying sharp mentally to handle those everyday problems.
Mental Wellness
During these cold months, we can’t take our mental health for granted. Working with key foods that give us a boost to mental wellness will keep us active and engaged when the weather gets gloomy. A positive mindset and attitude will work for your benefit tenfold as you seek the best for all areas of your gains.
Wrap Up
With the right nutrition tips for those cold winter months, you can better tackle any and all stressors that come your way and start to hinder progress. Those months can get cold and dark, but with the right approach you can handle all stressors and negative emotions associated with a cold winter. Nutrition is key and boosting things like immunity, sleep, and mental wellness only add to your ability to see the best gains possible. Follow these tips and see how they can help you plow right these through these cold winter months.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Paddon-Jones, D.; et al. (2008). “Protein, weight management, and satiety”. (source)
Rasane, P.; et al. (2015). “Nutritional advantages of oats and opportunities for its processing as value added foods- a review”. (source)
Edith Cowan University (2021). “Green leafy vegetables essential for muscle strength”. (source)
Kamangar, F.; et al. (2012). “Vitamin and Mineral Supplements: Do We Really Need Them?”. (source)
Vitamin D3 For Powerlifting
As I touched upon in a previous article concerning having your blood work done regularly, I found out in early 2016 that I was Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D plays a central role in energy levels, the immune system, and even muscle strength. If you aren’t already taking a multi-vitamin and […]
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Micronutrients For Bodybuilding – Water and Vitamins
Water Water and vitamins are essential for proper body functioning but is commonly overlooked when considering proper micronutrients intakes. Even mild dehydration, loss of 2-4% body weight, can have a significantly negative impact on athletic performance. Some dehydration during activity is inevitable, gives the fact that during high-intensity activity an individual could sweat […]
The post Micronutrients For Bodybuilding – Water and Vitamins appeared first on What Steroids.
Why Most Multivitamins are Crap (and How to Know What isn’t) ?
How Much Do Americans Spend on Multivitamins? Did you know that Americans have spent almost $20 billion on multivitamins and vitamin supplements last year? They have spent so much money on multivitamins and vitamin supplements hoping that taking such products will decrease their risk of developing cancer, dementia, cardiac ailments, and […]
The post Why Most Multivitamins are Crap (and How to Know What isn’t) ? appeared first on What Steroids.
B Vitamins: Importance, Benefits & Why You Need Them
These all important vitamins are the key to giving you the best for health and performance.
Maybe you’ve heard of B vitamins. You’ve definitely heard of a multivitamin. And hopefully you have one in your routine as this supplement is an easy and convenient way to see those desired gains you want most. By keeping you healthier overall and aiding in optimal wellness, you give yourself a greater chance at seeing serious success, especially for the fact that you can grind as hard as you’d like without the fear of illness or injury.
B vitamins are included in multivitamins and while some people supplement with them individually, taking a well-designed and properly formulated multivitamin can do the trick. B vitamins hold a special importance for our bodies as they are responsible for many important bodily functions. Without them, we would suffer. So making sure these stay at the top of your list is of the utmost important and can greatly benefit your gains inside and out of the gym.
Let’s take a look at B vitamins so we know exactly what we’re working with. Knowing the importance of them, what each individual one does, and how these can benefit your health and performance will keep them at the forefront of your routine so you never suffer a deficiency again.
Importance Of B Vitamins
B vitamins are important for they play a role in a host of bodily functions. Most notably, these vitamins are important for forming every cell in your body, particularly those nerve cells. We’ll get into more specifics of what each B vitamin does later on, but in terms of a nutrient that has the ability to impact not only your overall health and wellness, but also your training and performance, B vitamins are most certainly those to pay attention to. And make sure you get plenty of.
Types & Benefits Of B Vitamins
When it comes to B vitamins, there are 8 to know. Each does its own respective job by working to provide for certain benefits to better your overall health and performance. Together, each of these vitamins help enzymes do a host of jobs like releasing energy from carbohydrates, transporting oxygen and energy, among plenty of others (1). Let’s take a look at each of these B vitamins and note what their respective role and benefits are for your body.
B1 (Thiamin)
Vitamin B1 is often seen as the “anti-stress” vitamin for its role in helping our immune systems out when things get tough. It will also help form adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is a major source for cellular reactions (2).
B2 (Riboflavin)
A powerful antioxidant, B2 helps fight off free radicals and can facilitate cell growth and red blood cell production. It will also work with B6 and B9 to turn them into more usable and readily available forms (3).
B3 (Niacin)
B3 plays a serious role in converting carbs, fats, and alcohol into energy. But other notable benefits are its ability to produce various sex and stress-related hormones and boost circulation (4).
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
Another great vitamin to help with red blood cell production (5), B5 works to also maintain a healthy digestive tract and synthesize cholesterol. This is found in almost all whole foods so getting this into your body shouldn’t be terribly difficult.
B6 (Pyridoxine)
B6 is vital for producing neurotransmitters and maintaining brain development and function. As it relates to other B vitamins, it will aid in the absorption of B12 (which we’ll get to shortly) (6).
B7 (Biotin)
B7 has many important roles in our bodies like producing fatty acids, regulating our blood sugar levels, and playing a crucial role in cell growth (7). Our intestinal bacteria produce this in excess of what our daily requirements actually are.
B9 (Folate, Folic Acid)
One of the best known and studied, B9 helps synthesize and repair DNA, form red blood cells (8), and facilitate cell growth.
B12 (Cobalamin)
B12 helps maintain healthy nerve cells because it produces the myelin that surrounds them (9). Certain diets that avoid animal products should consider supplementing with this as deficiencies are more common in vegans or those on plant-based diets.
Best Way To Get B Vitamins
When it comes to supplementation, you can most certainly supplement with each B vitamin independently if that is your choice. But multivitamins are a convenient way to get all B vitamins on top of all the other vital nutrients you need in one pill. The right multivitamin will eliminate any deficiencies and help keep you as healthy as possible overall. Kaged Muscle has an awesome multivitamin packed with B vitamins to make your life as easy as possible.
Kaged Muscle Multivitamin
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Kaged Muscle Multivitamin is great for those looking for optimal absorption out of a quality multi. With 21 essential vitamins and minerals, this will offer high nutrient utilization so those nutrients hit you harder.
Kaged Muscle Multivitamin is perfect for those looking for a once daily, high absorption, and whole food multi with 21 essential vitamins and minerals. A 100% plant-based and vegan friendly option, this multi is made with organic fruits and veggies and contains prebiotics in a once per day formula. With high absorption and utilization, all of these nutrients hit you fast for the best results. A clean and fully disclosed formula makes this a great multi option for all your health and wellness needs.
Check out our list of the Best Multivitamins for more great nutrient-packed products!
Wrap Up
At the end of the day, we need B vitamins. To neglect these important nutrients is only hurting yourself which we absolutely can’t afford to do. Whether you are a bodybuilder, strongman, powerlifter, or just an everyday fitness fan, staying as healthy as possible is the one thing we can control. Supplementing with either a multivitamin or with B vitamins independently is an easy way to ensure we get all these vital nutrients and keeping these a priority in our daily routine will keep us performing ultimately at the highest level.
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Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “B Vitamins”. (source)
Butterworth, R. (2007). “Thiamin deficiency and brain disorders”. (source)
Suwannasom, N.; et al. (2020). “Riboflavin: The Health Benefits of a Forgotten Natural Vitamin”. (source)
Metelitsina, T.; et al. (2004). “Effect of niacin on the choroidal circulation of patients with age related macular degeneration”. (source)
Annous, K.; et al. (1995). “Pantothenic Acid Uptake and Metabolism by Red Blood Cells of Rats”. (source)
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Vitamin B6”. (source)
University of Nebraska. “The Essential Role of Biotin in Cell Proliferation”. (source)
Lamers, Y.; et al. (2006). “Red blood cell folate concentrations increase more after supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate than with folic acid in women of childbearing age”. (source)
Baltrusch, S. (2021). “The Role of Neurotropic B Vitamins in Nerve Regeneration”. (source)