Spring is here! Time for a fresh start. We have left the cold weather and winter behind us and ushered in the season of sunshine, chirping birds and blossoming nature. Sounds idyllic? Not so much when we are beset by illnesses or allergies. But armed with the right nutrients, you can confidently relax and enjoy one of the most beautiful seasons of the year.
This spring, give yourself a chance to start afresh with health. Taking the right vitamins can be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, including proper nutrition, exercise and good sleep habits. But most of all, the right micro-nutrients will help your body get back on its feet. They provide you with everything you need, help with regeneration, promote detoxification and give the body a helping hand.
The most important food supplements for spring:
In spring it is important to take vitaminsonce healthy, wake up the body from "hibernation" and enable participation in outdoor activities. They can help with allergies and maintain healthy skin and eyesight.
We don't want to keep you in suspense any longer. Here are the most important Food supplements for the best possible start to spring.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A has powerful antioxidant properties that support important immune system and organ functions. It also keeps skin healthy after sun damage by promoting repair and growth. It is especially important as our skin is exposed to stronger radiation again after the long period of sunlessness.
Vitamin B
It is advisable to take a B-complex supplement because B vitamins fulfil a wide range of bodily functions. They are important for prevention, maintaining energy levels and dealing with stress, among other things.
Vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin) keep the nervous system healthy, release energy from food and ensure healthy skin and good eyesight. These vitamins are crucial in spring as they protect the body from sun damage while providing the energy needed for physical activity.
Vitamin B6 and B12 support the production of red blood cells and ensure the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system. Incidentally, these vitamins are easily lost through increased sweating in warmer weather. Yet another reason to make sure your intake is adequate.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful source of antioxidants and plays an important role in immune system support and function. The immunological benefits of vitamin C have been shown in studies to shorten the duration of seasonal health problems and to promote respiratory function, sinus health and skin health.
Vitamin C helps the body cope with the heat by protecting the health of the skin and blood cells. Vitamin C also prevents cell damage and increases collagen production, which protects the skin from sun damage. Vitamin C is also a natural antihistamine, and therefore particularly important for hay fever sufferers.
Vitamin D
Bathing in the spring sun has a positive effect on mood. Conversely, numerous studies have confirmed that there is a clear connection between depressed mood and lack of light. In addition to a good mood, now is also the time to use the sun again to fill up on vitamin D, because our vitamin D stores are empty due to the long, low-light season. Moderate sunbathing, exposing hands, face and parts of arms and legs to the sun for 15 to 20 minutes, is sufficient.
The basic prerequisite for this is a sufficiently high level of UVB radiation, which is only prevalent over the midday period, and the renunciation of sunscreen. The body uses the UVB radiation of the sun to make its own cholesterol from a modified cholesterol compound in the skin. Vitamin D to form. Another important argument: a good supply of vitamin D supports our immune system in the still sometimes cold transitional period.
Vitamin E
Food supplements with vitamin E have several benefits. They help improve physical endurance by increasing energy levels and reducing muscle damage from exercise. Because vitamin E is an antioxidant, it can also help repair cell-damaging processes such as sun damage.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral and essential micronutrient that provides a wide range of health benefits and functions throughout the body and is excellent for boosting the immune system. The increasing popularity of zinc in the fight against seasonal ailments is supported by scientific research. They show that zinc can play a role in supporting respiratory function, muscle comfort and sinus health. Important, then, for managing the discomfort of hay fever.
Selenium
Selenium is a mineral and belongs to the essential trace elements. The human body cannot produce it itself, instead it must be supplied through food or as a dietary supplement. Selenium fulfils numerous functions in the body. Among other things, it protects us from free radicals and thus from diseases and an accelerated ageing process. It also influences our immune system, the health of skin, hair and nails and is involved in the production of the thyroid hormone.
Omega-3
It has been known for a long time that fat is not fundamentally bad. Rather, the quality and composition of the fat are decisive. Omega-3 fatty acids belong to the "good" fats and support important bodily functions. For example, they make a significant contribution to maintaining normal heart function. But the range of how omega-3 fatty acids can influence essential functions of our body is much broader.
The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA belong to the essential fatty acids and cannot be produced by the body itself. EPA and DHA are found mainly in fatty cold-water fish such as herring, mackerel or sardines. They contribute to normal brain and heart function and support the maintenance of normal vision (according to EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority).
Turmeric
An exotic has crept into our list of top active ingredients for spring: Turmeric. The active ingredient in turmeric, called curcumin, has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for many thousands of years and has a wide range of health applications. Of particular interest here is the research that has shown that curcumin supports the immune system and provides powerful seasonal protection.
Studies have shown that curcumin supports the health of respiratory tracts that struggle with seasonal health issues, while also strengthening the immune system.
Conclusion:
To strengthen your immune system, you should make sure that you have a sufficient intake of important nutrients and vitamins. This intake is possible through a healthy and balanced diet. But especially in the winter months or in the time thereafter, the immune system needs particularly active support. Then it can be supported with an additional intake of high-quality food supplements. And spring can come!
Sources:
Inadequacy of Immune Health Nutrients: Intakes in US Adults, the 2005-2016 NHANES
Refocusing vitamin A supplementation programmes to reach the most vulnerable; Erin McLean1, Rolf Klemm2,3, Hamsa Subramaniam4, Alison Greig5
On the effect of vitamin C intake on human health: How to (mis)interpret the clinical evidence; Jens Lykkesfeldt.
Vitamin A: its many roles-from vision and synaptic plasticity to infant mortality; John E. Dowling.
Immunologic Effects of Vitamin D on Human Health and Disease; by Nipith Charoenngam 1,2 and Michael F. Holick 1
Images:
Photo by Andrey Zvyagintsev on Unsplash
Pic by Siberian Art/Shutterstock, Number: 1027919113
