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Eat Plenty Of Fruit And Veg

Although it might sound simple and straightforward, many of us still do not get the amount of fruit and vegetables we ideally need each day. The old five a day rule is a good place to start if you are not currently eating that much fruit and veg, but really even that should be seen as a bare minimum compared to what you should ideally be getting each day. Really, it’s best to try and eat as much fruit and veg as you can, and in particular as much of a variety of it as you can too.

If you are finding it challenging to do that, bear in mind that there are many different ways you can hope to get fruit and veg into your daily diet. For instance, you might want to go to goodnature.com and get some juicing equipment, and then make a daily juice made of various fruits. Or you could even make a green smoothie once a day with kale and spinach and banana. However you do it, this is one of the most important things to do if you want to ensure you have the perfect winter diet.

Try Frozen Veg

If you are trying to get more veg into your diet for winter, but you are finding the cost of fresh vegetables prohibitive, bear in mind that you can always use frozen. This is invariably more affordable than fresh, and yet it is just as acceptable for when you are simply trying to eat more vegetables. Really, using frozen carrots, broccoli, peas and the like are perfectly fine ways to do this, and there is even evidence that suggests that freezing helps to lock in the antioxidants, which is especially the case for frozen peas. So don’t be afraid of using frozen veg, and make sure you stock up on plenty of it next time you go shopping at the supermarket.

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Avoid Overeating

Most of us tend to start eating more during winter compared to summer. This is not without precedent, and there is a very good natural reason we tend to do it, which is that we quite simply need more calories in the winter than the summer, at least when it comes down to the evolutionary side of things. However, with our modern lives, where we have heated homes and so on, we don’t need to eat as much as our bodies might tell us we do.
This goes some way to explaining why some people find it easy to overeat in winter. If you think this is something that you are prone to, then you should aim to try and cut it down as best as you can. Ultimately, overeating is not going to be any good for you, and you are more likely to pile on those winter pounds that we are all trying to avoid. It’s a good idea to keep a range of healthy snacks in the home too, so that if you do feel tempted to eat a lot, you can at least snack on healthy things like fruit and nuts and grains. Even then, take care not to eat too much.

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Take A Little Ginger

One final word for our old friend, ginger. There is a lot that ginger does for you, and it can often prove to be an incredibly useful thing to eat plenty of in winter in particular. That’s because it had the dual effect of both heating you up from the inside, while also providing your body with fantastic immunity. If you have any dental problems, it can help you with that as well. Eat a little ginger each day, and you are going to find yourself being so much healthier throughout the winter period and beyond, and less likely to catch a range of viruses and diseases as well. That’s particularly important this winter.

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Drink more water

We all know how important it is to drink water, as it helps flush toxins from the body and leaves your skin looking flawless. However, the body needs more water in the winter because sweat evaporates faster from the body in the cold winter air, not only leaving your skin feeling sore, but also very dehydrated.

Try upping your water intake to give your skin the chance to take on as much moisture as possible. If you struggle drinking enough water each day, you can buy water bottles with indicators letting you know how much water you’ve had. They’re printed with time slot goals that will help you achieve your water intake little by little throughout the day.

Take immune boosting supplements

If you suffer with a skin condition like those mentioned above, you’ll know better than anyone how much the winter can affect your skin. The patches that are already existing become itchier and drier than ever, causing your skin to crack and bleed. This is an extremely unwelcome side effect to something you have to deal with everyday anyway.

Skin conditions like psoriasis stem from an auto-immune disorder, and your body is working hard to try and fight infections - even when there’s nothing to fight. That’s why scales and plaques appear on your body. Using black elderberry daily alongside other immune boosting supplements will help soothe your skin. Black elderberry is packed full of antioxidants which assist with the body's natural defenses and cell communication, therefore improving your psoriasis.

Immune boosting supplements will also benefit anyone looking to improve their body’s natural defences, including the way your skin looks and feels during the winter.

Use unscented and gentle skin creams

While scented creams are wonderful to rub all over your body, the perfume in them can actually irritate the skin. Even if you don’t generally suffer with sensitive skin, your skin is much more susceptible in the winter and may even become cracked due to the cold weather and dehydration, and a perfumed cream won’t do you any favours.

Using gentle skin creams like Aveeno will help create a barrier on your skin whilst leaving it feeling soft and hydrated. You can also use unscented creams that are designed for babies as they provide extra protection for the skin.

Monitor what you’re putting into your body

What you’re eating and drinking on a regular basis massively impacts your body, and if you’re suffering with dry and cracked skin it might be time to reevaluate your diet. Try and pack your meals full of nutrients through fruit and vegetables to help give your body the nutrients it needs to keep your skin as healthy as possible.

You should also look at how much alcohol you’re consuming, as this could play a major role in your skin problems. Alcohol is extremely dehydrating, and even if you’re drinking plenty of water, it will have an extremely adverse effect on your skin. While enjoying a glass or two every now and then is perfectly fine, make sure you’re topping up your water levels either in between glasses or after you’ve finished drinking. This will help maintain your body’s hydration and in turn, help your skin during the winter.

Wash with dermatologically approved soaps

There’s a vast array of soaps, shower gels and body scrubs on the market in this day and age, and thanks to the plethora of smells and colours you can now buy, it’s understandable that you may not think about the effect your soap could be having on your skin. That’s not to say you can’t have a shower gel or soap that doesn’t smell nice, as many brands such as Dove come dermatologically approved, and will be much better for your skin overall.