Winterize Your Body

Don't take the winter off from balanced, nutritious eating. In fact, you should be prepared to take special steps to help ensure your body gets the nutrition it needs during darker, colder days.

Better Get Your Bs
Do the winter months have you feeling stressed, tense, or just down in general? With plenty of B vitamins in your diet, you'll feel less moody, irritable, impatient, and depressed -- something all of us could use before, during, and after the hectic holiday season! 


Do You Have Enough D?
The darker days of winter mean not enough D for many women, since people's bodies need sunlight to make it. That spells bad news for your bones. Vitamin D helps your body utilize bone-building calcium. In fact, just one winter without sufficient vitamin D could affect your bone density. For food sources, seek out fortified dairy products as well as salmon and eggs. Or get your fill by taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement. How much D do you need? Find out here.

Fruit and Veggies: Not Just a Summer Fling
Fruit and vegetables provide powerful antioxidants, such as flavonoids and carotenoids, which reduce your risk of a number of diseases -- from heart disease to cancer. So you need them year-round, not just when they're in season. Go for canned or frozen when fresh is no longer available. And think variety. Each type of fruit or vegetable contains a vast array of unique and healthful substances -- no one fruit or veggie has them all -- so you need a good mix. Here's what to look for:

�?/TD>	Carotenoids (beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin), found in brightly colored orange and yellow vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash (Try this seasonal Sweet Potato Casserole.)
�?/TD>	Flavonoids, found in cranberries, apples, and teas, especially nonherbal black, green, and oolong teas
�?/TD>	Indoles, found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage (Warm up this winter with Broccoli Chowder.)
�?/TD>	Lycopene, found in abundance in tomatoes and also in watermelon and pink grapefruit
�?/TD>	Vitamin C, contained in copious amounts in bell peppers, oranges, and strawberries (Get a quick fix with this Strawberry Smoothie.)
�?/TD>	Vitamin E, found in sweet potatoes and avocados

Don't like to cook? No problem. Here are a few quick nutrition boosters that don't require measuring spoons or mixing bowls:

�?/TD>	Add bananas, apples, berries, or peaches to your cereal or yogurt.
�?/TD>	Add sliced or dried fruit to your green salads.
�?/TD>	Put tomatoes and green bell peppers on all your sandwiches.
�?/TD>	Open cans of kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and green and yellow beans and toss with an olive-oil-based vinaigrette for a fast bean salad.
�?/TD>	Top broiled fish or baked potatoes with salsa.
�?/TD>	Eat a piece of whole fruit before any take-out meals.
�?/TD>	Slice up zucchini, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and onion and add to a frozen pizza before baking it.