“The cold invites us to take shelter at home, go outside less, be less active, eat higher-calorie foods, and bundle up well. But… are we doing the right things to combat the cold? Are we eating in a way that properly helps raise our body temperature? What habits and practices help us face the winter? Today, we share ten tips to combat the cold.”
Tips to combat the cold
Include more raw or lightly cooked foods in your diet
The alkaline diet recommends eating plenty of raw vegetables daily, not only because the nutrients in food remain intact in their natural state, but also because they provide us with a high number of electrons. This electron intake boosts our energy and, contrary to popular belief, increases our body temperature.
A good trick, if it’s hard for us to eat cold food in winter, is to divide our plate into 50% cooked and 50% raw. For example, we can combine a salad with a hot or warm soup.
Add soups and creams to your diet
Vegetable soups and creams are an ideal dinner, whether raw or lightly cooked. They are especially recommended because, being blended, they require very little energy for digestion. Since the body doesn’t need to direct blood flow to the digestive system, our body temperature remains stable during this light digestion, avoiding the sensation of cold. Additionally, we will sleep and rest better at night.
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Opt for healthy fats
When we feel cold, a series of mechanisms activate in our body to generate internal heat, helping maintain our body temperature around 36º to 37ºC. This regulatory system involves extra energy expenditure, which is why we crave more caloric and fatty foods when we’re cold. It’s important to choose healthy fats, such as those found in nuts, seeds, avocado, or coconut, and to eliminate or minimize the consumption of animal-based fats, which acidify the body and disrupt our pH balance.
Use spicy foods
Spicy foods are essential if we want to regulate our body temperature. For example, chili contains a chemical compound called capsaicin, responsible for the burning sensation in our mouth when we eat spicy peppers. In addition to warming us up, this compound has several health benefits: it stimulates circulation, preventing blood clots, acts as a powerful anticancer agent, and serves as an effective pain reliever.
Eliminate or reduce alcohol consumption
The belief that alcohol helps warm us up is widespread. However, the “rise in temperature” we experience when drinking alcohol is nothing more than an illusion.
Alcohol causes dilation of the cutaneous arteries, activating blood flow near the skin’s surface, which warms the skin and creates the sensation of heat. However, what actually happens is that alcohol lowers our body temperature and increases the risk of hypothermia, as the dilation of the arteries accelerates heat loss. Furthermore, alcohol dehydrates and acidifies the body.
Eat garlic, ginger, and onion
This combination of yogic roots is frequently used to revitalize and restore energy, which helps us generate internal warmth. Additionally, all three ingredients are effective allies against colds.
A study conducted by researchers at the National Library of Medicine of the NIH (National Institutes of Health) confirms that ginger, among its many virtues and benefits, helps raise body temperature.
Move your body
Despite low temperatures encouraging us to stay indoors and feel lazier, physical activity is one of the most effective ways to combat the cold.
When we exercise, our body begins to burn fat to send more blood, energy, and oxygen to our muscles, which in turn increases our basal temperature.
On the other hand, although it is often believed that exposure to low temperatures increases the likelihood of catching a cold, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that there is no evidence to support this.
The key lies not in the temperature itself but in dressing appropriately for outdoor exercise.
Drink herbal teas
Drinking hot teas is a healthy habit that helps us warm up and feel comforted. If we also choose the right type of herb, we not only raise our body temperature but also benefit from the medicinal properties of plants. In winter, for example, hibiscus and echinacea are especially recommended, as they help strengthen the immune system and protect us from colds.
Protect your head and neck from the cold
Did you know that about 10% of internal heat loss when exposed to low temperatures comes from our head?
Our neck and head are areas that receive a significant amount of blood, so we take longer to perceive the cold in these regions. However, we must not neglect them, and it’s important to wear hats and scarves when we go outside in winter.
Meditate and balance your energy
Have you ever heard the phrase: Cold is mental? There appears to be scientific evidence supporting this. A study published in the scientific journal Plos One in March 2013 confirms that Tibetan monks can increase their body temperature through meditation, even at temperatures as low as -25ºC.
Controlling our inner energy through meditation or similar practices helps us balance our body temperature, leading to an increase in warmth.
