EAT THIS for WARMTH
Picture this… You’re all cozy and tucked in bed and your partner shifts position and sticks their freezing cold feet into your belly. You have two choices… get a divorce or EAT this to feel the warmth:
- Not sure I’ve ever recommended this drink in my career, but yes, drink your COFFEE! It can be hot, but also iced coffee can help warm you up because it’s the caffeine and added milk that includes vitamin D, that helps induce thermogenesis which is when your body converts calories to heat. Caffeine increases metabolism by stimulating the release of fatty acids from the body’s fat tissues, which in turn can increase body temperature. In all seriousness, green and black tea that also contain caffeine can help too.
- Eat that ginger on your sushi plate. Grate it into soup or make tea from it by slicing about a 2-centimeter piece, add it to boiling water in your mug and let it steep for about 10 minutes.
- Eat complex carbs like brown rice, oatmeal, and whole grain bread. When your food takes longer to digest your meal, it creates more heat. That doesn’t mean over carb yourself, just choose complex ones when you do.
- Nutrients in bananas help regulate your thyroid and adrenal glands. Both B vitamins and magnesium help so put a banana in your morning smoothie, mash it on toast with some almond butter or as I do, peel and put a dollop of almond butter on it and eat it straight!
- Iron-rich foods including lean meats. A symptom of iron deficiency is cold extremities. Remember that you may be consuming iron, and there are some that have difficulty absorbing it. Or if you just eat liver for instance, without sweet potato or peppers on the side, you’ll absorb less because of a lack of vitamin C.
And one to avoid is alcohol, that whiskey or hot toddy that you think is going to cure your hypothermia is actually going to cool you down! Opposite to what most think, alcohol actually lowers your body temperature.
Some of the back story to warmth
Why do some feel the cold and others feel like their internal thermostat is set to summer, all year long? It’s not all about how many layers you have on, but governed by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus and the hormones that it secretes to keep your internal temperature normal–a balmy 98.6 degrees. Your skin picks up external temperatures and can sense even if there’s a two-degree difference.
Your size can play a part, those with more fat storage tend to be warmer, but not always. Muscle mass plays a larger part because your metabolism is your internal fire. The more muscle mass you have, in men or women, the warmer you’re likely to feel.
Feeling stressed? Okay, who isn’t, stress sets up a hormonal response and can mess with the hypothalamus and it’s hormones, making your body heat head to your organs rather than your fingers.
Women’s responses to cold vary during their menstrual cycles. In men, higher testosterone levels may reduce sensitivity to the cold by desensitizing one of the main cold receptors in the skin.
With the food suggestions above, you could really make it through the cold season without teeth chattering, the thickest mitts or socks and five layers on your body!
