5 Foods to Eat This Winter for Ultimate Health & Beauty

Winter is here, and it’s cold. 

For us, the fireplace is always on, and soup is always cooking. December is the beginning of a super dry season, which means that your body and skin are craving some serious hydration. Eczema, brittle hair and nails, and wrinkles become even more prominent. But the good news is that there are foods that can combat the dreadedness of wintertime. 

It’s time to slow down, hunker down, and nourish ourselves with grounding, immune-boosting foods. To give your skin some extra love and to avoid catching a cold, stock up on these five foods for ultimate health and beauty this winter.  

We’re diving into the best foods to boost circulation (hello glowing skin), combat free-radicals (goodbye wrinkles), and keep you feeling strong, healthy, and happy. And you know what they say—the happiest girls really are the prettiest girls. 

5 Foods to Eat This Winter for Ultimate Health & Beauty

Bananas

Are you one of those people that has to wear two layers whenever it gets below 60 degrees? Are your feet and hands always cold, and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to get your oxygen and blood circulating during the winter? The cold season isn’t great for circulation, but bananas can help that. 

Bananas are best known for their potassium content, which helps to provide energy and bring oxygen to the feet, hands, and face. And for a youthful glow, that’s crucial. 

Bananas’ main beauty benefits come from its amino acids, which protect cells from free-radical damage and boost hair and nail growth. Because of its silicon content, w, hair, and nails love bananas. Silicon is an essential element when it comes to fostering healthy locks and beating brittle nails, and if you want an easy way to get your daily does—keep bananas stocked. 

Besides being a perfect agent for healthy hair and nails, bananas are also a simple food that makes for a nourishing and easily digestible treat. Remember, the riper the banana; the more antioxidants, so always wait until you see brown spots before peeling! 

Brussel Sprouts 

Whatever you do this winter, up your intake of brussel sprouts. These little DNA defenders help lower inflammation, protect from cellular damage, and amp up anti-aging glutathione production. 

One serving of brussel sprouts has 160 percent of your daily vitamin C intake, which means that with a side of brussel sprouts for lunch or dinner, you’ll be stimulating collagen production for glowing skin.

Along with vitamin C, a cup of brussel sprouts offers 270 percent of your daily vitamin K to regulate inflammation levels and nourish blood and bones. 

To get the most out of your brussel sprouts, halve and chop them up to release indole-3-carbinol, a potent phytochemical that keeps hormones in balance by eliminating excess estrogen. 

Cacao 

What is winter without hot chocolate? This winter, make delicious hot chocolate with cacao and give your skin some loving while you’re at it. This superfood has loads of sulfur, which supports strong hair, nails, and skin. Cacao contains more antioxidants than any other known food, and because of its phytochemical epicatechin, it can block wrinkle formation. The formula for turning back time? Antioxidants + epicatechin.  

In addition to epicatechin, other phytochemicals found in cacao can activate protective cell mechanisms while turning off age-promoting mechanisms! Look for at least 70% cacao in chocolate to give your skin a serious hydration, nutrient, and blood boost. 

Perhaps the most important part of this superfood is its ability to raise serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain. And everyone knows, the happiest girls are the prettiest girls! Most people are magnesium deficient, leading to a host of common problems; with cacao’s magnesium content, you regulate heart rate and calm the nervous system. 

And that was your permission to eat chocolate today. 

Ginger 

We already know that ginger does wonders for the digestive system, but learning that this spicy root is a major circulatory booster might come as a surprise. 

Ginger helps to tamp down inflammation in the body while strengthening immunity. Its antiviral properties make it a must-have ingredient for winter to protect against any nasty colds or flu cases. Bonus, it helps with chest and nasal congestion.  

As an anti-inflammatory, ginger can help soothe internal aches and pains while reducing outer inflammation (think skin redness). 

The phytochemical gingerol, found in ginger, is thought to have the ability to suppress aging cell mechanisms and keep your skin clear and smooth. 

This winter, for ultimate health and beauty, add fresh ginger to a cup of hot water, lemon, and raw honey in the mornings; blend into a delicious Asian-style dressing, or make this nourishing carrot, ginger, and turmeric soup! 

Potatoes 

Potatoes get a bad rap. But in actuality, potatoes (not french fries and chips) have incredible health and beauty benefits—especially during winter. These grounding spuds are perfect for the chaos that comes with holidays. To reap all the beauty benefits of these, buy organic when possible, never peel their fiber-packed skins, and ditch the fryer. Steamed and baked are best! 

Just one medium-sized spud will give you a third of your vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin B6, stocking you up on powerful anti-aging properties. Whipping up a side of potatoes will provide you with powerful beauty minerals like copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, and iron. That means your hair is in for a serious treat with potatoes—healthy color and strength. 

Winter is a beautiful time to hunker down and nourish your body with nutritious foods. Stock up on bananas, brussel sprouts, cacao, ginger, and potatoes for a healthier, more beautiful body and mind.