Are you feeling a little low in energy and stamina at the moment? Winter is a time when our lives and thoughts turn inwards and you may not feel much like getting up and out there with your usual energy and enthusiasm. But are these feelings purely because of the cold days and dark evenings, or could you be missing out on something in your diet?

What you might be missing this winter

Sunshine and Vitamin D are one answer Not enough natural daylight and sunshine can lead to depression. If it’s dark by the time you get home and only just light when you leave in the morning then getting some sun during your lunch break is vital both for Vitamin D and to raise your spirits. Artificial light is not enough. Are you getting enough sleep? You would think with shorter, colder days a warm bed would be more inviting but this may not be so. Go to bed early and if your bedroom doesn’t feel like a sanctuary, then it’s time to change that and make sure that

• It’s warm enough (an electric blanket is helpful to warm up your bed before you get but don’t sleep with it on)
• It’s dark enough
• You don’t have any EMF radiation nearby. i.e. mobile phone, tablet or even clock radio with a red dial (turn the display towards the wall if you do)

Is your diet is inadequate? Also in winter you may feel less like eating vitamin rich raw salads and more inclined to ‘comfort’ foods. These may not contain all the nutrients you need to keep your mind sharp, active and interested, and your body feeling like it’s got some ‘get up and go’. So if you’re not feeling like working out in the gym and are relying on caffeine, sugar and energy drinks to keep you boosted up, what do you do?

Tips for finding and maintaining your energy

Make sure your diet contains healthy winter warming foods. So what are these? Here are some ideas

• Homemade Chicken Soup – highly nutritious, warming and healing – not for nothing is it called Jewish Penicillin
• Slow Cooked Broths and Casseroles with plenty of vegetables as well as meat or chicken
• Avocados – chock full of fabulous healthy fats and vitamins
• Winter Salad Vegetables like Fennel, Radacchio
• Combine fresh salad greens with roasted sweet potato, beetroot or pumpkin and fetta or bocconcini
• Add chickpeas to a quinoa salad

There’s nothing like Google for finding new recipe ideas! So you haven’t got time (or energy) for trying new foods? Well there are several supplements that can help, apart from Vitamin D, which  is available as a supplement if you can’t get enough sunshine.

Two Important Supplements for Boosting Your Energy

The first of these is Co-enzyme Q10 or Co Q10 for short. Your body makes this important enzyme and it is present in nearly every cell, but the amount decreases as you age. A powerful anti-oxidant, it is regarded as a key nutrient for heart health and energy production. The second is Royal Jelly from honeybees. Royal Jelly is much prized for its energy enhancing and anti-aging properties. It is the substance that is fed exclusively to the Queen Bee by the worker bees in the beehive. The Queen is so well nourished by Royal Jelly that she is able to produce an astounding 2000 eggs per day! Now that’s something you can’t do when you don’t have energy. Not only that but she keeps this up for days and days on end and that’s something you can’t do without stamina. The high levels of B Complex Vitamins and amino acids in Royal Jelly are an excellent source of energy and can help boost your energy levels too.

Mr Vitamins recommends

• Nature Clinic CoQ10
• Nature Clinic Royal Jelly

Find out more and shop online for

Nature Clinic CoQ10 here and Nature Clinic Royal Jelly here And remember for great health and nutrition advice you can always ‘Ask a Naturopath‘ at Mr Vitamins