Why do we feel the urge to eat more during the cold months?
By RX FOR READERS/JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHIllustrative(photo credit: LAURIE MCADAM/TNS)
I am a 35-year-old healthy male, about five kilos overweight.I find that in the colder winter months, I am hungry most of the time. This doesn’t happen to me in the warm summer months. What causes this and what can I do about it? B.T., Safed Lilach Ronen Briel, a clinical dietician and nutritionist at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, answers: In wintertime, it gets dark early, and there are more activities at home. This causes many people to eat more. The result is that most of us find it difficult to maintain a balanced diet and to engage in the types of physical activity that we pursued in the summer.In addition, you may suffer from the cold and crave food rich in carbohydrates with which to keep warm, since they generate heat. In northern countries (but less in Israel), some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, a mild type of depression, during the colder months, which may induce people to find consolation in food.But there are things you can do to minimize weight gain and hunger during the colder months.Since we dress in warm clothes and spend most of the day in well-heated rooms, we need enough fluids in the winter – at least 10 glasses a day. Be sure to drink one or two glasses of water before each meal. The water provides a sense of fullness and aids in the proper digestion of the food. You can drink water at room temperature, to make it easier to drink enough fluids, or herbal infusions between meals.Note that sugar or honey contribute about 20 calories per teaspoon, which can amount to a significant amount of calories if you drink a lot. Prefer stevia or sucralose or no sweetener at all.Prepare soups for lunch and/or dinner. Start the meal with soup made from vegetables or legumes (which are very rich in protein and iron) or chicken soup. Avoid adding croutons or soup nuts, which have calories, fat and salt.Oatmeal can be added to the daily menu. It is rich in fiber, which gives a feeling of satiety and is good for digestion. Three tablespoons of dry oatmeal equal a slice of bread.Fruit juices are an excellent source of vitamin C and promote normal immune function, but remember that they contain a significant amount of calories and fructose (fruit sugar). A glass of unsweetened orange juice is made from three oranges and adds 180 to 200 calories! Therefore, it is recommended to eat the citrus fruit itself and thereby gain fiber, a sense of fullness and also fewer calories. It is also recommended to incorporate low-calorie vegetables rich in vitamin C, such as cabbage, colored peppers and tomatoes.Exercise at home – for example, by doing crunches, stretching and going up and down stairs for 30 minutes a day or in a gym.If weather allows, go for a quick walk or bike ride. Physical activity contributes to the health of the heart and bones, keeping you warm as well as improving your mood by secreting brain hormones such as serotonin and endorphins.I am a 52-year-old woman who was diagnosed with psoriasis on my arms and legs five years ago. Going to the Dead Sea from time to time helps, but exposure to the sun does not have long-lasting effects. Drugs have caused side effects and have not been very helpful. I recently saw an advertisement from a company that claims auriculotherapy can eliminate the skin problems from psoriasis. The ads claimed auriculotherapy “eliminates” the raised, red and scaly patches “within a month.” Could this help me? V.N., Haifa Dr. Menachem Oberbaum, director of the Center for Integrative and Complementary Medicine at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, replies: In any question regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), it is worthwhile consulting the conventional literature. Despite the hostility among many conventional medicine practitioners toward CAM, conventional medicine is a good source of information; thus it could give us a clue whether a certain CAM therapy might have therapeutic potential and what the risks of such a therapy are.Based on this assumption, two papers could be found in the conventional literature – both of them from Chinese research centers that are not regarded very highly, and the studies were published in low-quality journals. Their conclusion suggests that acupuncture-related techniques, such as auriculotherapy, could be considered as an alternative or adjuvant therapy to conventional medical treatment for psoriasis.Bearing in mind that this kind of medicine is almost free of adverse effects and you have not benefited from medication or other conventional therapy, it could be recommended to try using it, either alone or as an adjuvant therapy. Rx for Readers welcomes queries from readers about medical problems.Experts will answer those we find most interesting. Write Rx for Readers, The Jerusalem Post, POB 81, Jerusalem 9100002, fax your question to Judy Siegel-Itzkovich at (02) 538-9527, or email it to jsiegel@jpost.com, giving your initials, age and place of residence.
