{"id":648010,"date":"2026-10-07T23:54:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T23:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/648010\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T23:54:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T23:54:47","slug":"seven-tips-to-fuel-up-for-colder-weather-and-shorter-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/648010\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven tips to fuel up for colder weather and shorter days"},"content":{"rendered":"

Autumn can make us sluggish. \u201cThere\u2019s a real change that happens when the season turns,\u201d says Dr Flora Bailey, GP and metabolic health<\/a> expert. \u201cWe\u2019ve been used to having appetite suppression that comes with being warmer, while being colder increases our appetite.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t got the sunlight in our eyes first thing in the morning, which makes us feel alert, and the shorter day signals to our bodies that it\u2019s time for hibernation, which makes us feel sluggish. And, for some people, they really don\u2019t like that back-to-school feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u00a0Dr\u00a0Dr Flora Bailey, GP and metabolic health expert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are Bailey\u2019s nutritional tips to stay energised:<\/p>\n

\n 1. Swap refined for complex carbs\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThe main mistake I see is that people build meals that are based around refined carbohydrates \u2014 cereal, sandwiches, and pasta \u2014 which are delicious, but they digest really quickly, causing a spike, then crash, in blood glucose, which triggers an energy slump. This is when many people reach for a quick, sugary boost,\u201d says Bailey.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvoid this by building your meals around protein, fibre, complex carbohydrates, and plenty of vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey slow your digestion down, keeping blood sugar stable, and give you a sustained energy that\u2019s slowly released throughout the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 2. Eat seasonally for energy\n <\/p>\n

We live in a global society, where food is available all year round, but we\u2019re designed to eat seasonally to get the range of micronutrients that we need.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn autumn and winter, we see more root vegetables and less salad,\u201d she says. \u201cRoot vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, swedes, and beetroot, and dark, leafy greens, are high in fibre, which supports steady energy release, and really high in vitamin C and beta carotene. These kinds of micronutrients are really helpful for sustaining our energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

We also need to be thinking about our vitamin D intake when the light starts to dip.<\/p>\n

Despite our hot summer, she says, \u201cwe don\u2019t really get enough vitamin D exposure through our skin, and need to work hard to make that up in our diets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey suggests eating more chicken and oily fish, like salmon and mackerel, and adds, Tinned smaller fish are particularly beneficial, because they \u201ctend to bioaccumulate fewer heavy metals than larger species.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 3. Supplement your diet\n <\/p>\n

Bailey believes it is best to get your vitamins from whole foods, but she adds, \u201cI think judicious use of supplements help when many people\u2019s diets are lacking vitamins they really need. Any persistent tiredness, check iron, vitamin B12, or vitamin D levels with a healthcare professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitamin D: \u201cThis is essential for our bones, immunity, and energy levels. Most people would benefit from taking it in the winter, but definitely higher-risk groups, such as the elderly, people trying to conceive, and postmenopausal women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iron: \u201cThis is needed for the immune system and making healthy red blood cells to give us energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my clinic, I have found many women are well below the optimal ferritin level and could benefit from an iron supplement.\u201d<\/p>\n

B12: \u201cMany people are low or deficient in B12. Check if your diet is rich enough in foods like dairy and eggs, and if you have persistent fatigue, try B12 supplements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magnesium: \u201cThis is fantastic for our brains, helps to promote sleep, and is good for muscle function and digestion. Take a supplement called glycinate or bisglycinate 30 minutes before bed to improve sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Flora Bailey says many women have low ferritin levels<\/p>\n

\n 4. Eat more protein\n <\/p>\n

To combat hunger spikes, \u201cbuild a regular eating plan that works with you. There\u2019s no one size fits all, but consistency is key. Your body is very good at getting into habits, so if you\u2019re a person who likes to eat three times a day, keep the timings and amounts you eat the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds, \u201cMake sure that there is protein with every meal. Protein is absorbed very slowly and is great nutritionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think many people are living off empty carbohydrates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than protein bars, eat natural sources of protein that aren\u2019t highly processed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people should eat between 1.6 to 2g of protein per kilo of body weight. And it can be found in meat and fish, Greek yogurt, and beans and pulses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 5. Caffeine is a mask\n <\/p>\n

While many of us drink several cups of coffee in the morning to keep ourselves awake, that caffeine could also be making us feel more tired.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaffeine blocks the receptors in your brain that register tiredness, but it only does that temporarily,\u201d says Bailey.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what we\u2019re doing is masking something when, really, your body is crying out for fuel like protein and complex carbohydrates.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says, \u201cMany people drink several coffees on an empty stomach in the morning, but as the caffeine wears off and sort of unhooks itself from the receptors in the brain, people get a bigger slump in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 6. Don\u2019t forget to hydrate\n <\/p>\n

We often associate being dehydrated with the summer, but it is easy to under-drink through the colder months, because we don\u2019t feel as thirsty.<\/p>\n

Bailey says, \u201c We need about two litres of fluid a day, but that doesn\u2019t have to be just plain tap water; it can be anything that people enjoy drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effects of being even mildly dehydrated can cause measurable drops in concentration and energy.<\/p>\n

She says, \u201cYou\u2019ll know you\u2019re properly hydrated if you pass urine every few hours and that it\u2019s a pale, straw colour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reducing fluids at night may help with waking in the night to wee, but, says Bailey, \u201cIf you are dehydrated, concentrated urine irritates your bladder and wakes you up quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 7. Easy snack swaps\n <\/p>\n

Healthy snacks don\u2019t produce glucose spikes, provide us with valuable nutrients, and stop us reaching for chocolate bars and crisps.<\/p>\n

Bailey says, \u201cTry peanut butter or eggs on wholemeal toast: You\u2019re getting your protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrate, so energy is released very slowly. Nuts and seeds are great for snacking and fruit is incredibly good for you, in terms of the micronutrients, bananas especially… but avoid shop-bought fruit juices or smoothies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Autumn can make us sluggish. \u201cThere\u2019s a real change that happens when the season turns,\u201d says Dr Flora…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33970,1649,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-648010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health-body","tag-health-nutrition","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}