Tue 3 Feb 2004

The chill factor

A bowl of soup is the perfect way to keep warm this winter.

Jacqui Ripley

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Food is fuel and helps keep you warm," says leading nutritionist Ian Marber. "So, forget your Atkins-style, carbohydrate-free diet through the current cold snap and concentrate on foods that keep your metabolic rate up and your body heated. Think of these foods as stoking your internal fire. Namely complex carbohydrates."

Avoid sugars

The key to keeping warm when the temperature drops is to avoid sugars.

It’s tempting to turn to comfort foods such as cakes and doughnuts, or refined carbohydrates such as white bread and bagels, but these give your body a sudden surge of sugar, which in turn makes your body produce insulin and ultimately leaves you with an energy dip. Your metabolism then follows the same highs and lows, which isn’t a great recipe for keeping warm.

In order to keep your energy levels and body temperature up you need to concentrate on lower-fibre starches such as brown bread, pasta, rice and other cereals, cheese, nuts and fruits such as bananas.

Eat little and often

Marber says: "By eating the right foods and snacks at regular intervals throughout the day - around every three hours - you will ensure that glucose levels are broken down into the body slowly. This will create a constant supply of energy and therefore keep you warm and stable.’’

A supplement of kelp is also useful to take as it contains iodine. "Iodine (found naturally in shellfish and seafood, kelp and other seaweeds) is needed to produce thyroxine to stimulate the thyroid gland," he says. "This is the organ that regulates metabolism. Those that are depleted in iodine levels usually have colds hands and feet."

Perfect start

To start the day, Marber suggests porridge. "The Ready Brek story is kind of true," he says, "porridge does give you a heated glow." Try and make your own from oats for better nutrition - much better for you than processed cereals. And top off with sliced apple and some natural yoghurt.

Mid-morning go for a piece of wholemeal toast and peanut butter. As for lunch, look to warming soups, suggests nutritionist Dr Chris Fenn. "A thick vegetable soup with lentils and beans has a slightly higher protein content than many other soups, which helps boost your metabolism," she explains. Eat along with a hunk of wholemeal bread. Fenn suggests avoiding "cooling" foods such as salads. Although great for the waistline, they are not so great for keeping you feeling nurtured and warm. "They’re too light and unearthy for this time of year. The rule is to eat along with the seasons," says Fenn.

Hot drinks

"Hot water with lemon is ideal," says Fenn. "Avoid drinking anything straight from the fridge, it’s just too cold and makes your body work harder to keep warm," she says. "Taking fresh fruit juice and warming it up in a microwave works really well." And forget alcohol. A brandy or something similar may give you an instant inner warming but, ultimately, heat will be lost. "Alcohol opens up the blood vessels close to the surface of the skin and brings the heat from the centre of your body to the outside environment, which causes your body’s core temperature to drop. Curry has the same effect, too. Anything with spices will have exactly the same effect." So while you may be tempted to warm up with spicy foods, in the long term these will actually cool your body - which explains why curries are eaten in hot countries.

Nightcap

Avoid after-dinner coffee or tea, which acts as a diuretic. Conserve heat and prepare your body for sleep with a nice, milky hot drink - it can even be chocolate. Milk, even semi-skimmed, contains the ingredient tryptophan, a natural sedative that calms, soothes and helps you sleep.