Vital Health Foods – Looking After Your Family This Winter – PLUS Giveaway

Winter has suddenly arrived, bringing the cold weather and the rain that Cape Town so badly needs. As much as I am grateful for the rain, winter is no longer my favourite time of year. Since becoming a mother I dread the winter months that so often result in myself, my husband and my children getting ill.

***Disclosure – This is a sponsored post.***

I remember my first winter as a mother clearly: As the weather started getting a little cooler in Autumn my baby got ill and she spent a week in hospital at 6 months old. My first Mother’s Day was spent in hospital looking after my little girl.

Since then I have placed a lot more emphasis on ensuring my family is healthy and that their immune systems are strong through healthy eating, getting enough exercise and rest, and most importantly, taking the right vitamins.

Vital Health Foods is encouraging all families to stay healthy this winter and not letting colds and flu stop them from living an active lifestyle outdoors. Vital’s amazing winter range of vitamins will keep your family healthy and on the go this winter.

We also love being outdoors and active in winter. There’s nothing worse than being cooped up in a house with two energetic youngsters bouncing off the walls.

This is so important to me as a work from home mother. When anyone in my family gets ill, things get really tricky for me to be able to keep my business and my household running on an even keel.

Below are key ways to stay protected this winter. Don’t miss the awesome give-away sponsored by Vital Health Foods at the bottom of this post.

A more aggressive flu season calls for Vital to care for you

The upcoming flu season is expected to have a major impact on South Africans – more so than in previous years – due to more severe strains of the flu virus appearing globally.

Michelle Jooste, dietitian at Vital Health Foods, says that Vitamin C is one of the best preventative measures to support your immune system during the winter months. Research shows that in adults, supplementing with 1000mg of Vitamin C daily assists in reducing the duration and severity of flu symptoms.“ Food sources like oranges, guavas, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables are high in Vitamin C. However, to consume 1000mg of vitamin C, you would have to eat at least 14 oranges in one sitting,” explains Jooste.

Every year, a large section of the population miss work and school due to a common cold. It is especially bad for children as they could have up to ten colds per year in contrast to adults who only have two to four colds per year.  In addition, pre-schoolers are three times more likely to suffer an infection than those staying at home.

Jooste says that the flu can have a debilitating impact on the health of the whole family, as quite often it only takes one family member to be infected to knock down an entire household.

But, she says that it is possible to stay protected this winter.

“Vital Health Foods is encouraging South Africans to not let the flu stop them from living an active lifestyle outdoors this winter. Ensure that your family is protected by increasing your vitamin intake,” says Jooste.

She suggests three key ways how you can protect your and your family’s health this winter:

1) Take a Vitamin C supplement

Vitamin C goes a long way in strengthening the immune system. A strong immune system is essential to reduce the risk of contracting a cold or flu.

2) Consider an effervescent if you are active

Effervescents are ideal for people with an active lifestyle and allows for an ‘on the go’ boost. The Vital range of effervescents consist of Magnesium, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin C, Calcium + Vitamin D and a Multivitamin option.

3) Ensure the whole family takes a multivitamin

Adding supplements to your daily routine is an easy way to get the nutrients you and your family need to survive this winter.

“By adopting best hygiene practice and taking the correct supplements, you are able to strengthen the immune system and open the door to enjoying the outdoors with your family and friends this winter,” concludes Jooste.

Enter The Vital Health Foods Give-away

Vital Health Foods is giving away a hamper to one of our readers and entering is super simple! Leave a comment on this blog post and let us know what you do every winter to ensure your family stay healthy.

One lucky winner will win a Hamper to the value of over R2500 consisting of the following items:

• 1 x Slazenger Jackets (Kway) Sizes may vary
• 2 x Travel Mugs
• 2 x Lunch Box Coolers
• 2 x Hand Sanitizers
• 2 x Vital Crips Cream Cheese & Chives 85g
• 2 x Vital Crisps Sweet & Spicy Pepper Salsa flavour 85g
• 2 x Vital Crisps Fruit Chutney flavour 85g
• 1 x Vital Rice Cakes
• 1 x Vital Corn Cakes
• 1 x R1, 200 Vital Health Shopping Voucher

The winner will be announced on Thursday 12 July 2018 via blog post and the winner will be notified by email.

**This competition is only open to residents of South Africa.**