This is what women are missing the most during the winter

Here’s a shocking fact: 86 % of Europeans don't consume the recommended 5 portions of fruits or veggies every single day.This is especially problematic in the colder months when our bodies need even more support.

In all honesty, the high-paced lifestyle we're all living makes it incredibly hard to eat your “5-a-day” even a few times a week, let alone every day. It takes commitment, time, money and a lot of effort to eat a balanced diet. And even that often only means giving your body the bare minimum of what it needs to sustain optimal health and wellbeing.

Why is it more difficult for women to get enough vitamins?

Frequent dieting, skipping meals, irregular sleep patterns, stress, seasonal changes, hormonal fluctuations in the body and menstrual cycles all contribute to different nutritional needs in women.  

For many women, trying to juggle careers, families, responsibilities, errands, chores and everyday activities, it’s extremely hard to keep up with a balanced diet.

And on top of that, it’s very hard to get every nutrient and vitamin from food in sufficient amounts – some, like vitamin D, vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids are present in extremely low amounts in natural food sources, while nutrients that we consume along with them may also hinder their absorption.

Common nutrients women don’t get enough of

Even though sub-optimal intake of vitamins and minerals is common in both genders, women tend to miss the following:

• Vitamin D3 – up to 70% of the European population has low levels.
• Omega-3s and omega-6s imbalance – we consume too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3, so over 95% of adults have suboptimal omega 3 levels.
• Iron – women are more prone to iron deficiency due to menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Vitamin B12 – about 20% of the population, especially vegetarians and vegans, have sub-optimal levels of vitamin B12.
• Vitamin E – around 20% of Europeans don’t consume enough vitamin E.
• Biotin – 38% of women who experience hair loss have a biotin deficiency.
• Vitamin K2 – up to 31% of adults are vitamin K deficient.
• Folate – over 50% of the population can’t fully metabolize folate into its bioactive form.

All of these issues can appear throughout the year, however many are more common in wintertime, due to spending less time outdoors in the sun, eating less fresh produce and less varied, balanced diets.

How do you notice you don’t get enough micronutrients?

Many women are missing multiple nutrients at the same time and that can lead to a variety of signs that are often neglected and considered a “normal” part of the modern high-paced, stress-filled life.

Fatigue and muscle weakness

Two of the most common signs you might be missing some nutrients are muscle weakness and fatigue. Maybe you’re not just tired from not getting enough sleep, working too hard, pushing yourself too much.

If the fatigue doesn’t seem to get better even after you rest and recharge, it might be due to having low levels of vitamin D, iron, vitamin B12 and even folate.

Weakened immunity

Although a weakened immune system is extremely common in colder months, due to the vicious cycle of spending too much time indoors, which not only exposes us to infection but can also lead to vitamin D deficiency, other nutritional deficits can also cause our immune systems to be weakened.

Not having enough iron, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin E can also lead to a less active immune system, which can’t fend of infections and makes you more prone to colds and viruses. In winter it’s even harder to consume fresh fruit and vegetables, so vitamin and mineral deficiencies are even more common than the rest of the year.

Brain fog

Forgetfulness and low concentration are not just something you should brush off as a consequence of your high-stress lifestyle. Often those signs can be improved by adequate intake of DHA (Omega 3 fatty acids), iron, biotin, vitamin B12 and folate.

Hair loss, brittle nails and skin issues

While not all hair loss, nail and skin issues are due to nutritional deficiencies, about 38% of women who experience hair loss have been shown to be deficient in biotin.

Blood, cell, bone and heart health

Anaemia is still the most widespread nutritional deficiency in the world and is most common in women, most often due to iron deficiency, but vitamin B12 and folate can be beneficial in fighting anaemia as well.

Bones losing their strength is more common in ageing women than in men, and consuming adequate amounts of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 throughout your life can help keep your bones strong. Those same two vitamins also protect your heart.

What is the best way to avoid having low levels of vitamins and minerals?

Now you have all the information you need to determine if you need some extra help. You can:

• try to consume more foods that are rich in particular nutrients, and
• choose supplements that contain recommended daily amounts of them and are a simple and sustainable way to ensure daily consumption.

However, since not all nutrient inadequacies manifest in apparent symptoms and not all supplements are made equal, that may not be the best approach.

Instead of consuming a handful of different capsules every day, balancing recommended daily amounts, trying to figure out the best time and way to ingest them to ensure maximum absorption, and experiencing different types of discomfort while taking them (from fish breath to iron taste and heartburn), choose an all-in-1-capsule solution.

AVENOBO Lady Multivitamin is a unique, all-in-one multivitamin capsule

AVENOBO Lady Multivitamin covers the most important micro nutritional needs of women with the best possible vitamin and minerals in their bioactive and bioavailable forms.

Avenobo Lady has a unique capsule-in-capsule solution that lets you ingest both solid and liquid nutrients at the same time, without mixing them or impacting their stability or effectiveness. This makes them stand apart from others since the absorption rate is superior to what you would usually find in a multivitamin supplement.

The outer capsule contains the liquid nutrients – omega-3s (293 mg of DHA) from ultra-pure fish oil and 20 µg of vitamin D3 – while the inner capsule is filled with solid ingredients (iron, vitamin B12, folic acid (folate), biotin and Vitamin E) delivered in smart prolonged-release pellets which can be gradually released throughout the small intestine, where nutrient absorption is most optimal.

For you, this means simplifying your daily routine of taking your core supplements, and for your body, it means that it can absorb and use those nutrients as efficiently as possible.

Although our immune system particularly needs multivitamin support in the colder months, you can take Avenobo Lady Multivitamin capsules throughout the year.