In winter, many people find that women's hands and feet always seem to be colder than men's. Sometimes they even feel discomfort in their abdomen due to the cold. Therefore, women always need to wear extra layers in order to stay warm in winter. So why do women feel colder in winter? Let's reveal the answer together.
Reasons why women feel colder in winter
1. Heat issue
Women have higher levels of estrogen in their bodies, and the heat in their bodies is converted into fat under the influence of hormones. In addition, many women do not have the habit of exercising or working out in winter, so the source of heat becomes even less. Don't blame the cold winter wind for making you feel cold.
2. Menstruation issue
Women "lose blood" once a month during menstruation, causing them to lose a large amount of iron. Iron is an important element for blood regeneration, and a lack of iron and blood in the body can make you feel cold. Women are advised to take measures to replenish blood in winter to avoid feeling cold due to insufficient blood and Qi in the body.
3. Diet issue
Many girls nowadays love to eat cold food, and coupled with spending a whole summer in air-conditioned rooms, the physical condition of many women changes. When entering winter, their bodies cannot adapt well to the change in climate, leading to feeling chilly and cold.
4. Clothing issue
No matter how cold it is, you can always see women wearing short skirts and high heels on the street. In fact, this practice is very harmful to the body. If you want to keep warm in winter, women must dress appropriately. When the temperature drops, wear down jackets and cotton shoes. Don't prioritize style over warmth.
5. Constitution issue
Lack of iron and insufficient thyroid hormone secretion are also important reasons why women feel cold. The results of experiments conducted by American weight researchers and nutritionists show that those with low tolerance to cold have insufficient iron content in their blood and often have decreased thyroid hormone levels in their plasma. Women mainly lose iron due to menstruation. Nutritionists point out that women should consume 18 milligrams of iron daily, but most women do not meet this requirement, hence feeling cold. Thyroid hormone has a "heat-generating" effect, which increases the body's basal metabolism, accelerates skin blood circulation, and increases heat production. When thyroid hormone secretion is insufficient, the body produces less heat, leading to feeling cold.
How to alleviate women's feeling of cold?
1. Dietary adjustment
Iron-rich foods
Eat more iron-rich foods to prevent iron-deficiency anemia caused by menstrual blood loss. You can eat more animal offal, poultry meat, beans, mushrooms, and other foods.
High-calorie foods
Foods with high calorie content also have an effect on alleviating cold intolerance. If women feel cold, they can eat more dried fruits, such as melon seeds, peanuts, and other nuts.
Warm foods
Meat: lamb, beef, shrimp, sea cucumber, oyster, eel, deer meat, chicken liver, etc., contain rich lipids and proteins.
Fruits and vegetables: leek, perilla, green pepper, mustard greens, cabbage, chili, onion, pumpkin, lychee, peach, longan, green onion, ginger, garlic, etc.
2. Lifestyle habits
Expose your back to the sun frequently to absorb more yang energy. Especially at the Dazhui acupoint (the most prominent bone at the back of the neck when bowing your head), you can wear relatively thin clothes to expose it to the sun, and the body will quickly distribute the absorbed yang energy throughout the body.
Use your fingers or a comb to massage your head from the forehead to the back of the head, and from the temples to the top of the head, 50-100 times each time. The best time to do this is in the morning after waking up. According to Chinese medicine, all the meridians in the body converge in the head. Massaging the head can stimulate these acupoints, promote scalp blood circulation, and unblock the meridians.
Taking a bath is similar to soaking your feet, soaking your feet can relieve cold feet, and taking a bath can quickly warm up your whole body. Weak women can add some ginger to the bathwater, as ginger can improve the problem of body coldness.
3. Acupressure
Feeling cold and uncomfortable in the body is often caused by blockages in the body's meridians, which prevent the smooth flow of blood. Acupressure can effectively solve this problem. It is recommended that women receive full-body massages at a massage parlor 1-2 times a month in winter. Long-term adherence can also have the effects of nourishing health and wellness.
Use a small glass bottle or a small rolling pin to press and roll around the acupoints with medium to heavy pressure. This is more effective than ordinary massages.
Location of Xuehai acupoint: 2 inches above the inner side of the kneecap, on the inner side of the protrusion of the quadriceps femoris.
Location of Sanyinjiao acupoint: 4 horizontal fingers above the highest point of the inner ankle, on the posterior edge of the tibia.
4. Moderate exercise
As mentioned earlier, many women do not like to exercise in winter because of the cold weather. In fact, this is the time when we should exercise more. Women can avoid outdoor activities in winter and choose indoor yoga, indoor swimming, or jogging on a treadmill to improve their intolerance to cold and chilly symptoms.
