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(Bellingham, WA) - When it’s cold, dark, and wet outside, it can be tempting to curl up on the couch with a book and a cup of hot soup for dinner. But wintertime is the most critical time for us to keep our bodies well nourished and prepared to fight any bugs that may come our way during cold and flu season.

According to Registered Dietitian Gloria Tsang, preparing healthy meals is key to making it through the long cold winter months. “It’s all too easy to focus on making something easy and warm after a hard day, especially when it’s already dark outside when you get home from work,” says Tsang, founder of online nutrition community HealthCastle.com (http://www.HealthCastle.com). “But your body faces extra environmental stresses during this time so it’s especially important to nourish yourself with healthy, hearty meals.”

Here are some simple steps to help keep you healthy through the long, dark months of winter:

• Boost serotonin with healthy carbs: Whole grains and high-quality carbs such as sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, and squashes help boost serotonin (the “feel-good” brain chemical), which declines during the dark winter months.
• Pack in nutrition with winter produce: Pomegranates, cranberries, citrus fruits, grapes, and root vegetables add color and a healthy dose of vitamins and nutrients to your winter plate, and they’re available fresh all winter long.
• Max out your Vitamin C: Studies have shown that 1,000 mg of Vitamin C supplements may make colds milder and shorten them by half a day.
• Load up on Vitamin D: Sunshine is the best natural source of Vitamin D, so during a dark winter you may want to consider supplements of this vitamin, which has been shown to reduce the risk of colon, breast, and ovarian cancers by as much as 50 percent.
• Fight back with “friendly” bugs: A German study has found that probiotics (as found in yogurt with active culture) may shorten a cold episode by almost two days.

Despite claims you may have heard, no diet remedy or supplement has been scientifically proven to effectively prevent cold and flu. But following the simple nutrition steps above gives your body the best chance of fighting off these common winter bugs, and keeping you healthy all winter long. More healthy eating tips from registered dieticians are available at www.HealthCastle.com.

About HealthCastle.com: HealthCastle.com is the most comprehensive nutrition community run by Registered Dietitians on the web. The dietitians at HealthCastle.com have been sharing their passion for nutrition and health since 1997. For fun and practical healthy eating tips, exclusive nutrition guides, and nutrition podcasts, visit www.HealthCastle.com.

For more information or to interview Gloria Tsang, please contact Tracey Johnston at .