Why your body absolutely needs vitamin C & vitamin D in autumn and winter time

We reveal the most important facts about vitamin C and vitamin D in the fall and winter. First of all, you will learn what vitamins actually are, what is behind vitamins C and D, what tasks they have in the human body and what consequences a deficiency can have. Building on these basics, we will show you the key reasons why your body absolutely needs vitamin C and vitamin D, especially in the fall and winter. 

Vitamins are micro-nutrients that are vital for our body. They must be taken in through food as (almost all) of them cannot be produced by the body itself. However, vitamins are essential for physical health. It is therefore very important to pay attention to your body's vitamin balance and provide it with sufficient vitamins.

Vitamin C is one of the water-soluble vitamins. This means that this vitamin cannot be stored by the body. It is absorbed via the liquid in food. The vitamin C is then distributed in the body via the blood and, if there is an excess, is excreted via the urine. Many people associate vitamin C with citrus fruits, as oranges, lemons, limes and kiwis, for example, are important sources of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins for the human body and means full power for you, as it contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness. It also contributes to the normal functioning of energy metabolism, the nervous system and mental function. Vitamin C is therefore a true all-rounder and has an enormous effect on our immune system.

If your body is not sufficiently supplied with vitamin C, it is more susceptible to colds. This is because vitamin C is part of the white blood cells, which in turn play a very important role in defending against pathogens. If there is a vitamin C deficiency, this means that your body is less able to defend itself against pathogens.

Vitamin D is also known as the sun vitamin, as it is mainly absorbed through exposure to sunlight. However, unlike most other vitamins, the body can produce it itself if the body is exposed to sufficient sunlight. Strictly speaking, vitamin D is therefore not a vitamin at all. Nevertheless, it is treated as such in science and is one of the fat-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver or tissue. However, for vitamin D to be absorbed via the sun's rays, the sun must be very high. The rule of thumb here is: if the shade is longer than your height, there is virtually no vitamin D production. Depending on your skin type, around 30 minutes in a bikini or swimming trunks in the midday sun is enough to cover your daily vitamin D requirements. Unfortunately, this is not possible on most days of the year in Germany. In addition, there is no healthy way to cover the vitamin D requirement sufficiently through food. Here you can find a chart showing how much vitamin D is contained in various foods.

Almost all cells in the body have a vitamin D receptor. As a result, the sun vitamin intervenes in the metabolic processes of many different organs. This means that vitamin D has a major effect on many organs. For example, vitamin D plays an important role in our general well-being, muscles, bones, teeth, circulation, nervous system and immune system.

As vitamin D has a major effect on many organs, a deficiency can also affect many areas of the body. A vitamin D deficiency can therefore lead to a wide range of symptoms, such as

• General well-being: Lack of strength, listlessness, loss of energy, constant exhaustion and depression
• Muscles: cramping, twitching, trembling, pain, weakness
• Bones: pain
• Teeth: periodontitis
• Circulation: circulatory and blood circulation problems, feeling cold, especially in the hands and feet
• Nervous system: sleep disorders, constant tiredness and fatigue, concentration disorders, inner restlessness, coordination disorders
• Immune system: susceptibility to infections

In general, colds occur more frequently in the fall and winter months because viruses and bacteria can penetrate our bodies particularly easily at this time. A variety of external influences often contribute to a weakened immune system. Viruses and bacteria can also have an easy time in summer, for example when air conditioning systems irritate the mucous membranes. In the fall and winter, however, the daily change from cold to warm makes it particularly easy for pathogens. Pathogens are usually spread by droplet infection or when they come into contact with our mucous membranes. If our immune system is weakened, the pathogens can enter our body through the mucous membranes and cause a cold.

Why vitamin C?

Because vitamin C is particularly responsible for the normal functioning of the immune system and helps to reduce tiredness, it protects our body from the rapidly spreading cold viruses in the fall and winter. You should therefore pay particular attention to your vitamin C levels during the darker months of the year, as this is when colds are most likely to occur. However, vitamin C also supports your body with other factors, such as the normal functioning of your energy metabolism, the nervous system or your mental state, which also play an important role in your well-being during the cold and dark autumn and winter months.

According to a study, children and older people in particular benefit from the power of vitamin C. The results show that children who took 1-2 grams of vitamin C a day were less likely to suffer from colds and coughs and were not absent from school as often as the placebo control group.[1]

And that's not all - vitamin C can do even more. When vitamin C is taken prophylactically, it can not only reduce the frequency of colds but also the duration and severity of the illness. The results of a study show that taking vitamin C reduces the duration of illness in adults by 8% and in children by 14%. In addition, the symptoms of the common cold are less pronounced when vitamin C is taken prophylactically, according to the results.[2]

Why vitamin D?

It has long been a mystery to scientists why waves of flu and colds occur very frequently in Germany in the fall and winter, the seasons with little sunshine. Recent studies now suggest that one explanation is that a vitamin D deficiency weakens our immune system. Sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D synthesis. However, as explained above, in Western Europe we can only produce sufficient vitamin D through our skin from May to September, as these are the sunniest months here. Added to this is our lifestyle, which takes place indoors a lot. In the fall and winter months, the sun is much less present and absolutely not sufficient to absorb enough vitamin D. According to the latest studies, an insufficient supply of vitamin D in the fall and winter means a significantly increased susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections for both young and older people. According to the study results, vitamin D can help to reduce the infectiousness of cold viruses, as the vitamin contributes to an increase in the production of the body's own antibodies, among other things. It has been shown several times that the risk of respiratory diseases in children and adults can be significantly reduced by 35% with the addition of vitamin D.[3]

In addition, another study shows the connection between a vitamin D deficiency and winter depression. Winter depression, because the seasonal occurrence of depression is particularly noticeable in winter. It was found that the addition of vitamin D to the test participants improved their depression by 74%. Light therapy alone, on the other hand, did not lead to any improvement. This means that the vitamin D deficiency caused by sun deprivation and not the general lack of sunlight is the decisive factor for winter depression.[4]

The studies therefore prove that the sun vitamin vitamin D is indispensable for both our general physical and mental health. Vitamin D plays a central role as a building block of our defenses and in the function and development of our immune system. It is therefore particularly important in the fall and winter to provide the body with additional vitamin D to protect it from colds or infections.

As you can see, prevention is very important for your immune system. An intact immune system recognizes invaders immediately and renders them harmless. Without an adequate supply of vitamin C and vitamin D, our body is much more susceptible to colds and infections.

Immune Shot Cure from LiveFresh

The Immune Shotkur from LiveFresh provides your body with the daily requirement of vitamin C & vitamin D in a 100% natural way. The shot cure is the cure your immune system needs in the fall and winter.

The shots Ingwer Sturm and Kurkuma Power support your immune system with sufficient vitamin C and our Sunshine Berry covers your daily vitamin D requirement. Start your shot cure now and get through the fall & winter in the best possible way!

[1] Coulehan JL, Reisinger KS, Rogers KD, Bradley DW. Vitamin C Prophylaxis in a Boarding School. N Engl J Med, 290(1), 1974, 6-10.

[2] Hemilä H, Chalker E.Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold.Cochrane Database Syst Rev, (1), 2013.

[3] See Gröber, Uwe. The most important dietary supplements. Südwest publishing house, 2021.

[4] Cf. Gloth 3rd, F. M., Waheed Alam, and Bruce Holis. Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. The journal of nutrition, l health & aging, 1998, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 5-7.