Winter wellness focuses on improving your physical and mental wellbeing using a full and considered approach to nutrition, physical activity, social connection, and more to help support our immune defence and prevent or minimise seasonal illness and emotional or mental challenges such as winter blues.
Wellness is particularly important during the winter months as the environments around us change, presenting more bugs, germs and viruses and challenges such as vitamin D shortages which can affect both physical and mental health.
In this article, we’ve asked guest expert Megan Jones (Adv.Dip.NutMed, BHsc.NutMed, Adv.Dip.HerbalMed ) Nutritionist and Expert in Gut Health, Women’s Health and Child’s Nutrition from Nuzest to share her insight into understanding nutrition and the important role this plays in supporting wellness during the winter months.
Why is January the Ideal Time to Improve Well-being?
For many, January symbolises a fresh start, a period to reset and recalibrate after the fast pace of the festive season. As life steadies again, many people feel ready to re-establish or adopt new routines that support daily wellbeing. It’s an ideal time to check in with the body, notice how the past few months have felt, and shift back toward choices that help restore balance; from digestion and immune function to energy, sleep and overall resilience.
Once routines start to normalise, many of us return to the basics that help us feel well - eating regularly, keeping active and allowing time for rest and recovery. But January can also bring the temptation of big, dramatic resolutions. All-or-nothing resolutions sound appealing, but research tells us they rarely last.(1) Gentle, realistic habits tend to integrate better into everyday life - and often make a more meaningful difference to how we feel throughout winter.
What Happens to our Bodies over Winter?
Winter places unique physiological demands on the body. Short daylight hours, reduced exposure to natural light, heavier meals and increased time indoors can influence circadian rhythm, digestion, immune readiness and overall vitality.2 Many people also notice shifts in energy and mood during this season - not because something is “wrong”, but because the body is adapting to a different environment.
Why am I so ill in the winter?
As we’ve mentioned, the winter brings with it more demands for our bodies which contribute to a decline in how ‘well’ we feel. Combined with the fact that we’re spending more time indoors thanks to the weather and viruses survive longer in cold conditions the cold weather; this makes it more likely that viruses spread from person to person and harder for our bodies to fight off these illnesses well.
Why Is the Gut Important for Immunity?
Approximately 70% of the immune system is located in the gut, where trillions of microbes form the gut microbiome.(4) This ecosystem plays a central role in immune signalling, inflammatory balance and nutrient absorption.
When gut balance is disrupted, often due to irregular meals, richer foods, stress or disrupted sleep; it can create ripple effects across broader areas of wellbeing. Supporting the gut is therefore a key part of promoting immune resilience throughout winter.
Reintroducing routine, nourishing meals and targeted nutritional support can help restore digestive comfort and strengthen this important gut-immune relationship, contributing to greater resilience throughout winter and keeping those sniffles at bay.
Read on to delve deeper into how nutrition shapes our winter wellbeing and how Nuzest’s clean, plant-based formulations can offer steady, reliable support when the colder months place extra demands on the body. Nuzest supplements are designed to complement everyday eating patterns and help restore balance when routines shift, nourishment becomes less consistent, and the body benefits from a little extra support.
Recommended Nutritional Supplements for Winter Wellness
Good Green Vitality
Good Green Vitality offers a comprehensive blend of vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, microbiotics, and more. It’s formulated to support energy metabolism, digestion and immune function - making it a useful daily addition for those re-establishing routine or looking to strengthen foundational nutrition through the colder months.
Inner Biome Blend (IBB)
Inner Biome Blend provides a fermented combination of microbiotics and soothing botanical extracts to support digestive comfort and microbial balance. This helps maintain a healthy gut environment that plays a central role in immune function through winter, offering a simple way to reinforce the gut–immune connection as routines and dietary patterns shift.
Vibrant Insides
Vibrant Insides is formulated with European golden pea protein, microbiotic bacteria Bacillus coagulans, acacia fibre and L-glutamine to support gut comfort and healthy microbial balance. Its blend of digestive enzymes helps break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates, while botanicals like peppermint and slippery elm offer gentle digestive support.
Glowing All Over
A plant-based beauty blend, Glowing All Over blends 18 g golden pea protein with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrient-rich berries, and the Dermaval™ complex. It helps support healthy hair, skin and nails, while contributing to collagen maintenance and overall skin quality.
Immune Amie
A nutritional blend combining European golden pea protein with vitamins, minerals, microbiotics and botanicals to support immune resilience and everyday wellbeing. Each serving of Immune Amie provides 18 g of plant protein alongside key micronutrients (including vitamins A, C, D3, E and B-vitamins, plus zinc and magnesium), beneficial bacteria Bacillus coagulans, a mushroom complex, and plant extracts such as grape seed and green tea. It’s designed to support immune function, microbiome balance and overall vitality throughout the winter months.
What are the signs of a weak immune system?
If you’re concerned about your immune performance, listening to your body can be the first step in providing it with the support it needs to meet your winter wellness goals and perform at its best during the winter months. Symptoms and signs that your immune system might be weakened include:
- Frequent infections ranging from colds, ear infections, chest infections and sinus infections to more severe infections such as skin infections and pneumonia
- A persistent feeling of fatigue, even if you’re achieving the right amount of sleep, can be indicative of your immune system working too hard. Sleep support supplements can help you regulate poor sleep-wake cycles and maximise your sleep health.
- Long-lasting wounds that won’t heal or take longer to heal than you’d expect from minor injuries can be caused by poor cell function; an essential part of the immune process.
- Inflammation of the joints and the skin (frequent aches, rashes with no cause etc) can mean your immune system isn’t functioning properly
While these can be supported with strong, consistent supplementation and healthy lifestyle changes it’s important to seek medical advice from your health care practitioner to establish any underlying immune dysfunction which may require treatment.
5 Ways to Support Winter Wellness
Small, practical changes often create the biggest shifts in how we feel. Consider integrating:
- Morning light exposure and movement to help regulate circadian rhythms, mood and metabolism.(5)
- Warm, nutrient-rich meals to support digestion and stable energy.
- Adequate hydration, even during colder weather when thirst cues are lower.(6)
- Consistent sleep-wake patterns to help reinforce immune and hormonal balance.
- Regular supplementation, as daily consistency tends to offer more support than reactive use.
These gentle habits complement nutritional support and help create a more resilient internal environment throughout winter.
How Quality Supplements Can Support Results
January doesn’t require a complete overhaul - just a shift back toward routines and choices that help you feel grounded and energised. Thoughtful nutrition, supportive lifestyle habits and clean, plant-based formulas can work together to strengthen the systems that matter most during winter.
With Supplement Hub’s vast array of high-quality supplements such as Good Green Vitality, Inner Biome Blend and the Nuzest Protein Plus range, you can build a simple, effective and sustainable wellness routine that supports digestion, immune resilience and daily vitality; helping you move into the year feeling balanced, nourished and ready for what lies ahead.
References:
1. O’Connor, D.B. et al. (2017). Stress and wellbeing: a meta-analytic review. Appl Psychol Health Well-Being, 9(3), 315–344.
2. Haspel, J.A. et al. (2020). Perfect timing: circadian rhythms, sleep, and immunity — an NIH workshop summary. JCI Insight, 5(1), e131487.
3. Arlinghaus, K.R. & Johnston, C.A. (2019). The importance of creating habits and routine. Am J Lifestyle Med, 13(2), 142–144.
4. Wiertsema, S.P. et al. (2021). The interplay between the gut microbiome and the immune system in the context of infectious diseases throughout life and the role of nutrition in optimising treatment strategies. Nutrients, 13(3), 886. doi:10.3390/nu13030886.
5. Blume, C., Garbazza, C. & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie, 23(3), 147–156.
6. Taylor, K. & Tripathi, A.K. (2025). Adult dehydration. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Last updated March 5, 2025.
