You’re going to have less energy and focus after summer. There’s no getting around it. You have less sunlight, more colds and bugs going around, and many more seasonal events on your plate to sap your resources.

Eating and exercising will help you stem the tide, and you can take appropriate supplements to bridge any nutritional gaps (a capsule or tablet in the morning is all you need, and you can pick them up in large quantities for one to six months’ worth).

Find the best supplements for autumn and winter below.

 

Energy supplements

Some vitamins and minerals help your body produce energy with building blocks for ATP, by extracting nutritional elements from food, or improving fatigue.

Keeping your energy levels up isn’t merely a case of plenty of calories in and a sweet snack when your blood sugar drops. These supplements can help:

B vitamins

B12 enables energy metabolism and reduces fatigue. Vegetarians lack it entirely since plants contain none. Absorption drops with age regardless of diet.

B6 handles protein breakdown and psychological function. Serotonin production depends on adequate levels. Protein-rich diets won't energise you if B6 runs low.

Folate combats tiredness alongside B12. It builds red blood cells your body needs for oxygen transport. If you’re pregnant, you need more than the average person.

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Iron

Oxygen reaches cells via iron transport. Ferritin below 50 may indicate depletion, felt as breathlessness on stairs and cold extremities. Morning coffee blocks absorption - take your supplement with orange juice instead, since vitamin C improves uptake.

Periods drain reserves monthly. Athletes need 30% more than sedentary people. Vegetarians face lower absorption from plant sources.

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Additional reading: 5 Energy Types Your Body Needs + Best Supplements Guide

 

Focus and mental clarity supplements

Brain fog. An inability to get stuff done. Low mood and angry episodes. Sound familiar? Autumn and winter are horrible for it, but you can get back to your summer self with some supplements that help regulate happy hormones:

Omega-3s

EPA and DHA maintain heart function and blood pressure. DHA forms 40% of polyunsaturated fats in your brain. Without enough, you get dry eyes, poor memory, and mood swings.

Fish oil provides 2-3 grams ready-made. Flax converts at 5% efficiency, meaning you'd need tablespoons to match one fish oil capsule.

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Vitamin D

UK winters prevent the sunshine vitamin's synthesis from October to March. Your skin produces a nominal amount, leaving you dependent on supplements.

Seasonal depression often traces to plummeting levels, your muscles could ache more, and you might also find that you catch colds more often without supplementation.

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Magnesium

Brain fog and exhaustion trace to a magnesium shortage that many blood tests miss. Only 1% circulates in the blood. Your muscles twitch at night, and you can't sleep despite tiredness. Magnesium enables GABA production for calming your nervous system.

Glycinate reaches brain tissue without digestive upset. Citrate absorbs fast but can cause loose stools. Oxide absorbs at around 4% efficiency.

What we’re trying to say is, you’ll have the best results with oxide or glycinate, as these are most likely to improve your focus without ill effects.

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Our Calcium, Magnesium & Vitamin D tablets are another fantastic supplement choice to cover more than one nutritional gap.

 

Wellbeing supplements

You wake up in darkness, leave work in darkness, and your mood follows suit as autumn stretches into winter. The cold saps your energy and comfort. Plus, you have less motivation to exercise and see friends and family.

These supplements help you feel more like yourself:

Vitamin C

Your immune cells hoard vitamin C at concentrations 100 times higher than what circulates in your blood because it plays thousands of roles in keeping you well.

Unlike fat-soluble vitamins that hang around, this one escapes in your urine, so a supplement helps keep your body fuelled.

Smoking? Every cigarette costs you milligrams of the stuff, and a deficiency can cause bruises to show up from barely bumping into furniture. We recommend a 1000mg daily dose, either in tablet or capsule form.

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Zinc

Zinc builds T-cells and antibodies - your body's defence system against infections and the reason you bounce back from colds. Sweating during exercise depletes it. Vegetarian diets provide less absorbable forms.

White spots on nails give the game away. So do wounds that take forever to close. Most adults need 8-11mg daily. Fighting something? Jump to 15-30mg temporarily.

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Probiotics

Antibiotics don't discriminate - they kill everything in your gut, beneficial bacteria included. Then sugar arrives and feeds the troublemakers you don't want multiplying. Your body's B vitamins and vitamin K production tanks without helpful bacteria.

Capsules work best for providing the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium your gut needs, with Inulin being essential for feeding the bacteria.

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Some final thoughts

When the cold and earlier days strip away vitamin D, and stress burns your magnesium, the right nutrients help you function and pull through the worst of it. Even better, they complement your exercise, sleep, and wellness routines.

You can start with any of the supplements in our article, give them two to three weeks to settle in, and see if you feel any different. If you do, then happy days.

It’s also advisable to get a blood test for potential deficiencies before taking supplements, since you might need more substantial doses to make up for them.

Read this next: Why Autumn Is the Perfect Time to Rethink Your Supplement Routine