The change in seasons is the perfect time to refresh your routine. An RD breaks down all of the best supplements for spring to help you live your best life.
Spring is the ultimate transitional season. Dreary winter days turn into sunshine-filled hours, layers of clothing lighten up, April showers become May flowers—you know the drill…
As a dietitian, I find one of the best parts of changing seasons is that you can switch up your usual meals if you focus on eating seasonally. The higher temperatures and increased sunshine allow certain fruits and vegetables to flourish. I look out for asparagus, ramps, artichokes, carrots, fennel, and more every time I hit the farmer’s market in the spring.
There’s something about coming out of winter hibernation that calls for a spring refresh—not only with the foods in your kitchen or the clothes in your closet, but also with your supplement routine. It’s a good idea to re-examine your supplement routine every season to ensure you’re getting the nutrients that your body needs most at that time.
5 of the Best Supplements for Spring
Keep in mind that these five supplements are not the only supplements to include in your spring regimen. Your supplement regimen should be personalized to your needs. Not sure where to start? HUM Nutrition’s team of dietitians can help you select the best supplements for you. If you haven’t already, be sure to take the HUM Quiz for your personalized nutrition report from our RDs. However, if you’re doing some “spring cleaning” to your supplement regimen, these five supplements are definitely worth considering.
Polypodium Leucotomos
Where to Get It: HUM’s Turn Back Time
When we welcome spring, we also welcome more sunshine. Consider this your annual reminder to stock up on SPF and use it from head to toe. But here’s the catch: Even the most devout sunscreen users may experience damage from strong UV rays.
Polypodium leucotomos is a fern native to South America that’s been shown to protect the skin from UV damage. It contains powerful antioxidants that shield your skin from damaging free radicals.
You can find this UV-protective ingredient in HUM Nutrition’s Turn Back Time. What’s more, Turn Back Time contains more antioxidants from alpha-lipoic acid, turmeric, vitamin C, lutein, and green tea extract to enhance skin rejuvenation at the cellular level. This robust lineup of anti-aging ingredients can help you achieve healthier, younger-looking skin.
If you want extra protection from the sun, stock up on antioxidant-rich foods. Add more berries, leafy greens, green tea, grapes, and broccoli to your diet.
Vitamin D
Where to Get It: Here Comes the Sun
Because of the shorter, darker days, vitamin D is absolutely essential to your winter supplement routine. But just because springtime brings more sunshine doesn’t mean you should cut this powerful vitamin from your daily lineup.
True, you may be spending more time in the sun. But if you’re wearing sunscreen (which you should be to protect your skin), you may not be absorbing many more rays than on dreary winter days. Your skin requires SPF-less sunshine to activate vitamin D in your body.
Therefore, continuing your vitamin D supplement, like HUM Nutrition’s Here Comes the Sun, will ensure you’re supporting your mood, immunity, and bone health. Plus, Here Comes the Sun is a vegan vitamin D supplement in the most active form, vitamin D3, which means anyone can take it.
You can further support your vitamin D intake by including egg yolks, salmon, fortified milk, or orange juice in your diet.
Hyaluronic Acid
Where to Get It: Glow Sweet Glow
If the winter left you with dull, dry skin, now is the time to enhance your supplement regimen to achieve glowing spring skin.
For ultimate hydration, add hyaluronic acid to your regimen. It helps lock in moisture to boost your skin’s hydration and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. HUM Nutritions’s Glow Sweet Glow is a vegan gummy that not only contains hyaluronic acid, but also vitamins C and E (antioxidants that will give you that lit-from-within glow). Another plus? vitamin C helps support collagen production for smoother, firmer skin.
In addition to leveling up your supplement routine, be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. Since your skin can be up to 70 percent water, experts recommend adequate hydration of about two liters daily in order to keep your skin hydrated.
Another tip: Try to fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables at most meals. The “eat the rainbow” mentality will help you consume an array of nutrients to help support your skin. Be sure to vary your produce intake weekly for optimal variety.
Hair-Loving Nutrients
Where to Get It: Hair Sweet Hair
The cold temperatures and excessive styling from the wintertime may have left your hair dull and damaged. Just like your skin may need a glow-up, your hair may need some TLC too before harsher summer conditions like sun and chlorine.
Luckily, HUM Nutrition’s Hair Sweet Hair is formulated with protective ingredients for stronger, healthier, and longer hair, including:
- Biotin as a key mineral in hair and nails
- Folic acid for healthy hair growth
- Zinc for healthy hair follicles
- Fo-ti to stimulate growth and maintain healthy color
- PABA to help maintain natural hair color
- Vitamin B12 for healthy hair follicles
Additionally, try these 7 foods to support hair growth to achieve luscious locks by summer.
Protein
Where to Get It: Core Strength
Lighter, longer days plus warmer weather is the perfect formula to refresh your exercise routine. As you get more active, it’s important to support your body’s recovery. It’s essential to repair your muscles after exercise with enough carbohydrates and protein.
HUM Nutritions’s Core Strength protein powder is an easy-to-digest plant-based protein powder to help build lean muscle. With 20 grams of protein per serving, from pea, hemp, and pumpkin seeds, it’s the perfect solution for quick post-workout meals. In fact, it contains 22 amino acids, including all nine essential amino acids.
What’s more, Core Strength is a low FODMAP option with digestive enzymes and probiotics to support your digestion and prevent bloat, which will help you feel great as you shed bulky sweaters and jackets.
As you refresh your supplement routine for spring, keep these key nutrients in mind for glowing skin and healthy hair and nails by summer. If you’d like personalized recommendations, reach out to your HUM dietitian or take the HUM Quiz to tailor your supplement regimen to your goals.
