As you exercise in cold weather, your body sweats just as it does in hot weather, although not as much. Sweat is the body's air conditioning system. In the summertime, sweat is able to evaporate and cool your body, because you are mostly wearing light clothing. In winter, the problem becomes quite severe because of all the heavy clothing you wear. In addition to insulating you from the cold, heavy clothing traps the water vapor produced by your body as you sweat. If this water vapor stays next to the skin as it can when clothing becomes wet from sweating, the effect is the same as if you jumped in a stream.
Certain fabrics absorb moisture,
while others don't. The trick is
to keep water-absorbing fabrics away from direct contact with the skin.
There
is an old saying, "cotton kills". This is because cotton readily
absorbs
moisture, and once it does, it loses what little insulating value it
had.
Wool, on the other hand, does not readily absorb moisture (have you
ever
seen a wool towel?), so moisture will generally pass through it and
condense
on the colder outer layers of the garment, or pass completely through
if
properly constructed. In any case, wool creates a barrier between your
skin and any moisture generated by your body, unless, of course, it is
totally saturated. Wool is itchy! This is a common complaint, so
synthetic
fabrics have been developed to shed water and insulate as well or
better
than wool without the itch. Gore-tex is such a fabric. Whatever you
do, keep cotton away from your skin!
The body has some built-in survival tactics of its own, though. Knowing that internal organs must be preserved at all cost, if the body is unable to generate enough heat to keep the entire body at operating temperature, it will sacrifice expendable parts first. These include the fingers and toes first, followed by the arms and legs. Ears and noses can also be affected quite easily. Have you ever noticed how these are the first parts of your body to feel the cold? When these extremities get too cold, frostbite is the result. Serious cases of frostbite will kill the tissue, and the only cure may be to amputate the affected area.
Knowing the effects and the consequences is key to prevention. Keep as much of your skin away from direct exposure as possible! The outside layer of clothing you wear should be capable of repelling strong winds, such as a tightly-woven nylon. Cover your head, your ears, wear gloves and insulated, waterproof boots. Most insulation works by trapping tiny pockets of air, which is a poor conductor of heat. With that in mind, dressing in layers creates more pockets of air to insulate your skin from the cold. Also, if you are exercising and become warm, it's easy to take off a layer of clothing to regulate your body temperature.
Carbohydrates are foods such as pasta, bread, and potatoes. You should load up on these foods prior to going out, and if you're going to be out for an extended period of time, generous servings should be included in your menu selection.