Holiday food binges can lead to serious health complications. That is precisely why medicine and nutrition specialists recommend a period of food relaxation, toning the body and restoring balance through a few simple tips.
Holiday excesses can be repaid PHOTO Adevărul
The specifically Romanian winter holidays involve, in many cases, meals loaded with all kinds of dishes, many alcoholic drinks and food abuse. The proof is also the large number of presentations at the Emergency Reception Units at hospitals all over the country. In Botoșani county alone, in 12 days, no less than 2,800 people arrived at the Emergency Department. Many with gastrointestinal problems caused by food abuse. Most of the time, food abuse is supplemented with alcohol and parties until the wee hours. In addition, the holidays, for many Romanians, are a prolonged party, with days on end of fatty, abundant food, washed down with various types of alcoholic beverages.
People visit their friends, relatives, and every meal must be honoured. After two intense weeks, the body of many Romanians can no longer bear the abuse. All kinds of problems arise, from the mildest, such as stomach upset, to life-or-death situations, such as heart attack, stroke, or the spark that ignites very serious chronic diseases. That is precisely why the specialists in medicine and nutrition recommend that after the holidays, if we escaped safely, without ending up in a hospital bed or the door of a doctor’s office, we start to restore the balance in the body. Doctors recommend three methods available to everyone.
Hydration, the first step
Doctor Corneliu Saradan, from the Botoșani Public Health Directorate, is a specialist in prevention and says that there are three important steps to find balance after the holidays. Especially if I abused food, and not only. The zero point, says Corneliu Saradan, is the summary assessment of the state of health. “The zero point is the establishment of the initial state of health. Weight, height, waist circumference, body mass index, so we know where to start. We’re using a scale, let’s see how much weight we’ve gained. We establish the body mass index corroborating with the height. Then, we also use a sphygmomanometer to determine blood pressure. If we also manage a blood sugar, even better. We can even do beginning of the year reviews if we’re not really feeling well. From here we can see what we have to correct”, says the doctor from Botošan. Then, if there is still no need for thorough medical investigations, we start hydrating the body.
“Of the three essentials in regaining balance after holiday excess, number one is water. Water and not other acidic, fruity, etc. liquids. The body restores its balance with the help of water, because 60% of our body consists of water. In addition, if we gained a lot of weight during the holidays and want to lose the extra pounds, water is again one of the solutions. If we drink enough water, we cut hunger”, Corneliu Saradan testifies. For her part, Etosha Farmer, a celebrity dietitian and nutritionist in New York, recommends hydrating after holiday binge eating. “Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day“, states the American nutritionist.
Etosha Farmer shows that staying hydrated will help our body metabolize carbohydrates properly and also remove excess sodium from the body. If we also drank too much, the increased consumption of water after the holidays will help us eliminate toxins and combat the effects of severe dehydration caused by alcohol.
Vegetables and fruits set the tone. No miracle diets
After hydration, the second method for restoring the body, recommended by the doctor Corneliu Saradan and other specialists, is to double the portions of fruits and vegetables, to the detriment of fatty and high-calorie foods. Especially if you put on a lot of weight over the holidays. If you’ve overdone it with food and alcohol during the holidays, vegetables and fruits should take the place of fats and heavy foods. “Point two is to eat fruits and vegetables. Plus, harmless little treats to fool the hunger pangs. That is, to feed our mouths but without making us fat, that is, with few calories. Fruits and vegetables provide us with vitamins and fiber, things we need to restore our body’s balance after very fatty foods, a lot of meat, mayonnaise and what is generally consumed during the holidays. In addition, his stomach, liver and pancreas have a well-deserved break after intense overwork“, says Corneliu Saradan.
Haylie Pomroy, a famous nutritionist and author of “Cooking for a fast metabolism” is of the same opinion. “I recommend radishes, celery, cucumbers and bell peppers. All of these contain a lot of fiber, which will help you burn off all the “ballast” gathered during the holidays. Plus they have thermogenic phytonutrients, which means they’ll help you burn fat over time too“, states Pomroy for “Forbes”. For his part, Etosha Farmer recommends prioritizing proteins, fibers and healthy fats in order to restore balance in the body.
“Prioritize protein, fiber and healthy fats as you gradually build up to balanced meals. Eat around 30 grams of fiber a day, increasing your intake of foods such as lentils, beans, greens and whole grains,” says Etosha Farmer for Forbes. At the same time, specialists do not recommend miracle diets and extreme diets if we notice too many extra pounds. “We have to take it gradually, slowly. Not with extreme diets. Because we end up either weakening our body even more or giving it a new shock, or when we succumb to starvation, we put on double the weight“, says Corneliu Saradan.
Sport works wonders. Not very intense, but constant
The third essential point in regaining balance is movement. “If we have turned off the tap on calories, we must burn the accumulated ones. In addition, sports help very well to optimize the level of triglycerides in the blood. It actually helps with detoxification, getting the blood moving and the joints moving.
It is excellent for the health of the cardiovascular system”, says Corneliu Saradan. Specialists recommend a gradual load of physical effort, not sudden and disproportionate effort. We can start with a simple walk or actually dance, to continue with running and then more complex physical exercises. “Enjoy low-intensity exercise like walking just to get your digestion moving again,” says dietitian Miranda Galati.
Overeating can cause serious damage
Although it seems like just a fun holiday, overeating and alcohol abuse during the holidays can have serious consequences on the body. Especially in the case of those who suffer from chronic diseases or have an advanced age. First, excess food and alcohol overload the stomach, liver and pancreas. “The first time there is the overload of the stomach, after that of the liver and the pancreas. And it goes from biliary dyskinesia and other gastrointestinal complications to serious emergencies. Including an ulcer, if it is on a background of gastric sensitivity, but also more serious problems“, says Corneliu Saradan.
Because of excess alcohol, gallbladder lithiasis can worsen, inflammation of the pancreas can also occur, with severe pain, nausea and vomiting. In some cases there is a risk of death. At the same time, the abuse of food and alcoholic beverages can lead to myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident, especially in those with chronic cardiovascular diseases, but also in those who have a predisposition or terrain conducive to these conditions. Especially the sausages and cheese eaten during the holidays contain a large amount of salt. this leads to an increase in blood pressure and implicitly to the risk of having a stroke. In addition, holiday excess can trigger serious diseases, especially when the body is on the edge of a knife, conditions such as diabetes.
