Well, the party season is upon us! Hurrah!
But before you fill yourselves with turkey dinners and as much mulled wine and Prosecco as you can, here’s some good health advice to go alongside it.
How to Prepare Your Digestive System for Christmas.
Something for you to keep on hand throughout the festive season with some handy hints and tips to aid your digestive health. I’ve even prepared a handy download so you can print off the information below and keep it on hand! CLICK HERE
The countdown to Christmas is in full swing. We all want to eat, drink and be merry, but there’s always a concern about overdoing it!
Digestive symptoms due to overeating or drinking can be painful.
Waking up in the night with acid reflux is not going to make you very merry, and neither are IBS symptoms such as stomach cramps, constipation, or diarrhoea. But fear not, with some careful choices you can come out the other side and begin the new year without feeling terrible or looking more like Father Christmas.
Start preparing your digestive system for Christmas now!
Drinking alcohol and eating too much sugar reduces the number of healthy bacteria in your digestive system. On the flip side, it also increases the number of bad bacteria, which thrive on sugar.
The lead-up to Christmas is the perfect time to start taking a good quality probiotic – if you want to know the best one or have any questions drop me a text or give me a call. You can build up some protection for Christmas. Increasing the good bacteria in your stomach will help the digestion of your food and reduce the symptoms of bloating.
Portion control – size does actually matter!
Do you know how much of each food to put on your plate? The image below gives you a “handy” guide to food portions that is easy to understand. Women should have one portion and men can have two of each.
(Right click the image to download your Christmas Portion Guide, print and keep it “handy”)
You may be reducing portion sizes, but swap one meal a day for a nutrient-packed juice. Juices are also brilliant for those moments when post-Christmas-party you’re feeling a little delicate. They’re easy to digest, perfect for when you can’t face ‘proper’ food and will deliver a powerful dose of vitamin C when you need it most.
You can never have too many veggies.
If you feel you want more food, load up on vegetables. Filling your plate half full of veggies adds helpful fibre to your digestive system. This means that everything will move through nicely and you won’t end up constipated.
Prebiotics in vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage feed good bacteria in the gut, helping your system to stay healthy. So why not add some extra types of vegetables to the Christmas dinner this year? Please remember to chew as they can make you rather windy.
Flush your system regularly.
Did you know that your brain interprets being thirsty in the same way it does being hungry? Topping up your water throughout the day helps avoid this confusion.
Drinking a glass of water with your meal helps the stomach to digest the food as well as filling you up. So you won’t be tempted by that extra mince pie.
Extra water throughout the day will help combat the drying effects of staying inside with the heating on too. Of course, you can always change this for warm water with lemon, or peppermint tea. Just a gentle reminder from the Colonics Queen to drink the stuff!
Have that afternoon nap.
There’s a valid reason why our bodies want us to have a little nap in the afternoon on Christmas Day. The high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal causes our bodies to release hormones to tell us to slow down. It diverts energy to the liver to absorb the extra glucose for our blood levels to return to normal. This is what makes you feel a little sleepy.
The perfect excuse for a Christmas siesta. It’s mandatory for digestive health!
As you can see, if you put some extra effort into looking after your digestive system for Christmas, you CAN still have your cake and eat it (only two fingers worth though)!
