It is our mission at Vibrant Living to provide all of our patients with the tools necessary to be both proactive and preventative when it comes to their healthcare.
Our previous newsletters around this time of year were all about how to “Avoid the Holiday 10lbs” that most people will gain or “How to Maintain your Sensible Eating Habits during the Holidays”. While we still firmly believe in those ideas, and believe that moderation is the key to successfully getting through this season. This newsletter is going to have a different tone. This issue is going to focus on how to protect your body from the perils of the season; the overindulging, the sugar and alcohol, late nights and stress that can also accompany the Wonders of Christmas. I love this season, and I don’t know about you but each year the season keeps getting longer and longer. Our festivities this year seem to start in November, and don’t end until mid January. Now, even if you are trying to be moderate that is still a lot of functions!!
Have you ever noticed how everyone seems to get sick in January? Some may say it is because the flu is just rampant at this point of the years. May be true!
But, we believe that it is the terrain not the disease. Meaning that if your body is protected, well rested, well fed and not stressed, you should be able to ward off the lurking viruses. Lets look at our system after the Christmas season…we are totally acidic (from all the sugar and alcohol which the bugs thrive in), we are exhausted from running around and many of us find this season to come with a certain element of stress. If even one of these is true for you, it can set your terrain up for more disease than is necessary.
While moderation is still the key, this issue is going to give you some tips of things that you can do if you do end up overindulging!
Hangover Helpers
Alcohol
While it can be nice to sit back and relax with friends and a glass of wine, alcohol can really have a negative impact on many aspects of our health. Alcohol increases insulin, which creates havoc on our blood sugars, which then impacts our quality of sleep at night and causes us to want those high fat and sugary foods the next day. In order to minimize this effect, use soda water for your mix instead of pop or tonic water. If you consume drinks that are lower in sugar, you will have less headaches which are usually related to both alcohol and sugar. You will also have better insulin balance, which is going to help to manage some of the alcohol induced cravings for foods.
Red Wine is the drink of choice as it does have some health benefits, and has been shown in some studies to improve red blood vessel function. The amount of drinks per week that is deemed appropriate for a woman is 4, and men is 7. So there is too much of a good thing!
Liver Supportive Foods
We know that any kind of toxin to the body has to be processed by the liver. We also know (even if we sometimes don’t want to admit it) that alcohol is a toxin. Therefore it is really important to play close attention to our liver, as it works hard to keep us pure and clean over the Christmas holidays.
Foods that support liver function include beets, leafy greens, garlic, onions, cruciferous vegetables like kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. In terms of supplements there are a few that work very well to support the bodies detox process which include Vitamin C, NAC, milk thistle and choline and inostitol.
We have a product at the office called LIV H17 which is a mix of choline, inostitol and milk thistle that protects the liver nicely.
B-vitamins
Bvitamins are necessary for the breakdown of alcohol. There has been some studies that have shown that taking Bvitamins can reduce your hangover symptoms by up to 50%. It is important to take a Bcomplex, and best to take 1 before going out, one when you come home and then one again the next morning. For women, the folic acid in the Bcomplex has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer that has been linked to excess alcohol consumption.
Bust away those Bloated Blues
We all know that traditional feeling following a Christmas dinner, bloated and sleepy! While the food is great, the aftermath of all of those starchy carbohydrates, proteins and increased portions is very hard on our digestive system and requires it to do extra work. That bloated sensation is the food not digestive properly in our system creating gas and distention. The extreme fatigue after eating can be one of two things. First, our blood and energy is diverted to our digestive system after a meal, so the larger the meal the more energy is required. Secondly, the traditional Christmas dinner is usually composed of a lot of starchy carbohydrates like potatoes, turnip, dressing and bread. These foods tend to affect our blood sugar and insulin levels, and this can cause us to feel fatigued after such a meal.
The obvious solution is to watch our portions and reduce our starchy carbohydrate intake. However, you can also take a digestive enzyme to help you with these larger, or harder to digest meals. Take the digestive enzyme about 10min before the meal and it will help you to break it down. If you aren’t a pill popper, you can also try taking about 1tbsp of apple cidar vinegar before the meal in water, which also helps to increase your natural production of digestive enzymes.
It is also important to take a probiotic, not only will it help your to support your immune system but it will also help your digestive system process these foods.
Take a probiotic that contains 10billion active cultures (or cfu’s) and during the season take 1 capsule twice a day.
Fight the Post Christmas FLU!!
It has been found that 1 tsp of sugar can reduce your natural killer cells ability to fight infection by up to 50% for 4 hours after ingestion. With the Christmas season being known for its sweets, it is important to protect your immune system during this time.
If you would like more information on this, please refer to our last newsletter, which is packed with information on natural ways to fight infection.
To review, it is important that the whole family be taking vitamin D, and a probiotic during the winter months to optimize that immune function.
Most of all, Happy Holidays!
After tremendous success and growing participation of KW’s Annual Community Wide Cleanse, its founders: Moksha Yoga Waterloo, Seven Shores Cafe, and Vibrant Living Naturopathic and Wellness Centre are collaborating once again to bring you amazing resources for cleaner and more conscious living.
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