The Hospital de Clínicas provided some advice for avoid excesses during the end of the year holidays that may appear or increase episodes of gastrointestinal discomfort such as heartburn, hangover, pain and bloating.
In this sense, they recommend don’t skip any food to avoid excessive intakes at night, moderate the consumption of alcoholic beverages and sugary drinks added, increase water consumption; and planning the amount of food to prepare in advance to avoid accumulating leftovers.
In addition, they advise eating slowly and chewing well, moderate the consumption of caloric foods and include a variety of preparations containing fruits and vegetables.
In this regard, the head of residents of the Department of Food and Dietetics of the Hospital de Clínicas, Alexa Gómez, indicated that “a recurring problem is the excessive intake of food in a short period of time, which usually favors the aforementioned symptoms, this is usually accompanied by skipping meals for the rest of the holiday or eating little food arriving very hungry at the time of the party “.
When this happens, for Gómez, “it is more difficult to control the portions, even more so if the variety of dishes is very large, that is why it is important to make the previous meals including fruits, vegetables and whole grains”.
In addition, the licensee maintains that “a high consumption of fats of animal origin such as cuts of meat, butter, mayonnaise and milk cream can also contribute to digestive symptoms” and advises select lean cuts of meat such as chicken and turkey without skin, peceto, remove visible fat and foods such as butter, cream or mayonnaise replace them with vegetable oilsthem.
Regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages and how to prevent them from falling ill and producing a hangover, the specialist pointed out that drinks at parties are usually “alcoholic and sugary and this leads many people to have an excessive consumption of both alcohol and extra calories and empty “.
At this point, he recommended “drinking water throughout the day of the festivities and incorporating several glasses throughout the night”, while he warned that “many times you also begin to consume alcohol long before eating food, which can favor a higher consumption on an empty stomach and that this causes us discomfort “.
On the other hand, Gómez explained that “it is a myth” that it is more harmful to mix different types of alcoholic beverages than to drink only one type of drink during the entire party, and that excessive intake will always cause symptoms.
And he warned that a portion of one of the typical festive dishes can consume about 2300 calories, when “2000 is what an average adult needs in a whole day.”
For this reason, he noted, it is important “to serve small portions of the highest calorie foods and prepare alternatives with a higher proportion of vegetables such as salads, grilled vegetables, stuffed vegetables”
For the professional, you have to “cook the right amount for diners to avoid excessive leftovers”, and that this leads to consuming it for days.
Regarding the amount of kilos that can be gained in one night, Gómez said that “the weight gain that holiday food can mean has to be analyzed in the context of each person” and how the body has the capacity to store the extra energy consumed and saves it in the form of deposits of fat mass “It is important not only to control the intake in the celebration meals, but the days before and after.”
At this point, the graduate recommended “increasing energy expenditure by keeping moving (according to the possibilities of each one), since it is also a tool to take into account when one seeks to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.”
