How to Eat Healthy at Christmas

Christmas

During the holidays, alcohol should be consumed in moderation.

Christmas is synonymous with celebration, big meals, sweets and excesses. But eating healthy at this time of year is also possible.

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What foods should we eat and which ones should we moderate our consumption with? When should we take Christmas sweets? Why should we avoid alcohol?

Which people should take special care of their diet at this time of year? Giuseppe Russolillo, president of the board of trustees of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and member of the Official College of Dieticians-Nutritionists of Navarre (Codinna), answers all these questions in this article.

The first guideline that the dietitian-nutritionist gives to successfully achieve our goal is to "enjoy the table on days marked as holidays, which are Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. During the rest of the days you have to try to go back to the usual daily diet, keeping a correct management of the hours".

Food

For a healthy Christmas meal, the foods that should be eaten the most, according to Russolillo, would be "fruit, vegetables, whole-grain products and liquids to be well hydrated.

For the president of the board of trustees of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics there is no food that should be avoided, but warns about food in cases of "pathologies in which it is necessary to control the diet by prescription of the nutritionist.

If you choose to drink alcohol, it should be consumed moderately and cautiously, "as it is one of the most carcinogenic substances that have been studied. Their mortality rate is even higher than that of AIDS and tobacco," says Russolillo.

Christmas celebrations "are times when we get used to drinking and that's why it's important to control their consumption," he adds.

Another recommendation that the dietitian-nutritionist gives for healthy eating at this time is related to cooking and shopping: "It is necessary to handle leftovers and it is also very important that Christmas sweets and this type of food typical of Christmas are in a safe place, that they are not exposed continuously while at home or at the table, that they are taken out every time there is a special meal or a visit is made.

Other recommendations

Russolillo, besides drinking fruit, vegetables, wholemeal products and water, advises on Christmas dates:

• Exercise every day.
• Remove salt from recipes.

Take care of your diet, especially those who suffer from cardiovascular disease.

According to different studies, "after Christmas hospital admissions increase due to cardiovascular problems as well as incidents and, furthermore, there are data showing that people with some cardiovascular pathologies should take care of their diet", concludes the president of the board of trustees of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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