Water. The most important thing is to get enough liquid. Christmas food with heavy proteins and fats often require a good amount of liquid to be assimilated. In addition, both beer, wine, spirits, coffee and tea are diuretics and creating acidity in the body. Therefore, rinse well with minimum 2.5 liters a day. Be sure to stay well hydrated before Christmas lunches and dinners. Start the day with a large glass of hot water with lemon in order to cleanse and create an alkaline environment in the body.
Move When we take a walk, run, play golf, tennis and walk the dog – even if you do not have any dog- the metabolism is increased. Get outside, move and you will get the system going.
Get your sleep. Several studies show that a good night’s sleep not only gives the body rest and time for rehabilitation but also regulates the appetite. If we sleep too little, we eat more, simply to regulate energy. So sleep will help weight regulation.
Take sour items with your Christmas food. Sour cucumber, beetroot, gherkins or simply squeezed lemon can help break down the proteins in the roasted duck, pork or ham. The acid helps break protein into amino acids, which are the body’s building blocks.
Separate proteins and sugar. Combining proteins and sugar is a problem. If we start with roast pork and go straight to desserts, chocolate and dried fruits, we are pretty sure that the stomach starts fermenting like a compost. The stomach will bloat and produce very smelly gases. It helps if we eat vegetables along with the proteins and then take a break before grabbing the sweet cakes and dessert.
Green juice, ginger tea and alkalising mojito. If you want to boost your energy in the Christmas month, make a green juice of cucumber, spinach, cabbage, celery, ginger and apple. Pour a little squeezed lemon in. It cleans and is alkalising. Hot Christmas tea made from freshly cut ginger, small pieces of orange, some cloves and cinnamon will also increase the digestion.
An alkaline mojito for two people is made of the juice of cucumber, lemon, lime blended with a handful of mint, a couple of ice cubes, add sparkling soda and decorate with a few mint leaves and a slice of lime. Its sparkling refreshing and a healthy supplement along with the other Christmas pleasures.
Enjoy Christmas time and remember, it is not what we eat and drink between Christmas and New Year that count – it is much more important what we drink and eat between New Year and Christmas.
About the author
Dr. Pernille Knudtzon, MD, Specialist in Family Medicine, Acupuncture, New Health Technology and NLP Trainer runs Vitafakta Health Clinic in Southern Spain. Her main medical training was done in Denmark. But curiosity led her to travel and study Holistic Medicine and Lifestyle aspects in many places around the world over the last 30 years. From her consultation in southern Spain she is now providing Personal Health Consultations based on a holistic health and functional medicine approach. She focuses on Health, Wellbeing and Vitality and guides her clients to live a healthy life and to thrive and shine the most. She is presently studying Functional Medicine at the Institute of Functional Medicine https://www.ifm.org/.