Tips For Surviving The Holiday Season From The American Heart Association

December 01, 1998

A holiday table groaning with food doesn't have to leave you groaning with remorse. With a little planning, you can make your holiday season a delicious and healthy time for family and fun. If you are at risk for or have heart disease, following a little good sense during this season of reflection can reap benefits all year long. Here are some tips from American Heart Association volunteer, Alice Lichtenstein, D.Sc., that can help you to enjoy the many festive treats that abound during the holiday season.

Celebrate!
A healthy diet is one that is bursting with fruits and vegetables - the American Heart Association recommends at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

• Brightly colored seasonal fruits and vegetables make it easy and delicious to get five servings of fruit or vegetables each day. Mixing the apple reds, squash oranges, spinach greens and cabbage purples of the season's vegetables can give you a wide range of healthy and colorful choices at traditional holiday meals.
  
  
• If you are hosting a meal, consider creating an edible centerpiece out of oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, apples and other seasonal fruits that are in the peak of their season. Creating the centerpiece could become a family activity.
  
  
• Winter squash, which is rich in naturally occurring beta-carotene, is also in abundance now. Winter squashes include pumpkins, acorn, turban and butternut squash. An easy way to prepare a squash is to cut it in two, and place it face up in a baking dish with orange juice concentrate in the center. Bake at 350 degrees until tender.
  
  
• Dark, green, leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach make great additions to holiday meals. They are colorful, tasty and high in fiber, which allows you to feel full on less food.

Enjoy!
The American Heart Association stresses the importance of enjoying healthy food as one of the most effective ways to take care of your health. Because tastes vary so widely, the AHA issues guidelines that help people find a healthy diet that appeals to their unique taste, rather than offering a rigid diet.

• Healthy eating should never consist of a list of "no-nos." Depriving yourself of favorite holiday treats will only set the stage for dissatisfaction with your "so-called" healthy eating.
  
  
• Indulge mindfully - roast turkey and roast chicken are naturally low in fat and calories. Holiday fare, like ham, duck or latkes (potato pancakes), a traditional Chanukah dish, have a lot of fat in them. To enjoy traditional favorites that are higher in fat, consider eating a smaller amount. Practice moderation by paying attention to the amount of foods you eat.
  
  
• It is important to remember that the type of fat is as important as the amount of fat you consume. Saturated fat - mostly derived from animal products - should be limited to no more than 10 percent of total calories daily.
  
  
• Wait 15 - 20 minutes after a meal to request seconds or dessert.

By delaying dessert, you may find that your appetite for sweets lessens. Or, you may find that you can be satisfied with one-half of a slice of pumpkin pie and a sliver of apple pie instead of the full slices of both that you ate in past years. Or, you might consider eating only the pie filling, since the crust of pies are often made with lard or hydrogenated oils, both of which contain high amounts of saturated fats. If you are the host, you may consider washing one load of dishes before dessert, so that you have a chance to "digest." For some individuals, desserts may be "trigger" foods - once you start eating them, you can't stop. If you recognize yourself in that description, selecting a sweet alternative - like fruit would be wise. This is when an edible centerpiece can come in handy!

Substitute

• If you are cooking, vegetable oils like canola, corn, soybean or olive make a good substitute for butter or hard margarine in recipes. Look for recipes that call for liquid oil rather than butter or hard margarine. Try to replace whole sour cream with reduced fat sour cream or low-fat yogurt. Substitute a 1% or skim milk for whole milk or cream.
  
  
• If you or someone you are cooking for is a sports fan, consider a healthy alternative to salty, high fat snacks. Slice potatoes very thinly (both sweet and white work). Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (cooking spray works well) and bake at 350 degrees until crisp, for healthy baked potato chips.
  
  

Move
Consider taking a walk at "half-time," or before dessert. Walking, which could be a group or solo activity, will help energize you after a large meal, and might begin to burn off some of those extra calories. Most people will burn up about 300 calories by walking briskly for about an hour.

Taking medication?
If you take medication, check with your physician if you are planning to "starve" yourself before a big meal. Some medications are meant to be taken with food, and skipping even a light meal could have serious consequences. The bottom line this holiday season, is to enjoy the season's bounty in moderation. Taking care of your own health is a great gift to give your loved ones this season. Enjoy the feast, but feast with wisdom.

American Heart Association

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