food, overeating, digestion, chinese medicine, bloating, heartburn, holidays

In the midst of holiday reverie, we are surrounded by unhealthy temptations- overeating, overdrinking, overspending... This can be a stressful time of year if you are lonely or isolated, or if you have family/relationship stressors that are magnified by holiday gatherings. The chances of feeling tempted to overindulge are high. Thanksgiving and Christmas are synonymous with rich foods and desserts traditionally served at these celebrations- pies, cookies, cakes and candies. Obligatory holiday office parties often involve LOTS of alcohol consumption. While seasonal indulgences are enjoyable, feeling bloated, hungover, and overweight are not!

Balanced eating is controlled by hormones. If you eat emotionally, or if you’re stressed or consume processed foods (or excessively salty or sugary foods), the signals that tell you when to stop eating are overridden. Overeating causes bloating, acid reflux, gas, nausea, stomachache, and lethargy. It puts duress on the digestive system. Specifically, too much sugar (or alcohol) causes blood glucose to spike and then plummet, affecting not only energy levels, but mood. In the long term, excess sugar increases inflammation, and increases risk of diabetes, blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, certain cancers, and other ailments like liver and kidney diseases.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Eating Habits

“Improper diet” is clearly identified as a source of pathology in ancient Chinese medicine texts. Irregular eating patterns, overeating, undereating, or eating unhealthy foods- too much sugar, greasy/fatty or spicy foods hampers the spleen’s energy. The spleen has a pivotal role in Chinese medicine: it transforms and transports the food we eat into fuel that the rest of the organs can utilize. It is the powerhouse of qi and blood. Therefore, it has a crucial role in keeping the whole body healthy and balanced.

Moderation is a recurring theme in Chinese medicine theory. The equilibrium between yin and yang energies is imperative for well-being. Overeating raw foods or foods with cold properties injures the Spleen yang, which might lead to a cold damp syndrome with symptoms of abdominal pains and diarrhea. Consuming too much greasy, sweet, or spicy food (or excess alcohol) may engender damp heat, phlegm, or general stagnation. Overeating almost always leads to spleen and stomach disturbances, inevitably disrupting the digestive process. Over time, these disharmonies may cause a myriad of complications like chest pain, dizziness, lethargy, obesity, and syndromes affecting other organ systems.

Strategies to Avoid Holiday Season Gluttony:

Don’t skip meals before the event. This will leave you very hungry and ready to eat a large amount at the outset; also, if you drink on an empty stomach, it will affect you much more quickly.

Have a small healthy snack before the holiday to fill you up a bit and make you less ravenous.

Eat slowly and chew your food completely; the slower you eat, the faster you’ll notice the “I’m full” signal your brain will send you.

Eat the rainbow! In other words, fill your plate with enough variety to include greens and varying colorful vegetables so that you get more nutrition in the meal- and it may diminish the amount of bad stuff you eat.

Be judicious and remember that alcohol is basically sugar and has a lot of calories, so keep this in mind when you dive into the dessert display. This goes for bigger meals- space them out over time.

Portion control: If you want to try three desserts, consider sampling smaller portions that offer tastings, or simply bringing home a leftover… a few smaller samples may equate to a normal serving size.

Distraction can lead to overeating; take your time and be thoughtful about what you want to eat before you fill your plate. And be mindful of how you feel.

Remedies, If It’s Too Late…

If you do overeat and feel ill: chew a sprig or two of fresh parsley! Parsley has a ton of nutritional value, and it reduces bloat and aids digestion. It also is a natural diuretic, so it may reduce inflammation as well. Sipping peppermint tea may also help. If you are a reflux sufferer, this is not advisable; opt for chamomile or ginger tea, or simply warm water. A walk after overeating may also help stimulate digestion and move the stagnation that sets in.

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