Counting blessings and watching waistlines: sensible feasting and natural remedies to help you enjoy the holidays

Better Nutrition, Dec, 1998 by Tamra B. Orr

Sensible feasting and natural remedies to help you enjoy the holidays.

The holidays are here and all the wonderful things that come with them: unexpected gifts, close moments with your family, reunions with long lost friends, a chance to think about all of our blessings -- and heartburn?

Yes, unfortunately one thing we often forget to think about is what and how much we are eating. The holidays may be uplifting for our spirits, but they can be devastating to our waistlines and our acid levels. With office parties, home baking, and more than one "family dinner" (complete with desserts that reach from one end of the table to the other), temptation to overeat is never far away.

Using common sense

How can we get through the upcoming holidays without gaining unwanted pounds and suffering from indigestion, heartburn, gas, and abdominal cramps? As always, a little plain old common sense goes a long way. Remember some of the most sensible advice:

* Start off with small portions.

* Finish all the food on your plate (or choose not to) before going back for seconds.

* Stick to one (maybe two) desserts.

* Eat slowly.

* Eat more vegetables than high-protein foods.

* Finish eating your feast at least an hour before bedtime, preferably two.

Now where to turn? Back to nature

The next step to making sure the holidays are pleasant is knowing what to reach for when you overlook the common sense and end up with some intestinal discomfort, or worse, a parasite (yuck!) from some unwashed produce or undercooked meat.

Remember the old tale about Peter Rabbit? Instead of listening to his mother and staying out of Mr. McGregor's garden, he ate and ate so much that he got sick. When he finally got home, his wise herbalist mother made him a cup of chamomile tea. She must have known that chamomile contains bisabolol, a chemical that relaxes the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract and stops abdominal spasms. In Michael Castleman's book, The Healing Herbs, he writes, "One study shows that chamomile relaxes the digestive tract as well as the opium-based papaverine."

Dill is another herb that helps relax the digestive tract. Castleman states, "Research supports dill's 3,000 years of use as a digestive aid. One study shows that dill is also an antifoaming agent ... it helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas bubbles."

Fennel works much the same way that dill does. According to Judith Benn Hurley in The Good Herb, "Fennel seed is unparalleled at relieving intestinal gas." Coriander is also helpful with indigestion, as are oregano and lemon verbena.

After-dinner mints have been served in restaurants for years, and for a very good reason. Most mints contain a great deal of menthol, an aromatic oil that soothes the digestive tract. Castleman writes, "Russian and German studies show peppermint may also help to prevent stomach ulcers and stimulate bile secretion."

... And don't forget garlic

If you suspect that something you ate might have resulted in your contracting a parasite, the first recommendation is garlic, the world's second oldest medicine. William Khoe, M.D., a physician in California, commonly prescribes garlic capsules, or liquid, for the removal of parasites such as tapeworm, pinworm, and roundworm.

The East Indian Ayurvedics say that "Overeating destroys intellect." While this may be somewhat debatable, we all know that overeating does destroy our waistlines and our physical comfort. Plan to spend your holidays this year surrounded by loved ones and good memories, not indigestion and heartburn.

REFERENCES

Castleman, Michael. The Healing Herbs. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press, 1991.

Heinerman, John, Ph.D. The Healing Benefits of Garlic. Avenel, N.J.: Wings Books, 1995.

Hurley, Judith Benn. The Good Herb. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1995.

Tamra Orr has been a professional freelance writer for almost 20 years in the areas of health, nutrition, and child development. Tami lives in Warsaw, Indiana, with her four children and her husband, a chiropractor at the Orr-Barker Chiropractic Center.