Eat at the same time and skip desserts
New Year’s holidays are often accompanied by overeating, laziness and hangovers. According to Andrey Yakushev, a gastroenterologist at the Hadassah Israel clinic in Skolkovo, this situation can be resolved by following some simple rules.
The first is to eat in small portions and not be in a hurry.
“On the New Year’s table there are often many dishes that are difficult to combine with each other and are served in large portions. This greatly impairs the digestion of food. The peristalsis of the stomach is arranged so that when it overflows, functional gastrostasis begins: the stomach grinds everything very slowly and lazily. This threatens with the appearance of heaviness, discomfort and weakness in the epigastric region of the abdomen.
To prevent this from happening, you need to eat a little and slowly, ”said the gastroenterologist Yakushev.
Antonina Leontyeva, dietitian, nutritionist and physiotherapist of the “Medscan” multidisciplinary medical center, also emphasized that it is also important to maintain the usual diet.
“Except for New Year’s Eve, you should try to sit at the table at normal times. Every person has their own biorhythms. If we eat at the same times every day, by this time the digestive system is ready for high-quality digestion. If the rhythms are suddenly disrupted, the enzymes may not be enough, so the nutrients simply will not be absorbed,” he warned.
The doctor advised giving up fried foods even on New Year’s Eve. During frying, vegetable oil receives a large amount of carcinogenic substances that contribute to the development of various diseases. Also, the calorie content of the dish increases, and the digestive process slows down, fraught with rapid weight gain. In this respect, cooked foods are more useful and even better – boil them or steam them.
“Among other things, during the holidays you should try to refuse rich desserts, especially cakes, sweets, cookies and ice cream. These light carbohydrates will contribute to weight gain,” Leontieva said.
Move a lot and don’t mix
Expert Yakushev said that the move will also help not to overshadow the holidays. That means you shouldn’t spend all of January at the table. Activity distracts from banquets and alcohol abuse, and moving around during meetings helps not to overeat. In the latter case, there is also an explanation: activities should be carried out not immediately, but some time after a meal – at least about an hour and a half, at least – after 40 minutes.
“The most important thing to remember in the use of alcoholic beverages is not to mix them. Alcohol, in addition to ethanol, contains many other substances that are often incompatible with each other in different beverages. This largely causes severe hangover symptoms,” said the gastroenterologist.
In addition, it is worth replacing alcohol with food. This will help you get drunk slower and not overload your stomach, and then it will be easier to endure a hangover.
“Food contains fat, which is very important during the feast. Due to their enveloping properties, oils prevent the rapid absorption of alcohol. Due to this, the feeling of intoxication appears more slowly, the body manages to activate all the enzymatic systems for the processing of alcohol, and instead of filling the blood with alcohol shock shock, including gradually. all the systems necessary for its processing, ”summed Yakushev.
hangover fight
Doctor Yakushev said that if, despite the above advice, the morning still turns out to be difficult, you can resort to pharmacological and non-drug methods to eliminate the consequences.
Therefore, first of all, it is worth neutralizing the factors that aggravate the hangover: nicotine and insomnia. For example, a headache is usually relieved by getting enough sleep. Of the drugs used to relieve headaches, you can use any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
“Also, alcohol causes quite severe dehydration due to its chemical properties and above all ethanol – a reduction in the amount of water in the bloodstream. Good old brine is suitable here as well as tea because of its high electrolyte content. Be careful with coffee, because of the presence of the same dehydration properties, ”advised Andrey Yakushev.
According to the gastroenterologist, at least a temporary sparing diet will help to cope with morning sickness due to a hangover. So in the morning it is not worth eating lamb, mushrooms, spicy, fried and salty dishes.
It is better to have breakfast with a light soup – vegetable or chicken broth.
“You can use ginger to combat nausea. Ginger’s activity on the m-cholinergic receptors and serotonin receptors in the stomach and esophagus, as well as its direct action on the receptors, causes a reduction in nausea and vomiting. Ginger extract or ginger root can be conveniently used for nausea, for example, by drinking tea with it. The only thing is that you need to be more careful if you also have a stomach ache, ”the expert warned.
Nutritionist Antonina Leontyeva also noted that fasting will help to cope with hangovers and overeating, which will consist of eating one and no more than three low-calorie meals during the day.
“Such a “rest” for the body should be arranged during intoxication and accompanied by copious amounts of drink,” the doctor summarized.