Vanilla crescents, pork sausages, Christmas carp and gingerbread hearts: the mixture of fat and sugar at Christmas is fatal. Heartburn can be the logical consequence. If you treat yourself to a glass of mulled wine with your sumptuous meal and then lie down straight after feasting, it can really ruin your appetite.
If you don’t feel full after a meal, but instead experience annoying heartburn, it can be a harmless thing – as long as it doesn’t happen too often. Statistics suggest that a quarter of the population in Austria struggles with heartburn once a month – often after a rich and fatty meal. If it happens regularly, doctors recommend that you definitely have the heartburn checked out by a doctor.
The following tips will help you enjoy the Christmas holidays without any problems:
1. No aperitif: Avoid the welcome glass of sparkling wine. Drinking alcohol before a meal has been shown to increase appetite.
2. Drink lots of water: Researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg (USA) found that drinking half a liter of water before eating reduced calorie intake by around 75 kilocalories. If you don’t value water that much, you can use plenty of calorie-free drinks such as unsweetened tea with lemon or ginger.
3. Three hour meal break: From breakfast straight to lunch then straight to afternoon coffee? Not a good idea. You should take a break of at least three hours between meals. This gives your body enough time to cope with the goose or cake and allows you to feel hungry again.
4. Eating Slowly: It is particularly important to eat slowly. What we know as a feeling of satiety only occurs 15 to 20 minutes after the start of the meal. Stressing about eating is not a good idea. In addition to fatty food, it is a guarantee of heartburn and prevents you from realizing when you have had enough of a good thing and should put the cutlery aside.
5. Tee beruhigt: If your stomach rebels, peppermint, fennel, anise, ginger or caraway, enjoyed as tea, can have a relieving effect. The Chamber of Pharmacists recommends raw potato slices, hazelnuts and almonds as home remedies for heartburn.
6. Christmas tree without sweets: It may sound banal, but it still saves calories. Decorate the Christmas tree consciously without edible decorations.
7. Already cookies, but be careful! Not all Christmas baking has the same number of calories. According to the dietitians at the Vienna Regional Health Insurance Fund, gingerbread, fruit bread and whole-grain biscuits are recommended. Tip: Serve cookies as a dessert instead of a snack.
8. Stay away from bread: For main meals with side dishes such as rice, pasta or potatoes, you should avoid reaching into the bread basket as much as possible.
9. Save calories when eating: Clear soups – instead of cream soups with whipped cream – or light salads without fatty dressings are healthy starters and fill you up before the main course. And: Choose parsley potatoes or rice instead of fries, fried potatoes or croquettes.
10. Walk: If you walk for two hours a day during the holidays, you don’t have to worry about your digestion or your weight. 200 to 300 kilocalories are burned per hour of walking. In addition, exercise promotes mental balance and is good for the psyche.
11th reduction day: After the holidays, plan a reduction day without meat and fat and instead eat lots of vegetables and drink tea.
