Last week, we discussed a few issues that can occur due to festive cheer and binge eating and drinking. It’s the last day of the year and the celebration still continues, so as promised, today, let’s discuss a few more tips that we can follow over the weekend to keep our overall health in place.
Rest your sweet buds
Late night meals including junk and processed food with too much sweet intake can lead to slowing down our digestion and gut motility, leading to constipation. Outside fried food is rich in Omega 6 and saturated fat which will increase inflammation and fat accumulation in the body which can also affect liver health and slow down our digestion process.
● Add a tsp of raw flaxseed powder in your salad for Omega 3 which will help in reducing the inflammation of the body.
● Water intake is important to flush out toxins from the body. Drink ajwain or fennel water or infused water by adding lemon/orange/cucumber/mint etc in water to keep the body as alkaline as possible.
● Increase veggies in your meal because the fibre will add bulk to the motion and it will help in overcoming constipation.
● In case you still face constipation then you can soak either two prunes or figs for 5-6 hours and then chew it well towards bedtime and then sip a cup of warm water after that to ease out any constipation.
No more acidity
A sweet or calorie-dense meal can make the body more acidic and it will also slow down the body’s metabolism which can affect the weight loss process for many. Sugar molecules in the body act with the protein fibre, particularly collagen and elastin making them malformed and stiff and this process is known as glycation which makes the skin look discoloured, weak and less springy, therefore speeding up the ageing process. It can increase sugar levels in the body and keep the body acidic which can increase inflammation as well.
● In case you have eaten more sweets in one meal then ensure the next meal is lighter on digestion like a home-cooked khichdi with salad etc.
● Cinnamon powder can be taken after a meal to control sugar levels and improve metabolism. In addition, cinnamon also helps in controlling sweet cravings.
● Due to too much intake of sugar, the body can crave more sugar. Keep cardamom in between your teeth and chew it gradually to overcome the sweet craving.
Try to follow these tips during festivities but make sure that you also continue with your exercise or workout which is very important avoid gut issues. At least take 30-45 minutes daily to do brisk walking, jogging, aerobics and weight exercise. Various studies have also shown that exercise promotes the growth of probiotics or good gut bacteria in our body which produces butyrate which can further promote repair of our gut lining and reduce inflammation. So, adding exercise during festivities is a must to control inflammation from the gut and keep issues at bay. So let’s enjoy the festive season and make sure that we take care of our stomachs, as well as our overall health.