by Dr. Sarah Anne Rothman, ND

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November 2010 — Thanksgiving is actually a healthy holiday in many ways, if you think about it. We cook and we take the time to actually sit and eat our food at a table. We aren’t rushing home from work and then quickly throwing something together out of the cupboard or freezer or microwave. We have a whole day off work to think about dinner! Some of us even take a four-day weekend to spend time with family and friends, go on vacation, rest or play. Healthy indeed.

Plus, it’s a holiday about gratitude. Gratitude does wonders for the mind, body and soul. So aside from the massive greasy 10-course meal, belly ache for the evening and tight pants the next day, everything else about the holiday season paints a perfect picture of health.

So how can we tweak the food part so that it’s congruent with the rest of the holiday health kick? First, let’s think about what’s on the table: sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cranberries, green beans, turkey and hopefully some sort of salad. Sure sounds colorful, warming and seasonal — all good things. Let us be grateful for a few minutes for all these healthy foods.

Sweet potatoes and pumpkin are full of antioxidants like beta-carotene, vitamin A and fiber. Cranberries are super rich in anthocyanins — a compound that’s packed into vitamins and used to treat bladder infections, inflammation and cold and flu. Green beans are high in vitamin C, K, potassium and iron and they are both green and a vegetable so they are good for you. Turkey is an amazingly lean protein and full of B vitamins, selenium and manganese. Yes, it makes you tired but that’s because its full of a substance called tryptophan, which is essential for serotonin production. Serotonin is our happy hormone. So go to sleep happy. Sounds healthy to me.

Then what makes us feel so sick and fat after the holiday weekend? All the stuff we add to our colorful healthy dinner. Try bringing these tips to the table for an even healthier holiday:

Use olive oil. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to your sweet potatoes and green beans instead of butter. Olive oil helps lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol — so let those veggies soak it up!

Make a homemade warming digestive tea. Try making your own homemade digestive elixir to help encourage optimal digestion and metabolism — and decrease bloating and abdominal discomfort. A mixture of fennel, ginger and cinnamon bark will add to that holiday feel, taste yummy and go great with pumpkin pie. Fennel inhibits smooth muscle spasms, so it can alleviate gas, constipation and stomach pain. Ginger helps move food through your upper intestines, stimulates bile and digestive enzyme secretion and is great for nausea and sensations of fullness. Cinnamon is soothing, warming and helps break up gas. It’s also an amazing blood sugar balancing agent, so it can help balance a blood sugar spike from your dessert!

Drink lemon water. Drink a glass of lemon water 15-20 minutes before your meal. Lemon water will help make the body more alkaline and assist with digestion by stimulating a secretion of digestive enzymes.

Bring something new to the table. Whether you are the chef or a guest for the evening, make one new dish this season where every ingredient is healthy. For example, a warm kale salad can be super easy and quick to make, and wonderful for the taste buds, waistline and holiday aesthetics. Steam a bunch of kale until it turns a nice dark green, sprinkle some almond slivers, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds on top and voila.

Consume fruit and liquids separately. Try to eat most fruit and drink most liquids at least 15-20 minutes away from your meal. This often helps improve digestion and decrease bloating and gas.

Chose Stevia: Stevia is nature’s “sweet leaf” and is the only sweetener that will not cause a spike in blood sugar right after you eat it. Replace sugars, honey and maple syrup with Stevia — it’s great in cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie! Ten drops of Stevia will taste about as sweet as ½ cup of sugar.

The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Please consult with your health care practitioner before taking any natural supplements or health care advice.

Dr. Sarah Anne Rothman is a naturopathic doctor serving the Coastside community and the Bay Area. Please contact her for more information or for a free 10-minute phone consultation at 650-380-0089 or by e-mail at drsarah@pacifica naturopath.com. Her website is www.pacificanaturopath.com.