Post Thanksgiving/Christmas/Celebration Digestion – some suggestions to ease that overstuffed feeling

My American friend Bernadette over at Haddon Musings has just requested a digestive aid to help overcome the overstuffed feeling after the Thanksgiving meal. I half- jokingly gave some suggestions, but on reflection perhaps they may help some of you cope better with the over-indulgence at this time of year. For many of us in the UK it is Christmas or Divali or Hannuka.

I realise of course I should have written this a few days ago! Sorry!

My first advice would be to pace yourself. Take your time, eat slowly and chew thoroughly, put your knife and fork down occasionally and talk to your neighbour.

Remind yourself that as lovely as all this sumptuous food is, your stomach will only take so much before it starts objecting, very loudly and clearly! You can always go back for more later.

It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to get the message from your stomach that it’s had enough, so eating slowly gives time for this message to get through before you start feeling uncomfortable.

You could serve melon with ginger sprinkled on (especially cantaloupe) before the main meal (melon must always be eaten on an empty stomach) and a green salad with the meal, these will help with digestion and also help fill you so you don’t over-eat the fancier stuff.

Here is a website I found which has juice recipes specifically designed to aid digestion: The Fit Indian

Also, fennel and ginger are great digestive aids in any form.

Papaya too is especially good for the digestion.

The best thing that you could do – apart from not over-eating in the first place! – is to go for a stroll in the fresh air afterwards. Most people flop on the sofa, holding their stomachs, groaning, vowing never to eat such-and-such again and then doze or veg out in front of the telly.

This is the worst thing you can do!

Walking aids digestion, gets things moving and regulates blood sugar levels so you won’t be dozy all afternoon.

Another tip, have some small windows open. If you are all packed into a stuffy room you will feel worse if you’re also overfull.

Drink water in between the wine/whisky/beer. 

I hope this helps and that you all have a lovely time with family and friends.

Copyright: Chris McGowan