The Institute for Optimum Nutrition

How to stay healthy this Christmas - December 2007

 We aim to provide you with nutritional information to keep you in Optimum health.

Christmas is just around the corner and it is often a very stressful time of the year. Stress is one of the biggest enemies of Optimum Nutrition and it can weaken the immune system and interfere with the digestion process. Have you thought about  how many times you have been ill over Christmas?

Adrenaline and corticosteroids are hormones produced in the adrenal glands as a response to stress. These hormones inhibit white blood cell formation and function, reducing your protection against infection.

To help control the effects of stress, it is important to support the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands need abundant supplies of Vitamin C. This is the only vitamin we cannot store in the body so it must be obtained daily from our diet. The richest sources of it include cranberries, and other berries, kiwi fruit, satsuma's and peppers.
Magnesium is the most important mineral required by the adrenal glands and so should be eaten daily. Magnesium rich foods are wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, cod and almonds.
Vitamin B5 is also needed to support the adrenal glands. Good sources of this vitamin are green leafy vegetables and animal and dairy produce.

The adrenal glands are extremely dependent on stable blood sugar levels, as is the immune system. Christmas is the perfect time to upset this balance, with all those chocolates, sugary desserts, coffee and alcohol.  Keep your choices healthy by choosing organic dark chocolate, and having fresh fruit for dessert. Unless you have a nut allergy, snack on nuts, preferably unsalted, which are always abundant at Christmas. Nuts also contain quality protein and valuable oils that support immunity and digestion.  Eating protein with your carbohydrates helps to reduce the rate at which sugar releases into your bloodstream, so combine fruit with nuts and seeds. It is important to eat some protein at every meal to help keep your sugar levels balanced.  Vegetarians can combine carbohydrates with nut or bean roasts.

Keeping your antioxidant levels high in your diet helps protect you from the ill effects of the few things you are bound to eat that are not healthy.  By loading up on the vegetables and raw salads, you provide immune enhancing phytonutrients and live enzymes, which help your digestive system to absorb the nutrients from your food better.  Use balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or a home made natural yoghurt base as a dressing, instead of the unhealthy dressing from the supermarket-bought bottle. 

Keep your alcohol intake to a minimum, as it taxes the liver, the digestive and immune systems, and upsets blood sugar balance.  Choose red wine rather than white wine or beer as it contains immune boosting antioxidants.  Drinking organic wine also reduces the likelihood of a hangover, as they do not contain the chemicals found in non-organic wines.

If you have got guests at Christmas with food intolerances, why not subscribe to our quarterly magazine 'Optimum Nutrition' where you will find recipes for people suffering with food intolerances in our winter issue.

We wish you a happy and healthy Christmas

* General Disclaimer - Information and advice provided by The Institute for Optimum Nutrition is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Anyone suffering from a condition that requires medical attention or has symptoms that concerns them, should consult a qualified medical practitioner.ION and its staff shall not be held responsible for any claims relating to illness or ailments that are deemed to have arisen as a consequence of reading any part, or all of the content provided on this website. The content is provided for general use and may be unsuitable for people suffering from conditions, diagnosed or otherwise. The Institute for Optimum

Nutrition is an independent educational charity, registered charity number 1013084.