Enjoying the holidays to the fullest you need to feel your best!! Here’s some simple tips to help stay on track.
Stay hydrated
If you like to indulge in a glass (or two) of wine, or cocktails carry a glass of water. Staying hydrated helps ensure you are not mistaking dehydration for hunger. Keeping hydrated can help avoid headaches and keep your lips from chapping. Drinking water will also give you something to do with your hands so you don’t inadvertently nibble on food.
Eat slowly and don’t go to parties hungry
If you are attending a holiday party or get together, eat a small healthy snack before you go. Then try to be mindful of what you decide to eat when you arrive at the party or dinner event. Avoid standing near the nut bowl and don’t mindlessly pick at food. If a friend or family member is hosting the event, offer to bring a fresh salad so that you are guaranteed to have at least one healthy option. Eat the foods you love, not just what is available.
Stay active
With plenty of holiday events to attend or plan you may not be able to fit in your workout. And that’s okay, just don’t use that as an excuse to not exercise at all. Walk on your lunch or home from work, plan fun family events to include skating, skiing, bowling and of course Christmas shopping is a good cardio work out too!!
Fight off germs
Family gatherings, airports and travel stops, shopping malls, even the library during finals week — they’re all places germs like to mingle. So protect yourself: Take multi vitamins, probiotics and wash your hands a lot. The holidays are all about sharing, but some things you’ll want to keep to yourself: forks, spoons, and drinking utensils. People can be contagious before they know they’re sick, so even just a sip from someone’s drink puts his or her germs in your body.
Get plenty of sleep
Getting 8 hours of restful sleep a night during the holidays can help strengthen your immune system, detox your body and give you more energy. Making you less vulnerable to stress.
Don’t crack nuts with your teeth
Although protein found in nuts helps keep muscles and bones strong, you shouldn’t test the strength of your teeth by shelling nuts with them. The hard surface of most nutshells can cause serious tooth and gum damage, and may even crack teeth. Your safest bet? Put your nut crackers to good use.
Avoid chewing on hard candy or ice cubes
Crunching on ice or hard candy (like candy canes) can lead to cracked or chipped teeth, which are painful and pricey to treat. Whether you’re enjoying a sweet or finishing the ice in your holiday cocktail, let it dissolve naturally. Better yet, skip these items altogether. Ice can cause discomfort for sensitive teeth, and hard candies promote tooth decay.
Pass on chewy treats
Holiday candy platters are often loaded with treats that can harm your teeth. Sticky substances cling to tooth enamel and encourage tooth decay, and thick candies like caramel and taffy can even yank out fillings. Eat these sweets sparingly and along with other fresh veggies to help keep the treats from sticking to your teeth.
Treat yourself
If you do treat yourself, don’t feel guilty. Savor the treat and enjoy, feel happy that you indulged, instead of feeling guilty. Good idea is to offset the high glycemic foods (sugar level) with a low glycemic food like veggies. After all it a festive season you need to celebrate with some sort of treat.
Be sure to keep your brushing and flossing routine twice a day to stay off your dentist’s naughty list this season! Happy holidays.
No matter your age, dental condition, and if you have a million questions, Dr. Sims can assist you or your young children in a professional manner and loves answering any of your questions or concerns. Dr. Sims grew up in Grimsby playing basketball, so he’s always up for talking about the Raptors! He’s also a football fan - go Buffalo Bills! In his free time, if he’s not watching a basketball game or football game, you’ll likely find him working out, cooking (got any new recipe ideas?), and of course, spending time with his amazing family.
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