More holiday survival tips

This is a guest post contribution by Tiffany Matthews:

Tiffany Matthews is a freelance health writer with 20 years of medical experience. She contributes health and medical articles to Healthline.com on a regular basis.

 AVOIDING HOLIDAY WEIGHT GAIN

Many Americans can put on an average of three to five pounds during each holiday season, and some add even more weight. No wonder: everywhere you look there are yummy treats just waiting to be eaten and if you do not eat them, someone else will.

If you want to avoid holiday weight gain – and what healthy foodie doesn’t?—you don’t have to completely deprive yourself of a few sweet treats and rich, delicious foods. After all, a tiny bit of indulgence once a year is not such a bad thing.  But when you are baking and eat half the gingerbread men right off the tray, or you eat more candy than you put in the candy dishes you are filling, you might be in for a bit of a tough time this holiday season.

It is possible to enjoy holiday treats without gaining more than a pound, and for some lucky people not even that. Here are a few suggestions.

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Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

●    Always Eat Before You Go – Never show up at a friend’s house or a party with an empty stomach. Always eat a healthy, light meal or large snack before you leave home. That way you will be full and less tempted to eat a large amount of calorie heavy foods.

●    It is a Party, not an All you can Eat Buffet – If you can remember that one sentence, you will be less tempted to gobble up all the goodies. There is more to a holiday party than eating, so be a nibbler not a binger. Mingle and visit with people, dance, play games or sing songs. Find something you can do that will keep your mind off the food!

●    Outsmart the Buffet - When dinner is served buffet- style, use the smallest plate available and do not stack your food; limit your helpings to a single story. Go for the simplest foods on the buffet: fresh fruits, vegetables, and shrimp cocktail are good choices. Watch out for sauces and dips.

●     Be Selective About the Sweets – Take small portions and only choose your real favorites.

●     The most important thing to remember when attending a holiday event where the food seems to be the focus is that there are plenty of other things to do. Socializing to keep your mouth busy as opposed to chewing is a useful strategy that will pay off for you on January 1st.

Eat right to avoid the "Big C"

Tips for a Cancer Free Diet!

by Leroy Templeton

We all know about the cancer dangers inherent in smoking and other environmental carcinogens, but diet is less often discussed as a cause of cancer. And yet, as recent studies show, diet plays a significant role in approximately 30% of cancer diagnoses. That’s right, almost one third of those diagnosed with cancer can blame, in part at least, what they eat. This is a scary thought, no doubt, but there is some good to it. Since diet is something you can control, you can make your diet fight cancer, rather than promote it, by keeping a few things in mind:

·         Eat Natural Foods           

-          As many of the preservatives and additives in synthetic foods contain carcinogens, it is important to try to eat as natural as possible

·         Avoid Red Meats

-          Red meats have been shown to correlate highly with colon cancer in a number of studies. Its best to substitute leaner poultry and fish whenever possible

·         Monitor Sugar Intake

-          Too much sugar upsets the body’s natural chemicals balances and disrupts the cell division process. When this happens  you put yourself at risk for a number of cancers including pancreatic cancer and pleural mesothelioma

·         Eat More Foods with Antioxidants and Flavonoids

-          Antioxidants help flush out bacteria in the body and flavonoids help repair damaged cells in the body. These nutrients boost the immune system and foster an environment where cancerous tumors have difficulty surviving. They are found in bitter foods like coffee and dark chocolate as well as citrus fruits.

The battle against cancer is not an easy one. But take every precaution you can. Ultimately, if you keep these tips in mind when managing your diet you will be eating much healthier, lowering your chances for a number of health problems as well as lowering your chances for cancer by about 30%. Not to mention, you may even shed a few pounds too ;)

List of cancer-fighting foods

Healthy Eating A-Z, Part 2

Here is the second half of Maureen Denard's ideas for how to eat healthy. (Scroll down for A-L)

M - Make it a point to eat only at MEALTIMES; snacking between meals can cause you to overaeat or to fill up on unhealthy snacks instead of nutritious foods.

N - Choose foods that are high in NUTRITION that give you the nutrients your body needs.

O - OMIT high fat dairy products and substitute nonfat or lowfat versions

P - PASS on eating out very often -- eating at home is much healthier

Q - QUIT the red meat in your diet, opting instead for seafood, beans or poultry.

R - REGULARIZE your eating (keep to a schedule, and don't skip meals)

S - If you must snack, SNACK on healthy foods.

T - Take enough TIME to eat your meals -- rushing leads to overeating.

U - UNDO bad eating habits, such as snacking at every opportunity, keeping candy in your desk and dipping in too often, skipping breakfast, and so on.

V - Eat VEGETARIAN meals at least a couple of times a week -- it's not hard. Think pasta with red sauce or stir-fried Asian veggies with brown rice and soy sauce.

W - Realize that you have to WORK to maintain a healthy eating plan. Start by working in one good habit a week, and soon you'll have it all down.

X - Try not to make eXceptions to the rule of eating healthfully at every meal. If you slip up, start again at your very next meal!

Y - Keep food YEARNINGS at bay by not denying yourself foods you really love, even those that are not high on the healthy foodie chain. Just have a little bit.

Z - Wait at least an hour after eating before you get your ZZZZs; sleeping right after a meal can cause indigestion, heartburn, poor sleep and can contribute to becoming overweight.

Maureen Denard can be reached at denard12.maureen@mail.com