Specialist explains how to eat healthily at Christmas without giving up favourite seasonal dishes

• She stresses that there is a variety of appetising food within a balanced diet that isn’t necessarily lettuce, cucumber and tomato.
• The advice is to manage portions and combinations, always striking a balance.

Santo Domingo. – During the Christmas season, it is normal for much of the food eaten at gatherings and events to be unbalanced or unhealthy. That is why many people wonder whether it is possible to eat healthily at Christmas. The answer is yes, according to Berniza Calderón, endocrinologist and nutritionist at the Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Medical Centre (CEMDOE).

The doctor stressed that “The issue with food isn’t whether it is healthy or not, but how it is prepared and combined”.

For a healthy Christmas, the CEMDOE researcher says that sharing is essential for emotional wellbeing, so rather than filling a plate with unhealthy food, she recommends serving half and filling the other half with salad.

She adds that doing this reduces the risk of diseases that can result from a poor diet.

“What matters is understanding that if we choose a poor diet, we will always suffer the consequences. Whereas if we choose a proper diet that isn’t just lettuce, tomato and cucumber, and we don’t ignore the wide variety of enjoyable foods out there, we will achieve balanced eating and eliminate that risk,” explains Calderón.

Alcohol consumption

Regarding alcohol, the endocrinologist recommends drinking as little as possible – just enough to feel you are genuinely enjoying and celebrating the occasion. She also clarifies that it is a myth that having one or two glasses of alcohol every day is good for your health; on the contrary, it can have serious consequences for the body.  

Food poisoning

Calderón explains that eating food that may be spoiled or poorly prepared can cause food poisoning, whether from a virus, bacteria or parasite. When symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever appear two to six hours after eating, they can be attributed to food poisoning.

She says that within the first 48 hours of these symptoms, we should rest the stomach and not eat for a few hours until it feels settled, while staying properly hydrated with broths, sugar-free juices or oral rehydration salts. Then move on to light, easily digestible foods such as crackers and jelly, among others.

If symptoms do not go away within these 48 hours, the advice is to see a doctor immediately, as it could be more than food poisoning or another diagnosis, and it may be getting worse.

Finally, the CEMDOE researcher encourages people not to focus this season on excessive drinking and eating, but on what it really means: a time of love to share with family and friends.

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About CEMDOE

An outpatient medical centre specialising in chronic diseases that offers a comprehensive care model focused on the safety, quality and experience of patients and their families, supported by international processes, standards and policies that ensure the success of its purpose.

CEMDOE is part of INTEGRA, the Dominican Republic’s first health ecosystem, which aims to improve the population’s health in a sustainable way.

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