Holiday Eating & Drinking Support
As we enter the end of the year holidays and vacation time it’s good to set ourselves up for success for all the abundance headed our way–gratitude, gifting, celebrations, and especially abundant eating and drinking. Here at Thrive we think one of the benefits of being healthy is that you can consciously choose to indulge here and there, and still come back to balance easily. If you are working on a specific health challenge or goal, now is not the time to indulge. But if you’re feeling pretty good, moderation of all things, including moderation sometimes, is healthy.
Folks that are overly rigid about what they eat don’t get all the benefits because stress undoes a lot of the benefits of healthy eating. And folks that eat whatever they want, but then beat themselves up also have stress degrading their body. So it’s good to be real about where you are at, make conscious decisions for health and pleasure, and then make sure you have support so you can come back to balance easily.
If you are going to consciously indulge in that rich holiday meal, treat, cocktail, desert–or all four–how do you plan to support your body? Here’s 5 tips that will support you through celebratory eating:
Stay well hydrated. Aim to drink between 80 ounces to 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water a day. And make sure you get some electrolytes or natural salts in there so all the water doesn’t just wash through you.
Don’t starve yourself in anticipation of big meals. That will make it harder to make any good decisions and cause your blood sugar to spike. Make sure to eat some fat and protein in the meals leading up a to a big meal to help stabilize blood sugar.
Fresh ginger tea is supportive to digestion before and after rich meals. Cut a few slices of fresh ginger and boil it in water for 5 minutes. The fibers from the ginger are really good for your digestive system so that’s why it’s worth it to use fresh ginger.
Keep moving. Plan some exercise to start the day and you’ll not only feel like you’re starting the day healthy, you’ll also most likely make better choices throughout the day. Exercise is funny that way. The more we exercise, the more we tend to make healthy choices. Invite friends and family to go for a walk after a meal together. You may be met with some resistance at first, but I’ve never heard anyone say “I wish I didn’t take that walk after dinner.”
Stock up on simple Chinese herbal pills to get your digestion back in balance. We have 2 options of our favorite pills to support digestion: Curing Pills or Ease Digestion Pills. They’re both so helpful for any kind of digestive upset that every acupuncturist and herbalist has one of these ready in their medicine cabinet, first aid kit, purse, and in the car. I always have extra around the holidays–yes I’m the one that brings the digestion pills and sets them out with the drinks, at the end of the buffet, or even just on the dining table–and my friends and family have learned to do the same.
Option 1: Curing PillsWhat are Curing Pills? They’re a Chinese medicine herbal pill that’s good for all kinds of digestive imbalances that are common during the holidays including: upset stomach, indigestion, overeating, hangover, bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and even food poisoning (hopefully that’s not happening during the holidays).
How can they be good for so many things? Unlike western medications that are specific for certain kinds of digestive imbalances, Curing Pills don’t move your digestion in a specific direction, instead they regulate your digestion back to harmony. That is why their other name is Healthy Peaceful Pills.
Here’s how we recommend taking Curing Pills:
- Prevention (My eyes were a bit bigger than my stomach): 1 Packet after a meal.
- Upset Stomach (As soon as I can tell something I ate or drank did not agree with me or I realize I really overdid it): 1 Packet now, 1 More Packet every hour for the next 3 hours if things aren’t feeling good yet.
- General Digestive Imbalance (My digestion is moving slower or faster than normal and I just realized it’s been happening for a few days): 1 Packet 3 Times/Day for a day or two.
Warning: Curing Pills are not for you if you have true Celiac disease because they contain an herb that is a relative of wheat and you should aim to avoid all contact with anything wheat related.
Reassurance: Curing Pills are well tolerated by people who are normally sensitive to wheat because the herb is grown in China and it’s fermented before it’s made into the tea that is freeze dried into a pill. Many wheat sensitive people in the US have no problem when they eat wheat grown from other places around the world. And fermentation changes the building blocks of wheat proteins and carbohydrates which makes wheat tolerable for most people, even for some people who have Celiac disease. I still recommend people with Celiac disease avoid it because it’s better to be safe than sorry. But I’ve never met someone who is simply sensitive to wheat that has found that Curing Pills don’t agree with them.
Option 2: Ease Digestion PillsWhat are Ease Digestion Pills? They are modified Curing Pills that are gluten free. Even though I’ve never seen anyone who is only sensitive to wheat have a bad reaction to traditional Curing Pills, we know a lot of people are careful about what they consume and we want to have this option for you.
The other difference is the size of the pills. Ease Digestion comes as a bottle of medium/large pills that you take as 2 pills at once. Curing Pills come in packets of a bunch of tiny round pills that you take at once (the idea being that if you have digestive upset you might not want to take a medium/large pill). So everywhere above that it says the dosage is 1 packet of Curing Pills you instead take 2 pills of Ease Digestion.
Just tell us you want some and ask us any questions at your next appointment. Or swing on by to pick some up. If you’re coming by without an appointment, it’s best to call or email ahead of time with your ETA to check that we won’t be at lunch or out running an errand.
What We’re Treating In The Clinic–Fall Allergies, Recovery From Colds & Flus, Boosting Immune System
This fall so many patients have reported a flare up of allergies recently–asthma, post nasal drip, cough, clogged ears, foggy head… I think it’s the cool and damp late summer and fall–remember how muggy it was so much of late summer? It’s been great for our nervous system that Sonoma County isn’t super dry and hasn’t been windy, but I think it caused things to bloom oddly and the extra moisture caused more mold and mildew. So many patients are saying things like “I don’t know why but I’m having a terrible asthma flare up!” And they were relieved when I told them that a lot of people are experiencing that. Acupuncture and herbs are great at treating allergy symptoms and changing the pattern of overreaction from your immune system so you can get back to balance.
And there’s 2 colds going around right now. One of them is pretty mild, and another one feels like it’s done and then a strong cough and/or clogged ears come back to get ya. Of course Covid is also going around and some people have lingering symptoms of all sorts after that. While you are sick and contagious get in touch so you can get some herbs to take at home, and once you’ve turned the corner and are not contagious anymore, come on in for acupuncture and more herbs to clear out that phlegm and get your energy back.
Then there are those extra smart patients that know they want extra support for their immune system as the seasons change, they have travel plans, or they start to feel stress or overwork wearing them down. A little secret–acupuncture and herbs work best as preventative medicine!
If you want support treating allergies, recovering from colds and flus, or want some preventative care:
- Established patients can make an appointment at our online booking site or get in touch.
- New patients need to call or email us to set up their first appointment because there is just too much information we need to share with you.
If you want to be ready with herbs and supplements on hand, check out our updated recommendations we’ve been sharing for the past 3+ years called the Golden Window For Treating Viruses–because if you treat viruses preventatively or as soon as you feel symptoms it’s surprisingly effective for preventing a virus from taking hold or reducing symptoms and duration.
You can find the link for the Golden Window For Treating Viruses Handout here: https://thrive-
Holiday Schedule
- Thanksgiving: We’ll be here the week of Thanksgiving through Wednesday, November 22 until 5:00, then we’re taking some time off Thursday and Friday, November 23 & 24.
- End of the Year: We’ll be here in December through Friday, December 23, then we’re taking the last week of December and a few days in January off to rest, reflect, and recharge. We have appointments in the new year starting Thursday, January 4.
Get on our schedule ahead of time before or after those dates, because those times get busy. And people often need extra support around the holidays–hello stress, overwork, digestion, and sleep imbalances. You can book through our online scheduler or get in touch.
Make sure to stock up on herbs ahead of time so you have everything you need. Herbs have been extra popular lately so it will help us out if you aim to stock up early.
Here’s to setting ourselves up for success and abundance!
Christina and Team Thrive
