| IVL Products Health Watch - Turkey Day Advice: Cut The Fat, Not The Flavor! |
| The Official IVL Products Health Blog |
Dear Reader,
Although Thanksgiving is a holiday that typically involves abundance,
most of us don’t want or need more “abundance” on our waistlines. On
Thanksgiving Day, the average American eats between 2,000 and 4,500
calories, which is a significant jump from the 1,600 to 2,400 calories
that are consumed on a typical day.
Calorie laden feasts of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin
pie can sabotage your good intentions to watch the calories. But with a
little adjustment to the ingredients, your Thanksgiving feast can
include traditional foods that have all the delicious taste, but far
fewer calories.
For a lower fat turkey, make sure you select one that isn’t
self-basting so you can avoid the extra fat. Many store-bought turkeys
contain antibiotics. Organic varieties are raised humanely and without
the additives, are available in health food stores. Stuff the turkey
cavity with whole or halved onions, halved lemons or apples and sprigs
of fresh herbs such as sage, marjoram, thyme and rosemary. Instead of
rubbing the skin with butter or oil, spray it with an oil spray and
season it with salt and pepper. If you are hosting a small gathering,
consider buying a turkey breast instead of the whole bird, as breast
meat is lower in calories than dark meat.
Most people include gravy in their Thanksgiving menus and it is one of
the biggest calorie culprits on the table. Try using vegetable oil
instead of turkey drippings when making the gravy. Better yet, make a
low-fat broth-based gravy or vegetarian gravy.
Here are some other tips to help you avoid the nutritional hazards of Turkey Day:
- Don’t
skip breakfast and lunch to “save space” for the big meal. If you eat
healthfully throughout the day, the food will be digested by time for
dinner. Also, if you are hungry when you sit down for Thanksgiving
dinner you will be more prone to eat fast which usually causes you to
eat more.
- Wait
a few minutes on that second helping. The first plate you just consumed
is still making its way into your stomach. It may seem like you have
more room in your stomach but you actually don’t. Enjoy the
conversation for a bit. You may find that in 10 minutes you really
don’t want the second helping after all.
- Start
with the veggies. When you serve your plate, pile on the veggies first.
Make the majority of your plate healthful and minimize the amounts of
candied yams, stuffing and gravy that you serve yourself.
- Skip the bread. You don’t need rolls or cornbread. Thanksgiving meals are loaded with complex carbohydrates.
Start a family tradition of taking a walk together after the
Thanksgiving meal. This will help digestion and will get your
metabolism in gear so you can burn some of the calories you consumed.
It also provides quality time to visit with relatives and build happy
memories that don’t revolve around food. And healthy traditions are
something to be thankful for!
Yours in good health,
Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch
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Visit our Health Forum and ask a question of one of the country's leading experts in nutritional medicine. |
| Dr.
Mikles is a Board Certified Internist, and is the Medical Director of
Choices Integrative Healthcare Clinic in Sedona, Arizona. For more than
30 years, Dr. Mikles has been engaged in the study and practice of the
therapeutic effects of diet and nutrition, making him one of the
country's leading experts. |
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