As all of our stomachs, intestines, livers, and pancreases quiver in fear, anticipating the overindulgences to come in the next six weeks, there are steps we can take to mitigate their onslaught of abuse, first and foremost of which is to potentially be mindful to not over-abuse—an unrealistic request for enough of us! So, what OTHER MEASURES can we take?
- Strength training: By making good use of the excess proteins and calories we can getbigger and badder musculature, and since the muscles draw upon the pancreas and stomach for tonification, strength-training provides the additional benefit of putting less burden on these organs, enabling them to better deal with the burden of parties.
- Hot tea: Booze if you must leading up to, during, and even after the meal, but bookmark your gluttony with hot tea—either Pu-Erh, which contains naturally occurring pro-biotics, or whichever flavor floats the boat. Hot tea will dilate and relax the blood vessels of your enteric nervous system (belly) which aids in digestion by breaking down the inevitable accumulations of gravy, yams, and butter.
- Breakfast! Some people make the mistake of skipping breakfast (or even lunch) the morning of Thanksgiving to “make room” for the feast to come. This is an error, as skipping breakfast actually sacrifices some of the gut’s enzymes and beneficial acids, which can make digesting the feast more difficult. Fine if you want to go small, but have something, preferably, oatmeal, millet congee, or eggs and vegetables.
- Stress management: The holidays bring at least one challenging individual into our homes, so in the words of my daughter’s favorite song: “Let it go.” Ignore if possible, just for the day, and re-address if you must the next time you speak to them.
- CHINESE HERBS! Last but not least, YOU GUESSED IT! Commonly used ingredients include hawthorn berry, which can lower cholestrol, magnolia bark if you’re the type who feels gassy and stuffiness in the chest, tangerine peel if you feel too low on appetite to get properly gluttonous, obviously ginger and licorice, the latter if you tend to GERD, also barley sprouts or medicated leaven, which are great for food stagnation.
If you’d like a brief consultation to determine what is the best gluttony-support formulation for your body type and indulgence to come, please don’t hesitate. If not for my own gout disease and general health awareness, I myself would have the inclination to over-indulge frequently, regardless of holiday season.
A brief expression of gratitude. I realize that Chinese medicine is inconvenient. It’s expensive, it tastes bad or it hurts for a moment, it takes time out of the day, etc. etc. I am grateful to all of my patients for trusting me, relying upon me, and staying the course, often through the trial-and-error process that in my opinion real medicine should look like. Happy Thanksgiving!
