Thanksgiving is often a happy holiday. Family, food, no pressure to give any gifts just yet. But there are also many dangers lurking, from burns while cooking to heart attacks while playing flag football. Here is what your JCMC doctor wants you to know about this fun-and-food holiday.
- Keep your T-day on the down-low. With COVID hanging around, it’s really best to keep the Thanksgiving meal to just your immediate family. After all, you’re probably indoors, and no one wants to wear a mask. On the plus side, you have a ready-made excuse not to see your creepy uncle or the aunt who insists on bringing up hot-button topics. If you have older people in your life who have nowhere else to go, consider inviting them, but you might also think about bringing them food and sitting outside (if weather permits), so you can keep some distance.
- Double helpings of pumpkin pie. Just kidding. We all know Thanksgiving and the holidays are a chance to overeat. ER doctors report seeing more bowel obstructions the day after Thanksgiving as well as people with diabetes who overdid it.
Even if you don’t have diabetes, do yourself a favor. First, take a walk or get some exercise in the morning — maybe do some living room Zumba with your family. Then, stick to just one plateful of food. Skip the bread. After all, you can eat that anytime, right? Load up on the other things if you must, and then be sensible about dessert. Pumpkin pie is one of the best choices, especially compared to sugar-loaded pecan.
Do all this, and it’ll be much easier to bypass some turkey day weight gain — or an uncomfortable night in the bathroom. (Prevent food poisoning with these Thanksgiving cooking tips from the CDC.)
- Know when to say when. A glass of wine or two with your turkey feast is fine. But extra alcohol on Thanksgiving Day often leads to many problems: domestic violence, heart problems, car collisions, and cuts on the fingers of tipsy chefs. Take it easy, and take it with a glass of water.
Finally, one last tip from our team to yours. Turkey has a lot of tryptophan (though not really as much as we all give it credit for). So after your turkey and a glass of wine, if you decide to watch the football game from the living room floor, we recommend you bring a pillow!
