The Christmas holidays are an appropriate time to neglect the usual eating patterns, which can lead to weight gain and negatively affect our health. "The Spanish can gain an average of three to five kilos during the festivities of Christmas. However, it is possible to enjoy a rich and varied Christmas menu during the holidays, maintaining eating habits the rest of the days and doing some physical activity so as not to gain weight. The key is not to eat less but, above all, to choose better what we are going to eat ", according to Dr. Miguel Ángel Escartí, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon of HLA.
To achieve this goal and limit the effect of the excesses of Christmas, Rocío Bueno, coordinator of the Nutrition Area of HLA, offers us a series of very basic tips "They will help us maintain good health, maintain our weight and maintain physical fitness without sacrificing family plans around copious and not always healthy meals".
- If you do not play sports, at least move. Practicing physical exercise is essential to maintain good health. If laziness knocks at our door, we can make up for the lack of will by walking everywhere. Walking while we contemplate the ornate streets, as well as a pleasure in sight, will help us to stay active. Propose to walk 1 hour or 10.000 steps every day.
- At Christmas you can also eat healthy. The balanced menus, also at Christmas, should contain vegetables, be combined with light snacks at lunch and dinner and not be excessively abundant. In addition, dishes prepared in the oven or on the grill are preferable.
- The natural is healthy. Avoid precooked and ultra-processed dishes, which will never be as healthy as we can cook ourselves.
- The sweet, in its just measure. Do not abuse sweets like nougat, polvorones and chocolates. If you consume them in small quantities and on designated days. In the labels of sweets we should look for quality ingredients (nuts, honey, eggs or cocoa) avoiding, as a general rule, sugar, refined oils of poor quality and hydrogenated fats.
- Do not abuse alcohol. Alcohol has a negative effect on our body and provides "empty calories" (without any nutritional value) that contribute to weight gain, so it is necessary to limit your intake, especially if you are going to drive. Sparkling water or flavored water are healthy alternatives to alcohol.
- Above all, enjoy. If your usual diet is healthy and balanced and excesses are made only on the days indicated, you do not have to worry about your health. In addition, different scientific studies have shown that pleasure and enjoyment of food are essential in a healthy diet.
Bringing Christmas to patients and relatives
During the Christmas holidays, aware that nobody likes to spend these dates in a hospital, the centers of the HLA Group will offer from the Restoration area a special treatment to all the patients who are admitted so that, to a certain extent, they can also enjoy.
In this way, in the coming weeks the nougat and Christmas candy will be incorporated into the menus of patients who do not have a restricted diet and special menus and small snacks will be prepared to make them feel at home.
Examples of these dishes will be: baked salmon with citrus and ginger sauce; prawns tartar with mango and avocado; cheese flan and zucchini with piquillo sauce; Strawberries on mascarpone cream or Panna Cotta de Nougat, among many others. For the simplest diets they will also prepare special menus with dishes such as salmon with papillote, the mashed potato cake with cod flakes or the baked turkey garnished with zucchini and pear.
In all cases, HLA will maintain the usual quality of its elaborations, respecting the nutritional guidelines for the health care of patients.
About HLA Hospital Group
The HLA Hospital Group is made up of 15 hospitals integrated with 33 multispecialty medical centers and a network of reference units in next-generation treatments. 42 dental clinics, 11 assisted reproduction units, 30 ophthalmological clinics equipped with the most advanced technology and 436 clinical analysis centers complete the structure that HLA makes available to its patients.
With 1300 hospitalization places, HLA is a benchmark in hospital and ambulatory care. More than 35 years of experience and presence in six countries make up a service model that bases its philosophy on humane treatment, excellence, leadership, responsibility and specialization.
