INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Holiday meals don’t have to be loaded with fat, sugar and salt to delight the palate, and this time of year is perfect for a headstart on healthy New Year habits.
Instead of making food the focus of the celebration, local nutrition, fitness and health experts say to emphasize genuine sharing of the heart with friends and family, leading to emotional as well as physical wellness.
The ever-present sweets on the holiday table or buffet can deepen depression caused by unmet expectations of picture-perfect holiday imagery.
But doing physical activities together as a family, or even just maintaining an exercise routine over the holidays can not only ward off the extra pounds, it can also reduce the stress or depression many people experience over the too-busy holiday season.
Enjoy the season’s bounty, said local caterer, Chef Cathy Lawrence, but choose wisely.
“The right foods can really help you get into the groove as the New Year approaches,” Lawrence added.
Getting into the groove is what Steve and Bonnie Pfeister of Max Fitness Club gym in Vero Beach are all about. Steve Pfeister was the co-host of ABC’s “Fat March” and trainer for “Bridal Boot Camp” on VH1.
They offer a holiday program called Lose It! Boot Camp, part of their BCx Boot Camp that is offered year-round.
Training is offered six days a week with three class times a day.
Max Fitness partnered with Lose It!, where boot campers receive a free app that allows them to not only log calories using their iPhone or computer and track calories burned, but it also syncs with other devices and apps to show users what they are eating and doing for activity.
With the app, participants can scan the bar code to any food, including bags of produce, to automatically calculate calories.
“It makes you think about that slice of pumpkin pie with 500 calories that you burn in an average class and perhaps say, ‘I don’t want to work that hard for an hour and blow it in five minutes,’” Bonnie Pfeister said. “The app even reminds you it’s time to get in a walk if you didn’t do it already.”
“This is the first time we have offered Lose It! with boot camp, and it is because this is such an important time to get a jump on fitness, before the holiday excess and inactivity creates such a hurdle to overcome.”
Cardiac units see their busiest season during the holidays, according to Maureen Lange, RN, part of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab team at Sebastian River Medical Center.
Under the direction of Medical Director Dr. Charles Croft, M.D., the team provides a full range of interventional cardiology services in nearly 5,000 square feet of new and renovated space that opened in March to rave reviews.
“High salt, high stress, lots of driving, excess alcohol, and sometimes all of them combined lead to more incidences of emergency heart health intervention at the holidays,” said Lange, who became one of the lab’s first patients.
In a heart cath, a flexible but firm tube, or stent, is fed up the large vein in the groin area and inserted into the blocked artery, in cases not severe enough for a heart bypass.
Lab personnel provide dietary and lifestyle support to help make sure they don’t see patients again, or even for the first time.
The traditional holiday food fest combined with the sluggish inactivity it induces can also provide the one-two punch that leads to Type II diabetes.
The disease plagues increasing numbers of people middle age and older, and now affects many children, as well. Type I, or juvenile, diabetes requires increased amounts of injected insulin to turn sugar into energy the body can use.
Both types of diabetes can destroy organs and reduce blood flow to extremities, resulting in illness, amputation and early death.
All of this is according to Vero Beach dietician and author Nancy Heinrich.
“The lower the glycemic level the better,” Heinrich said, referring to the speed at which a food turns into sugar after eating. “It can really be fun exploring organic foods, going to farmers markets for the freshest fruits, veggies and whole grains, and discovering ways to sneak them into foods your family will find delicious. You’ll feel so good, far better than the initial lift and crash that comes from a typical table full of processed holiday foods, that you’ll want more of that good feeling.”
Former medical-technician-turned-juicing-expert Regina “Gina” Allen and Kevin Lure au make freshly prepared organic fruit and vegetable juices for sale at the Saturday Green Market at Humiston Park, on Ocean Drive at Dahlia Lane, run by the Oceanside Business Association.
“I learned a lot about sickness in the medical field, and then I worked for a holistic physician and learned a lot about wellness,” Allen said of her tenure under Dr. Peter Holyk of the Vero Beach Wellness Center.
“We offer a three-day cleanse, or juice fast, with good green vegetable juice, after Thanksgiving and through the holidays. Inflammation goes away, the yucky feeling goes away, and your body can focus on healing after it removes all of the toxins we throw in our bodies over the holidays,” Allen said.
Like the Pfeister’s boot camp, Allen has a group that meets weekly to discuss and prepare food in accordance with their healthy values, including holiday meals.
Good supplements can add to wellness, said Shawn Varney, manager of GNC health store in the Indian River Mall.
Antioxidants remove harmful toxins that can damage cells and lead to illness, while vitamins strengthen building blocks to better health.
To get holiday health underway, Varney offers free samples of protein shake that when sipped create a defense against even the most tempting holiday buffet.
“It’s just one more delicious way to get that jump on the New Year,” he said. Lawrence offered some tips on preparing vibrant and tasty holiday meals without all the sugar, fat and calories.
“Holiday meals can be healthy, colorful and sweet. Your guests and even your children will be taken in by the fresh tastes of food without added sugars and salts, and without them feeling deprived,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence uses cranberries and other colorful fruits to light up even main dishes.
Reduced fruit juices can provide the sweetness and tang for hearty holiday treats.
Properly prepared beef, turkey, ham and other meats can provide their own savory appeal without added salts.
This allows the natural goodness of the food to take center stage, rather than covering it up with excess sugars, spices, artificial flavors and salts, she added.
“People often tell us that a certain dish, even a commonly prepared food like a cheeseburger, is the best they have ever eaten. They always want to know what we did to make it that way,” Lawrence said. “Often it is what we don’t do.”