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Festive seasons are celebrated throughout the year in Malaysia, a country known for its melting pot of cultures and traditions. We celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Chinese New Year, Diwali, and Christmas, among others.
During festive seasons, family reunions are almost always accompanied by lots of food. There is a saying that goes, ‘Malaysians only have one meal a day. However, this meal lasts for 24 hours.’ It aptly describes how much Malaysians love food, especially during festivities. Think about the rendang and ketupat that Mak Long prepares for Raya, the delicious pineapple tarts that Po Po bakes for Chinese New Year, or the mutton varuval that Ama cooks for Diwali.
Malaysians love to show appreciation for our loved ones through food. However, indulging in too much food can lead to health issues. ‘I put on 5kg in one week!’ is a common remark we hear after celebrating a string of festivities.
How is health compromised during festive seasons?
The reasons that our health may be compromised during festive seasons are mainly:
- Excessive food consumption and binge eating
- Sedentary routines (inactivity and no exercise) - that become a norm
- Inadequate rest caused by disrupted daily routines
These could take a toll on our health if no intentional steps are taken to live healthily during festive seasons.
In a 2017 study in the United States, American adults gained 0.4 to 0.9 kg during the Christmas holidays, measured from the last week of November to the first week of January. This could likely be applied to Malaysians too. After all, most, if not all, of our festive celebrations tend to revolve around food and, quite often, unhealthy food.
So, how can we eat and live stay healthily during festive seasons? We have some tips for you and your family; trust us, it is possible.
How to eat healthily during festive seasons?
Although it can be challenging to monitor how much we eat during the festive seasons, here are some recommendations to help you.
- 1. Make healthy food swaps / alternatives
Most festive season snacks and confectionaries are high in fat and sugar, contributing to increased weight and health issues.
Healthier swaps or alternatives such as nuts, dates, trail mixes are good substitutes instead of the usual high-caloric snacks. Additionally, honey can be used as a substitute for sugar, brown rice for white rice, and green tea for ‘teh tarik.’
- 2. Be conscious about your food portion
We may end up binge eating when we are feeling festive. Therefore, try to be conscious about your food portion to avoid overeating.
For example, use a plate for snacks. Put all the snacks you want on a plate and limit yourself to the plate rather than continuously putting your hand in the snack container. This will help prevent you from eating up the whole container of snacks without realising it.
- 3. Have a light meal before going for visitations
If your relatives are coming over, you would have probably prepared a complete meal on the table for them; and if you are visiting a friend, you will likely be giving them a bag of goodies. Thus, one tip to avoid overeating is to have a light meal or healthy snack before you head out.
- 4. Practice healthy cooking
A lot of dishes and snacks tend to be fried, oily, and fattening during the festive season. Sugar and salt are also often added to enhance flavours. Healthy cooking methods such as baking, roasting, grilling, and steaming are good alternatives to frying.
- 5. Make your own treats
Commercial festive treats often contain high quantities of refined sugar, flour, and fat, which make them really unhealthy. Therefore, it would be good if you can bake your own cakes, cookies, and treats at home as you can control the amount of sugar in the recipe. Additionally, you will also be able to use ingredients that are of better quality.
- 6. Stay hydrated
Drinking lots of water keeps you hydrated and helps remove toxins from your body. Adequate water intake is also a must because lots of festive foods have high salt content.
- 7. Limit consumption of alcohol and sweet beverages
Alcohol and sweetened beverages such as fizzy drinks and soda water are high in calories. Did you know our body turns unutilised excess calories into fat? Thus, it is best to limit or, even better, avoid alcohol and sweetened beverages.
Choose healthy alternatives such as fresh juices without added sugar, unsweetened coconut water, or green tea.
- 8. Eat slowly and avoid skipping meals
JThe benefit of eating slowly is to give your body a chance to signal to your brain that you are full so that you can avoid overeating.
On the other hand, skipping meals may seem like the perfect way to reduce food intake, especially if you have been snacking on all the festive goodies. However, this may result in overeating at the next meal or cravings for sugary and fatty foods. Additionally, some people may feel grumpy when they are hungry.
Therefore, avoid skipping meals. Rather, start your day with a nutritious breakfast, eat moderately during mealtimes, and choose healthy snacks.
- 9. Avoid eating late at night
We often stay up late during festivals and continue eating past our usual dinner time. In fact, supper and midnight snacks are a norm during these celebrations. However, our metabolism tends to slow down at night, causing unwanted weight gain.
- 10. Support your digestive system with probiotics
Probiotics contain good bacteria that supports a healthy digestion and improves the absorption of nutrients while keeping harmful microorganisms at bay. A 2020 study shows that the consumption of multispecies probiotics is regarded as safe and natural for alleviation of functional constipation in adults.
Therefore, do remember to support your digestive system and gut health with probiotics during the festive seasons.
How to stay active during festive seasons?
Another way to stay healthy during festive seasons is to set aside time for daily exercise in order to stay active. Engaging in physical activities and exercising can help burn off extra calories from all the festive food and help you stay in shape.
In addition, staying active also flushes out toxins from your body, improves blood circulation, builds immunity against germs and viruses, and releases feel-good endorphins.
- 1. Workout at home
Working out at home is an excellent option. There are plenty of in-home exercise videos available online that you can follow to work out at home.
- 2. Go for a walk with family
Since most people are on leave during the festive seasons, why not go for a morning or evening walk with your family? If you are feeling adventurous, you can consider going for a short hike if there is a trail near your house.
- 3. Have a sporting match with friends and family
Remember the fun times you had with your siblings and cousins playing board games or running around your house compound? Let’s create memories with a simple sporting match that family members and friends can join! A quick futsal match or a game of badminton using the house gate as a ‘net’ can help keep you active.
Why is adequate sleep important during festive seasons?
Staying up late may be the norm during the holidays. However, we must still get enough rest and sufficient sleep. Here are some benefits of adequate sleep:
- Strengthens our immune system
- Helps maintaining a healthy weight
- Reduces health issues such as heart disease risk
- Improves decision-making; thus, avoiding accidents and injuries
- Helps us to think better and clearer
- Improves our mood
What else can we do to live healthily during festive seasons?
Take your daily medications, if applicable
If you have underlying health issues, you must continue to monitor your health and take your daily medication. Set an alarm as a reminder and place your medication somewhere you can see (for example, bedside table) so you do not miss any doses.
Go for routine health screenings
Besides being mindful of your diet, staying active, getting sufficient rest, and taking your medications, another intentional step one can take to stay healthy is to go for routine health screenings at least once a year.
Make an appointment at Pantai Hospitals
We should appreciate and take care of our health by taking intentional measures such as eating moderately and exercising to stay as healthy as possible.
Remember to go for your annual health screenings to ensure your general well-being. To make an appointment for health screening, please contact the health screening centre at the Pantai Hospital nearest to you
Pantai Hospitals have been accredited by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) for its commitment to patient safety and service quality.
References
- Effect of the holiday season on weight gain: A narrative review. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5514330/ [Accessed 17 November 2022]
- Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the effects of probiotics on functional constipation in adults. Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32005532/ [Accessed 17 November 2022]
- Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep. Available at https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/benefits-sleep-more [Accessed 17 November 2022]
- Why sleep is essential for health. Available at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325353 [Accessed 17 November 2022]
