how many times do you find yourself saying that this is the year you will not over-eat during the holidays? only to find that once you sit in front that enormous display of food on the dinner table, you simply can’t resist devouring all of those savory decadent dishes. even those of you are generally disciplined with your eating habits get touched with the glutton fever too. so you eat until you can’t eat another bite and before you know it,you’ve sunken into a stupor, you have absolutely no desire to move or do anything at all. all you’re thinking about is sleep. i’m talking about that hibernating bear type of sleep, and before you can make it to bed your stomach starts orchestrating a symphony of weird noises, gas, followed by flatulence. so i thought with the holiday season upon us, there is no better time to give you the basics when it comes to food combination to help minimize or alleviate the inevitable.
if you’re unable to adhere to the following tips, due to certain family expectations, try to remember that there is a benefit from the following guidelines i am about to lay fourth. avoid drinking while eating, yes drinking includes any and all beverages including alcohol. what’s the holidays without a little rum eggnog, or wine? i definitely understand that drinking while eating your meal is typical, but even a harmless glass of milk, tea, water or juice will cause your digestive enzymes to weaken. the fact is that during this colossal eating fest your body needs as much digestive fire power as possible, and since everything will be available for a limited time, you don’t want to miss out on auntie’s, mom’s, or grandma’s famous entree. so eat as you will, but avoid the drinking. basically, diminished digestive enzymes will not be strong enough to properly break down food and whatever you eat will end up sitting in your stomach for much longer than it should which will eventually lead to spoilage.
here are some more helpful tips:
don’t consume melons with any other foods
eat fruits alone
don’t eat more than one protein at a time for example, no turkey and shrimp
milk is best taken alone
don’t eat meats and starches together for example turkey with mashed potatoes
fruits generally take approximately 20-45 minutes to digest on an empty stomach
meat can take up to 4 hours and up
carbohydrates can take 2-3 hours
lastly, for all of my dessert lovers out there, brace yourself, for what i am about to tell you. all of these years you’ve heard that dessert should be eaten at the end of your meal, however this is not the best time to eat it. under normal circumstances it isn’t a good time because it prolongs digestion by several hours. now considering the feast that awaits you, you can only begin to imagine how many days it will take to digest that food. dessert is weighty and just sits on top of everything else you’ve already eaten. It doesn’t break down right away and actually hinders digestion by causing fermentation and putrefaction which results in rotten food. now, if you absolutely must have that slice of pie, apple or pumpkin, or chocolate cake, have a slice a few hours before the turkey is ready. this way you can also satisfy your sweet tooth. 
it may very well change the way you approach holiday eating. happy holidays!
