Atongla Rothrong
Feeling less than rejuvenated after the Christmas holidays and still planning to binge drink and eat your way into 2006? It’s little wonder many of us return to work in the New Year feeling a little tired and depressed. Guilt inspires many of us to draw up a list of often well-intended but rarely acted upon New Year’s resolutions.
It is estimated that on Christmas Day alone, the average human consumes more than 6,000 calories. That’s 4,000 more than the recommended daily allowance. Add to this the never ending aftermath of leftovers, mince pies and chocolate selection boxes and it is easy to see why so many of us pile on the pounds at this time of year.
Joining the ranks of determined addicts keen to kick their nicotine habits and chocoholics hoping to drop a dress size or two for the summer holidays, are the internal spring cleaners with their annual detox diets, aiming to restore health and vitality to the system after the end-of-year excesses.
But can a week or even a month of clean living make up for 11months of abuse topped off with an almighty blow-out come the festive period? Worryingly, research suggests that weight gained over the Christmas period is very rarely lost in the New Year. And we are getting bigger.
And then there’s the booze. The Government advises women that they can drink between two and three units of alcohol a day without it affecting their health. Men have a slightly larger allowance, with between three and four units considered safe. Bearing in mind that a pint of lager contains two units and a large glass of wine up to three units, a Christmas tipple can soon turn into a festive binge. It has been estimated that more than 300 million units of alcohol are consumed on Christmas Day – that’s around five units for every man, woman and child.
Thankfully, the human body has a very effective mechanism for dealing with the annual Christmas assault in moderation. Organs such as the liver, kidneys, skin, intestines and lungs all work together to detoxify the body of the harmful excess of alcohol, fat and sugar. Combined with a sensible diet and a healthy lifestyle throughout the rest of the year, your system shouldn’t need any help in cleaning itself out.
Unfortunately, however, many health experts do not believe enough people are following these simple rules and as a result, are endangering their health.
I have not seen any evidence in the scriptures that says we should eat ourselves stupid at Christmas time. Resting the tummy for three or five days makes sense.
Given the choice between spending Rs.2000 on a weight loss regime and taking a walk on the beach with a loved one, I know what I would rather do. It would appear that too much of a good thing is most certainly a bad thing, and with no such thing as a quick-fix solution to long-term health, perhaps moderation is the safest policy. Stick to this and you might just have found a New Year’s resolution that you can keep next year.
“In moderation I raise a metaphoric glass to your health – Happy New Year”.
