A not-so-light brunch and a hearty dinner in the same day, another dinner the next day, dinner with your sister the day after that… all washed down with rosé, beer, red wine and digestives… After such an ordeal, your stomach cries for help and you must reassure it and treat it kindly.
First, you must know that your body is not accustomed to meals that contain that many fatty foods, including cooked fats that are harder to digest. Not to mention the many sweets, chocolates, logs and other desserts… Even if you eat small quantities, you impose more work to your body because it must deal with less digestible and heavier meals than usual.
In addition, because alcohol is “toxic”, it plays an important role in the digestive problems associated with Christmas and New Year…
To reduce damage…
As you can imagine, the first tip that any doctor or nutritionist would give you is this: eat greens! Fruits, vegetables and nutritious but healthy meals…! Usually, this advice is quite easy to follow because that is what your stomach wants.
Indeed, after having eaten so many rich foods in such a short period of time, our stomach and taste buds are less attracted to heavy meals. Therefore, we should:
- Avoid leaning forward after a heavy meal;
- Forget about baked fat, sauces, delicatessen and sweet desserts for a while;
- Choose fruits, vegetables, meats, lean poultry and fish instead;
- Choose detox foods: broccoli, artichoke, blueberries and some spices like turmeric and peppermint;
- Drink herbal teas, vegetable broths and a lot of water!
Fasting
Fasting is not an option to cleanse your body from fat and sugar. Actually, when you are fasting, your body uses its reserves to produce enough energy. Also, fasting can cause the degradation of fats and result in the production of toxic substances.
There is only one cure for alcohol abuse: withdrawal and water! Coffee does not sober you up, contrary to popular beliefs and tomato juice is not truly effective against hangovers.
Non-natural solutions
When even good fruits, good vegetables and water can’t cure stomach pain, you can use over the counter antacid medications.
Your pharmacist will probably recommend Maalox or Gaviscon, because it acts quickly and can be used by everyone, including pregnant women. You can take it after the meals, as needed, up to four times a day.
Zantac is also effective but it remains the pharmacists’ second choice.
