Managing health and holiday foods

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Dr. Bob Cassady from the South Bend Clinic joins us every Tuesday on 16 News Now at Noon to answer your medical questions.

This week, many of you had holiday meals and snacks on your mind.

Question #1: “How do you manage high blood pressure with holiday food? Are there alternatives?”

DR. BOB: Blood pressure and food is a complex subject.

The most obvious thing is to limit salt. The two easiest ways to do this are to avoid processed food and avoid adding salt to your food.

Two specific diets have been found to help lower blood pressure. One is called the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The other is called the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. This diet is essentially a vegetarian diet with dairy and eggs as protein sources.

There are plenty of resources on the internet to look into for information on these diets.

Question #2: “Detox drinks are being advertised on social media this time of year. Are they safe to use and do they work?”

DR. BOB: Detox drinks are unregulated and thus can have varying ingredient lists. Usually, the lists involve homeopathic or herbal remedies.

In theory, some of these ingredients may be helpful for liver or inflammation problems in the body. However, there is limited data about this, so it is difficult to speak definitively.

The assumption that our bodies are full of toxins is unproven and isn’t necessarily something we should believe in.

Rather, I would focus on putting healthy things into our body like fruits and vegetables and lean meats and avoiding harmful substances such as too much alcohol or nicotine altogether.

Question #3: “Tips on navigating your indulgence on sweets during the holiday season?”

DR. BOB: High fiber diets have been associated with weight loss and with improved heart health.

One thing I like about high fiber diets is that we can fill up with healthy foods.

As we try not to overindulge throughout the entire winter season, consider trying to focus on eating healthy foods first rather than only focusing on not eating sweets.

If you start your meals with salads and a helping of vegetables, you are going to have less room to overindulge in sweets.

Copyright 2023 WNDU. All rights reserved.