Turkey Day Temptations

The average American consumes about 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat throughout Thanksgiving Day.  It’s like a tsunami of fat coming into the body.  Average stomach capacity is about 8 cups, although it can range from 4 to 12.  A stretched stomach prompts the release of chemicals that tell the brain it’s full.  But some people during the holidays, faced with a sumptuous buffet of mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, keep eating.  After about 1,500 calories in one sitting, the gut releases a hormone that causes nausea.  Although your stomach may feel as if it will burst, chance are it won’t.

Next week marks the beginning of the gluttony season, the time when even the most health-conscious diner succumbs to the temptations of the holiday buffet.  Is pigging out during the holidays a harmless indulgence or a real health worry?  Indigestion, flatulence and the need to unbutton tight pants are the most common symptoms triggered by the Thanksgiving Day binge.  Huge helpings of turkey, stuffing and candied sweet potatoes can take a more serious toll.   

While your stomach likely won’t burst after a big Thanksgiving meal, overeating will make your body work harder.  The extra digestive workload demanded by a food binge requires the heart to pump more blood to the stomach and intestines.  Heavy consumption of fatty foods can also lead to changes that cause blood to clot more easily.  As a result, heart attack risk appears to surge.  There is a fourfold increase in heart attack risk in the two hours after eating a big meal.  Someone who eats three times the normal calories of a regular meal will have an extra workload for the stomach and intestines and therefore the heart.  Big meals can raise the risk for heart attack, gallbladder pain and dangerous drowsiness on the drive home.  Every bite of food, whether it’s part of a huge Thanksgiving meal or a weekday lunch, travels on its own fantastic journey through the body, touching off a simultaneous release of hormones, chemicals and digestive fluids.  The average meal takes 1 to 3 hours to leave the stomach.  A large meal can take 8 to 12 hours, depending on the quantity and fat content.

8-12!  No wonder we feel like we’re in a “food coma” when we eat like this.  Large meals also increase the risk for flatulence, because bits of undigested food that slip into the colon and begin to ferment.  People with existing health problems that require special diets have to be careful about their intake of salt, fat and calories at Thanksgiving.  Some simple strategies can help minimize the gluttony.  I like to keep the serving dishes in the kitchen, so you won’t take extra helpings mindlessly.  I also use smaller serving spoons and plates.  Finally, contribute to the dinnertime conversation. The more you talk, the less you’ll eat.  So, I’ll leave you with this lovely mantra for Thanksgiving:

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!