10 Christmas Food & Drink Swaps to Stay Healthy During the Festive Season

The Christmas season is a time of celebration and indulgence, filled with rich and decadent food and drink that can leave us feeling uncomfortable. According to Orla Stone, a gut health specialist at Deeply, maintaining healthy gut bacteria during the festive period is crucial. She emphasizes that food choices, alcohol consumption, and lack of sleep and exercise can impact gut health. To counteract these effects, Stone recommends increasing fibre intake and ensuring adequate levels of vitamins D3 and B9 for overall wellbeing.

Stone’s top 10 gut-friendly Christmas food and drink swaps include opting for mixed nuts over crisps, choosing dark chocolate instead of white chocolate, using spices like ginger and cinnamon instead of sugary syrups, enjoying Christmas cake over yule log, selecting sourdough bread with omega-3 fats over white bread, choosing a veggie stuffing over a meaty one, replacing crackers with carrot sticks and hummus, using yoghurt instead of cream, trying kombucha instead of prosecco, and choosing mulled wine over beer.

These simple swaps can help to maintain a balance between enjoying Christmas treats and looking after our gut health, promoting a healthier start in the New Year.