Yahoo Lifestyle 'I'm a Cardiac Dietitian—This Is the Holiday Treat I Avoid No Matter What'
The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s (and for some, Lunar New Year), is a continuous celebration including many foods we only get to enjoy once a year. Baked mac-and-cheese, sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows, holiday cookies, crispy latkes, honey-glazed ham…We’re all collectively feasting for months. Not to mention the countless glasses of wine at holiday dinners and parties.
These food-filled moments are ones to enjoy—and you can rest assured that healthcare professionals are indulging just like you are. But if you are trying to primarily stick with foods and drinks that are good for your heart, the holiday season can be tricky to navigate. When eating for heart health, it’s important to keep foods high in salt, sugar and fat to a minimum. And there’s one seasonal treat that there’s a good chance you don’t even realize can negatively impact heart health.
Related: Your Live-Well Guide to Maintaining Heart Health and Preventing Heart Disease
The One Holiday Treat a Cardiac Dietitian Avoids During the Holidays
Julia Zumpano, RD, a registered dietitian in the Department of Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic, says that, in general, she doesn’t like to classify foods as “good” or “bad.” Food is more than its nutrient makeup; it’s also about the enjoyment it gives us. And virtually everything in moderation won’t majorly impact health. But she says there’s something, in particular, she sees many people indulge in during the holidays that is doing no favors for heart health: Eggnog.
Zumpano explains that even though a typical serving of eggnog is smaller than most other beverages (4 oz., or half a cup, compared to 8 oz., or one cup), this small serving has a tremendous amount of saturated fat (6 grams), added sugar (19 grams), and sodium (70 milligrams). “Keep in mind that if you have two or three cups of eggnog, you’re doubling or tripling all of these nutritional values,” she says. “Not to mention the addition of alcohol, which can alter one’s desire to make healthier choices and increase snacking.”
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The American Heart Association recommends keeping sodium intake at 2,300 milligrams a day and ideally aiming to cap it at under 1,500 milligrams. As for added sugar, they say to keep it under 36 grams for men and 25 grams for women. Saturated fat should also be kept at a minimum, under 13 grams a day. When sodium, added sugar and saturated fat are regularly consumed in excess, it ups the risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type two diabetes and premature death.
Related: What Is HCM? Shining a Light on the Most Commonly Inherited Heart Disease
How To Make a Healthier Eggnog
If you’re a hardcore eggnog lover, Zumpano has some good news for you: It’s possible to make your favorite seasonal beverage healthier. She says that you can do this by making it with low-fat milk or unsweetened plant-based milk, using cornstarch in place of heavy cream, reducing the sugar used, cutting the salt out completely, and using whole eggs instead of just the yolks (which then means you’ll be cracking open fewer eggs by half). “This will cause about a 50 percent reduction in calories, cut fat by one-third, and make it sodium-free,” she explains.
Or, Zumpano says you can opt for a different beverage completely. “Stick to a glass of dry red wine or have coffee with a splash of Irish cream if you’re craving something hot,” she says. For non-alcoholic options, she says to go for a seasonal hot tea, like chai, or coffee with cream with a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon. You’ll still get the same festive vibes as with a glass full of eggnog.
Related: Why You Should Take a Walk After That Big Holiday Meal
The Holiday Food That’s Actually Good for Your Heart
Okay, so Zumpano isn’t planning on pouring herself a glass of eggnog this holiday season. But there is one particular holiday food that she’ll be reaching for: cranberry sauce, naturally sweetened with a touch of maple syrup. “Cranberries are naturally low in sugar and don’t have sodium or fat,” she says. “They also provide fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin K1 and vitamin E.”
While fiber is often thought of as being good for digestive health—and it is—it’s also good for your heart. People who have a diet high in fiber have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C, which is also great for immune health, is also linked to lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It bears repeating that food is about more than health and you should enjoy your favorite holiday foods and drinks without beating yourself up about it. But if you want to toast in the name of health, maybe do it with a glass of red wine instead. After all, you want to be able to do so for many holidays to come.
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Related: 12 Healthy Recipes to Get Back on Track After Holiday Overindulging
Sources
Julia Zumpano, RD, registered dietitian in the Department of Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic
Old-Fashioned Eggnog. USDA FoodData Central.
Why Should I Limit Sodium? American Heart Association.
How Too Much Added Sugar Affects Your Heart. American Heart Association.
Saturated Fat. American Heart Association.
Dietary Fiber Is Beneficial for the Prevention of Heart Disease. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine.
Vitamin C Supplementation for the Primary Prevention of Cardiac Health. Cochrane Library.
