10 Ways to Keep your Child’s Digestive Tract Healthy this Holiday Season
Stuffing and candy and pie, oh my! ‘Tis the season for overeating, and for eating too many of the “wrong” foods without enough of the right ones to counterbalance them. Seasonal excess is tough enough for our adult digestive tracts to handle, but our children may have an even harder time digesting all those tempting, less-than-healthy holiday offerings.
The good news is that there are plenty of steps parents can take to foster healthy eating while indulging in just a few holiday treats and a limitless amount of family fun.
Dr. Kimberley Chien, assistant attending pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children's Health and assistant professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, offers the following tips that will help keep your kids’ GI tracts in tip-top shape while building healthy eating habits for life.
- Monitor excessive sweets and junk food intake. Offer healthy alternatives and yummy but nutritious vegetable sides.
- Don’t let the tryptophan in the turkey sap your energy. Keep moving after eating a healthy meal. Go for family walks or get together for a post-meal athletic activity.
- Stay hydrated with water. School-age children can aim for 1 to 1.5 liters per day; high schoolers and older should drink about 2 liters per day.
- Beware constipation, which can slowly build up with heavy, carb-loaded holiday meals. “Certain foods have a reputation for being constipating,” says Dr. Chien, “including bananas, dairy products and starchy foods like potatoes and pasta. Feel free to include these in your kids’ diets, but make sure they enjoy them in moderation.”
- With vacations coming up, schedules and routines—including a high-fiber diet and regular fluid intake—can easily go awry. Tune into your kids’ intake and encourage them to eat 4 to 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day, as well as a couple of portions of whole grains. And remind them to drink plenty of water.
- Get more vegetables and whole grains into your holiday meals by including items from Dr. Chien’s list:
- Roasted Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or broccoli
- Glazed carrots
- Winter salads
- Crudités with hummus, babaganoush or ranch dip (hey, at least your kids are eating vegetables with these delicious dips, says Dr. Chien)!
- Cauliflower macaroni and cheese
- Broccoli and cheese…
- …and finally, add multi-grain crackers or a whole-grain baguette plus nuts and dried fruits to your cheese board.
- If you are sharing holiday dinners with friends and family, try to encourage fiber and fluid intake earlier in the day for breakfast, lunch and snacks by serving whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, dried fruit snacks, fiber-filled granola bars, oatmeal, or overnight oats.
- Try to stay on track with regular meals and snacks while your kids are off from school. Don’t let them skips meals, if possible.
- To prevent respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, encourage the whole family to practice good hygiene and regular hand-washing.
Salads and veggies: Dig in!
Check out the following salad recipes that have been given a “thumbs-up” by Dr. Chien’s family:
And here’s her foolproof method for roasting veggies: “I douse them with olive oil, salt, pepper and a spritz of lemon juice, plus a sprinkling of parmesan depending upon the veggie.”
…plus a couple more for good measure:
Dr. Chien’s creative tips for healthy eating aren’t just for kids: Parents can be just as prone to over-indulgence as their children are. “Model the change you want to see in your kids,” she says. “Your healthy gut will thank you for it!”
Happy and healthy holidays, one and all!
To schedule with a specialist in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition at Weill Cornell Medicine, please visit here.