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- Dealing with taste: Izvestia has collected life hacks from scientists for the New Year's table
Dealing with taste: Izvestia has collected life hacks from scientists for the New Year's table
A New Year's feast should not turn into a test for the body: a competent choice of dishes, moderate portions and the right meal time will help to spend the holidays without harm to health and well-being, doctors and scientists told Izvestia. According to them, it is much more effective to replace heavy salads, support the brain with a neuromenu and avoid overeating at night than to impose strict restrictions on oneself. You can find out which life hacks will help you make your meal healthier in our article.
What to eat at the New Year's table
A feast is a celebration of communication, not a test of the strength of the digestive system, experts interviewed by Izvestia noted. New Year's holidays can be spent in healthy culinary pleasures, without consequences and feelings of guilt. The key principle is not the "diet table", but the management of composition, temperature and portions, said Denis Kuzmin, director of the Phystech School of Biological and Medical Physics at MIPT.
— Dressings and sauces are the main hidden calories. Replacing mayonnaise with Greek yogurt with mustard and lemon juice reduces the caloric content of the salad by three to four times while maintaining a creamy texture. For herring under a fur coat, you can use a mixture of yogurt with a small amount of mayonnaise (1:3) — the difference in taste is minimal. Cold salads with a dressing based on yogurt or vegetable oils are digested more slowly and cause a more moderate glycemic response than warm fatty dishes, he explained.
It is also important to follow the principle of the "green pillow" — to start a meal with a vegetable salad without starchy ingredients. Fiber slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and fats from subsequent meals, the scientist noted.
The main thing is a reasonable choice of dishes and moderation in consumption, added Margarita Provotorova, head of the advisory and expert group of the CMD medical network of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor. You should not starve yourself all day in anticipation of a nighttime feast and postpone a heavy meal until midnight.
— Next to salads and appetizers, you should put a bright vegetable plate — cherry, mini carrots, celery, sweet peppers, topping them with hummus or guacamole. This will help to increase the intake of vitamins, minerals, and especially fiber, which the body needs at least 25-30 grams per day, regardless of whether it is a holiday or a regular day. Tangerines, a traditional symbol of the New Year, are also useful: they have a beneficial effect on digestion and help reduce cravings for sweets," the expert noted in an interview with Izvestia.
Neuro menus and superfoods
Today, many people are familiar with proper nutrition (PP) and healthy lifestyle menus, but few people know about a neuromenu diet that supports brain health, an expert from the social project told IzvestiaДеменция.net ", internist and nutritionist Elvira Fesenko. According to her, it is necessary to focus on tryptophan — it is a precursor of serotonin, the very "hormone of good mood" that protects against anxiety, depression and apathy. Its sources are red caviar (but without fanaticism, just a couple of canapes), Dutch cheese, almonds and pine nuts. Halva or 25-30 g of dark chocolate are suitable for dessert.
— We also need zinc in winter to protect the brain and support the immune system. It is found in liver, tongue, beef, turkey and duck, a lot of it in beans, nuts, cocoa powder. All these products can and should be used as components of New Year's dishes. Another trace element is magnesium. I recommend getting it from avocado, one of the most "anti-stress" foods. Make desserts with it or make spreadings, eat with bread made from coarse wheat," she said.
Of the hot ones, it is better to give preference to veal or poultry meat, as well as fish — they contain high-quality protein, essential amino acids and the right fats. The expert also advised adding spices and spices generously when cooking. According to her, there are studies that turmeric and saffron contain substances that affect areas of the brain associated with anxiety and emotions. All of these foods, especially in combination, have antioxidant activity and have a positive effect on the brain and overall health.
Do not forget about superfoods— fermented foods, added Margarita Provotorova. These include kimchi, barrel pickles, and sauerkraut.
— The latter, by the way, holds the record for the content of ascorbic acid, is rich in fiber and trace elements, — she said.
Nighttime meals are fraught with a deterioration in well-being, therefore it is better to start the New Year's feast at 19-20 o'clock and finish by 21 o'clock, so that edema, dizziness and disruption of the digestive tract do not become a gift on January 1, warned the leading market expert of NTI "Helsnet" and the union "Health of the Healthy", doctor Andrey Martyushev-Poklad.
— On New Year's Eve, people eat from about 23:00 to 02:00. For the body, this is a time of rest, when all processes slow down a little, so what you eat will not be absorbed properly and the body will not have time to remove toxins. Most scientists are already of the opinion that the last meal should take place no later than 20:00," the doctor said.
What to drink and how to store food
When preparing for the New Year's table, it is worth remembering several rules for storing salads — different dressings have different shelf life, as well as the products in the dishes. Unsweetened salads will "live" in the refrigerator longer, and it's even better to leave a hint on the refrigerator before the start of the feast in order to finish them on time or throw them away, said Sergey Kosogor, head of the Smart Supply Chain segment of the FoodNet NTI working group.
It is important not to leave the salad on the table at room temperature overnight, not to eat from a common salad bowl so as not to introduce bacteria, use clean dishes and a spoon, store the salad in glass or enameled dishes with a lid, do not mix fresh salad with yesterday's leftovers, he added.
As for alcohol, there is a rule of "water parity": a glass of water for each serving of alcohol. This not only reduces the rate of intoxication, but also prevents dehydration, the main cause of hangover syndrome, Denis Kuzmin noted.
— Sugar is a hangover catalyst: sweet and semi—sweet wines, as well as cocktails with syrups, cause the most severe condition. At the same time, alcohol temporarily blocks the processing of fats, so the combination of strong drinks with fatty foods is the most difficult scenario for the liver," he stressed.
Bubbles enhance the effect: carbon dioxide in champagne and carbonated cocktails accelerates alcohol absorption by 20-30%. Therefore, if you have a long evening ahead of you, starting with sparkling wine is not the best idea, Denis Kuzmin noted. Experts also advise against mixing different alcoholic beverages.
In addition, doctors advise to limit the consumption of sugary soda. But what you should completely abandon is ready-made factory desserts, in which trans fats and shock doses of sugar like to "hide", disrupting cognitive functions and the work of neurotransmitters, said Elvira Fesenko. It is better to replace them with fresh fruits.
All the experts mentioned note that on New Year's Eve it is important to focus not on food, but on communication, to move more — for example, you can dance or go out for a winter walk with the whole company and give your brain a portion of oxygen and positive emotions.
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