Hormone Friendly Food – Navigating The Festive Buffet

It’s the time of year where there seems to be a buffet at every corner. Annual visits to long distance relatives, the work Christmas do, community events, kids Christmas celebrations and the inevitable Boxing Day shenanigans.

There’s a lot of great options for hormone balance when it comes to the Christmas buffet. But we do need take a few moments to peruse them to make discerning choices! The volume and smell of party food can be intoxicating. Bite sized portions that are easily popped in the mouth and let’s face it, easily forgotten about too.  Why not focus on what we can eat at this time rather than creating a list for ourselves of what’s off limits.

And whilst we look at all the ‘safe’ options, let’s not make Christmas an all or nothing, good or bad season of snacking. Writing the festive season off as one that will break all the rules isn’t always the healthiest viewpoint. You could take a middle ground by indulging in some festive fayre with blood sugar buffers alongside them. This way, you won’t break the patterns of pairing the right foods whilst eating more of those sugars and starches than perhaps you usually would.

A general rule of thumb, to prevent spikes in sugar (that can lead to fat storage & insulin issues longer term) eat something fibrous like veggies first. Crudites are often available in a buffet and although this may not be the first thing that tickles your taste buds, stock up on some carrots, cucumbers & olives.  When you have lined your gut with fibre, choose some protein-based snacks like cheeses, meats, smoked salmon, prawns, nuts & seeds.

Watch out for the dips and dressings!! Hummus, guacamole and mayonnaise are often lowest in sugar and are the ones to opt for. However, barbecue sauces, tangy sticky sauces, tomato-based sauces and others will add to that sugar counter.

Select your sweet/s of choice and aim to have these at the end like the dessert part of your buffet meal. This will allow for a less pronounces sugar spike overall and maintain some healthy dietary habits even at Christmas!

Keeping some key principles is better for your overall health too, not to mention the psychology of starting again in January. Changes in body fat, sodium balance (salt), digestive health, blood sugar levels and hydration can be stressful for your organs and we didn’t even mention alcohol 😊.

Enjoy what you do eat and sustain some balance without adopting absolute thinking and your hormones will thank you for it.