Holiday Tips

Seasonal Advice from UMMC Experts

Written By: Raymond Cross, M.D., M.S.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center

Digestive Health

For most of us, the holidays are a joyous occasion to visit with family and friends, to eat our favorite foods, and to drink our favorite beverages. Unfortunately, these holiday events can result in negative consequences to your digestive health. To help prevent adverse digestive health events this holiday season, we recommend that you follow these simple recommendations.

Don't delay health maintenance. The holidays can be very busy. Nonetheless, it is very important that you keep regularly scheduled appointments with your physician and for lab tests. If you must miss a visit, contact your provider's office to schedule another appointment as soon as possible.
Mind your medications. It is very important that you maintain a regular schedule for your medications. Missing doses can increase symptoms or complications of digestive disorders.
Battle the bulge. Many food eaten over the holidays can worsen digestive symptoms. Beverages or foods that contain alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, peppermint, spearmint, coffee, carbonation, and acidic fruits and vegetables can trigger heartburn or acid reflux. A large intake of fluid and/or salt can cause fluid retention in patients with liver disease. Caffeine, alcohol, dairy products, acidic fruits and vegetables, spicy foods, and foods high in fiber can worsen diarrhea in patients with Crohn's disease, colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome. In patients with Crohn's disease, high fiber foods, such as uncooked vegetables, and dry over-cooked meat can trigger a bout of intestinal obstruction ("blockage"). Avoiding or limiting these foods and beverages can prevent symptoms.
Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages. Consumption of alcoholic beverages can worsen heartburn and diarrhea. Persons with alcohol-induced liver and pancreatic disease are at risk for recurrent symptoms if exposed to even small amounts of alcohol. It is very important that you resist the temptation to drink during the holidays and all other celebratory times. It can be helpful to avoid situations in which alcoholic beverages will play a large part in the celebration. Involving a sponsor or counselor can help. Of course, never drink and drive!
Don't overdo it. Stress can have a major impact on digestive diseases. For example, increased stress can trigger a flare in Crohn's disease, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. Try to minimize stress as much as possible. Don't take on more things than you can handle. Get sufficient sleep.
Know when to self-medicate and when to seek advice. Symptoms for some digestive disease can be treated with over-the-counter medications. Antacids (for example, Tums and Maalox) and H2 blockers (for example, Zantac and Pepcid AC) can be used for breakthrough heartburn symptoms. Imodium can be used to treat diarrhea in irritable bowel syndrome. In other cases, self-treatment is no recommended; see your health care professional.
An ounce of prevention. Monitoring for potential problems is also important in digestive health, but even more so during the holidays. For patients with cirrhosis, checking body weight daily is very important. An increase of three pounds or more can be a sign of fluid overload. Informing your medical provider of such an increase in body weight can prevent an unnecessary visit or hospital stay. Patients with cirrhosis can also experience confusion (heptic encephalopathy) triggered by excess protein intake. Persistant diarrhea and/or rectal bleeding can be a sign of a flare of Crohn's disease and colitis. Alert your health care provider to these symptoms promptly for appropriate management.

<< Back to Nutrition Tips

<< Back to All Holiday Tips

This page was last updated on: December 23, 2009.