HealthStyle

We all do it, overindulge, over-consume or enjoy things a little too much from time to time. Festive seasons and holidays bring many opportunities for family and social gatherings which are often fantastic times to connect with loved ones. However, they can expose us to rich food, flowing wine, restricted sleep or reduced activity.

They can be a period where you throw caution to the wind and “do your best” when it comes to the other side of Lifestyle, the side that causes long term disease. This results in what we like to call a “lifestyle hangover”.

So if you do over-indulge what does it mean? Well, the first thing to point out here is that what you have overdone is “lifestyle”. Lifestyle is the major contributor to modern chronic diseases, obesity, metabolic disease, cancer and sad times. Ironically “lifestyle” is also the antidote in the form of “lifestyle medicine”.

The Effect

The short term effect (if you’re a healthy individual) is probably going to be minor. Your body, in response to the excess energy (from fat and sugar), or from excess alcohol, or lack of sleep or lack of exercise will respond via the immune system where low grade, systemic inflammation occurs to contain the “nasties” from your “lifestyle”.

What is this “low grade, systemic inflammation”?

Inflammation refers to the reaction of your blood vessels to our daily lifestyle. Things such as high fat or energy-dense diets, inactivity, excess alcohol, stress and smoking can all result in blood vessels becoming inflamed; resulting in reduced arterial function (i.e. your blood vessels don’t work as well). This ‘inflammation’ of the blood vessel cuts the effectiveness of insulin as well as increases other risk factors such as abdominal obesity.

If a germ gets into our system, our body sends white blood cells to the source of invasion to protect the body. This process involves an inflammatory ‘wall’ being set up to contain the problem. In time, these are counter-acted by a deconstruction squad (anti-inflammatories), which help pull down the wall and allow life to get back to normal.

Cutting edge science has shown a similar thing occurs with lifestyle factors. For example, if excess energy is running rampant in the body, the immune system kicks in and builds an inflammatory wall to contain the nasties. If our lifestyle continues to introduce nasties, deconstruction never occurs, resulting in low-grade inflammation of our blood vessels long term.

Again it all comes back to lifestyle. For example, dark chocolate, when eaten in small quantities daily, that is greater than about 75% cocoa without added sugar, is “anti-inflammatory” (good). Too much chocolate and of the wrong kind has the opposite effect (bad). Wine also, when consumed in small amounts is “anti-inflammatory” (good). However, drink too much, and again it has a detrimental effect on our health (bad).

So… back to holidays and times of celebration. If you indulge in “lifestyle” a little too much, it’s probably safe to assume some inflammation will occur. The good news is the degree to which this inflammation is damaging will depend on your lifestyle before and after indulging. Research has shown if you’re active, your immune response to a high-fat diet is much less then if you’re inactive

What does this mean?

It means if you do indulge in “lifestyle” from time to time, it’s not the end of the world. Life is never level; there are always ups and downs. Your body knows this as well.

If you set yourself a personal mission to find and destroy every bit of “sometimes” food and drink within a 10km radius, your body will respond. How much damage occurs from this mission will depend on how long you do it, how frequently and what your other lifestyle behaviours are. If you’re generally active, with high fibre and moderate fat diet, your body would have less of a reaction than someone who doesn’t.

So the moral of the story is, enjoy what life has to offer. Be thankful that we have the opportunity to overindulge now and then but remember that if overindulgence becomes the norm, our body will respond and inflammation will set in for the long term. In other words, ensure your day is massive on the “lifestyle medicine” to be sure we have the antidote for our lifestyles, both good and the not so good.

And remember, if you do end up suffering from a “lifestyle hangover”, the best thing you can do is nothing extreme. There’s no need for detox, your body, given the right tools, can handle things just fine. We just need to get back to basics and after a week or so you’ll feel new again. Your prescription is:

1. Get active daily, with four days minimum being moderate for 30 minutes this week
2. Remember, public holidays provide an excellent opportunity to connect with family or friends during activity
3. Increase daily fibre intake by eating more fruit and veg at each meal
4. Aim for at least four nights of good quality sleep with sleep being the priority
5. Consider your energy intake. If you did hit the chocolates, takeaway, rich food or alcohol, your energy intake would have spiked. consider how much you actually need over the next week and modify accordingly
6. Drink water instead of drinks sweetened with energy. Drink alcohol in moderation (no more than two for men or women) and aim for a few nights off altogether
7. Track your habits, have some new, not so helpful ones, snuck in? Even better, can you use the extra time to build some useful habits?