Treating the Holidays

I read in a magazine a question from a woman with high triglycerides on how she could lower her triglycerides and still enjoy the holidays. For many of us with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, etc., the holidays are either a time of denying ourselves or believing that whatever our problem, our bodies won’t notice the difference if we go off of our diets for a few weeks. Trust me -the body ALWAYS knows when we forget to take care of ourselves. Also, there is no magic cure that will allow us to eat to our hearts’ content.

That being said, there are still some things that can be done to make the holidays festive AND healthy. For candy that can be made, dark chocolate can be both sinfully delicious and good for the heart, blood sugars and blood fats such as triglycerides and cholesterol. The dark chocolate does not have to be expensive or gourmet. Semi-sweet chocolate chips or baker’s chocolate are just as good and easier to find. Milk chocolate can be healthy, but it tends to have a higher sugar content. If you can find dark chocolate chips, even better. You can make homemade peanut butter cups with dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, “plain” peanut butter (a brand that is peanuts only without the added sugar or salt) or any nut butter of your choosing, and usually half the sugar the recipe calls for. Same with easy chocolate truffles-less sugar will work. Instead of whipping cream, you can substitute evaporated whole or low fat milk; regardless of the type, the evaporated milk will have less fat than the whipping cream. The substitution does not work with sweetened condensed milk. Obviously decreasing the sugar in boiled candies like English Toffee will not work.

For candies like Mrs. See’s, try to choose the dark chocolates and/or those with more nuts in them. Soft fillings such as creams have about 1/3 more sugar than brittle and milk chocolate can almost double the sugar than in dark chocolate candies. Do not fool yourself thinking that “sugar-free” or diet candies are better. They can have more calories and fat than the “real” candies.

For cookies and cakes, usually less sugar won’t be noticed, but it does cause browning. Liquid egg substitute, low fat or non-fat milk, and low fat evaporated milk work fantastically well in all things baked.

At a family gathering, it might come down to the lesser of all “evils.” For most diagnoses, including heart disease, fat is the lesser “evil” than is sugar. New research is examining the role of various fats with clogging the arteries. Fried foods, however, are in the same category of harm as is sugar; either leave them alone or eat less of them. Cooked oatmeal (think large or multiple bowls daily) for one to two weeks has been shown to decrease some of the crud the fried foods can deposit in the arteries.

Remember, holidays are for enjoying family and friends.