The Holiday “Red Zone”

In football jargon, when your team is within twenty yards of the goal line it’s called the Red Zone.  The only thing more disheartening to a football fan than when their team makes it inside the 20 yard line but fails to score is if their team fumbles the ball away to the other team.  Both fans and coaches will go ballistic if their team loses possession from a fumble or an interception inside the 20 – turnovers are never good in football, but when they occur inside the Red Zone, it’s often a game changer.

Fumbling in the Red Zone:  Sugary Desserts
For our health, the ‘Red Zone’ is the holiday season - the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. As it is, the seasonal change from Fall to Winter is hard on our immune system and it’s the beginning of cold and flu season. Without a doubt this time of year is made worse by the abundance of unhealthy food choices that overwhelm us during the holidays. From people bringing baked goods and candies into our work to the numerous parties and family celebrations that seem to be anchored around Christmas cookies, pies and cakes.

The Double, No … Triple Whammy
This is not an idle threat – not only is sugar bad for our health, but pies, cakes, cookies and crackers are made with refined flour which acts just like sugar when digested. So pies and other holiday “treats” create a ‘double whammy’ of sugar and refined flour, both of which cause rapid increases in blood glucose levels, resulting in decreased immune function. And finally, as a ‘triple whammy’, eating nutrient-poor sweets cause us to not eat or ‘displaces’ the nutrient-dense foods we should be eating for our health in general and the immune system in particular.

Sugar Decreases Immune Function
It’s long been known that sugar intake causes decreased immune system function. Studies have shown that the immune system is weakened substantially within minutes of eating refined sugar; the more you eat, the more your body’s insulin response system is compromised. The body’s cell-mediated immunity, uses specialized white blood cells called neutrophils to attack tumors, viruses and bacteria, is decreased when there is elevated blood glucose, which is caused by eating refined carbohydrate foods such as sugar and white flour. [Sanchez A, et al. Roles of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. Amer J Clin Nutr 1973; 26:1180-1184. (view article)]

What’s more, not only are we more susceptible to getting colds and flu, even our body’s ability to fight cancer is compromised when we eat sugar. [Ely JTA, Krone CA Glucose and cancer. J New Zealand Medical Assoc. 2002; 115(1159). (view article)]

Don’t Fumble – Hold Onto the Ball
So, how does one avoid the temptation of all those seemingly “yummy” foods? First, we must own up to the fact that “A little won’t hurt” is a lie – sugary foods will hurt your body, and the more sugar you eat,  the more it hurts your body – yes, it’s cumulative (in case you were wondering, that’s how people end up overweight, with heart disease, diabetes and cancer). Second, if the temptation is happening at work where holiday cookies, cakes, candy canes, etc. are everywhere, be sure to pack nutritious snacks and lunches to take to work – if you have strong ‘fall back’ foods, you’ll be less likely to indulge. Third, if you’re headed to an office Christmas party or some other holiday celebration where you know there’s going to be ample opportunities to indulge in an array of ‘disease foods’, one of the best strategies is to: (a) eat healthy before you go to the party; (b) when you get to the party, focus on eating the veggies and other healthy, nutrient-dense foods first, that way your appetite will be satiated before hitting the desserts.

You can do it!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul