At the risk of bumming holiday revelers out, Okotoks chiropractor Dr. Danny Desaulniers said he’s seen research studies showing the festive season can be severely detrimental to one’s health.
“Some studies have shown that Dec. 25, Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 have the highest death rates in America,” he said.
Desaulniers, who operates the A.D.I.O. Chiropractic clinic in Okotoks, has his own theory why so many people expire on these particular days.
“It’s not so much these days themselves but everything we do leading up to them,” he explained. “The holidays should really only be Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.”
Instead, he feels many people flip a mental switch and get into a holiday mode of excess pretty much as soon as December arrives and for some it can extend right into the first few days of January.
“There’s all this stress people put on themselves,” Desaulniers said. “It’s the late nights, the eating badly all the time, the not focusing any time on exercise, it’s the crowds at the shopping malls because some people really don’t like that and it’s the stress of having to buy people gifts.”
To limit the effects these pressures can place on the body Desaulniers, who is involved with Maximized Living program also offered by some Calgary chiropractic clinics, has some points of advice.
The first, not surprisingly, is to continue eating healthy eating and exercising through the holidays. Go ahead and treat Christmas and New Year’s Eve as special events but don’t go wild before or after the holidays.
Next, Desaulniers encouraged people to get exercise wherever they can. If time is tight look into surge or burst training, which only requires short periods of serious effort.
Looking for a key nutritional move during the holidays? He has one.
“The best thing you can do is try to eliminate sugars,” he said. “If you’re going to have sugar at least have good sugar like honey. Or, if you want eliminate sugars period there’s Stevia or Xylitol which do not increase your blood sugar levels and are natural not artificial sweeteners.”
Desaulniers also said people should sidestep the inadvertent increasing of their toxicity levels as they’re preparing to entertain holidays guests. As one is doing all that cleaning of his or her home he said it is important to avoid chemical cleaners as they can get on the skin and in the lungs. There are several natural alternatives to be found if you seek them out.
Finally, as a chiropractor, Desaulniers advised patients to maintain their usual adjustment appointment schedules as much as possible for good neurological health. Extending that further he said if one is seeing any sort of health practitioner for an ongoing ailment or concern they shouldn’t cancel visits simply because it’s the holidays. Desaulniers said patients will have to go through a lot more later to make up for all regular maintenance missed for three or four weeks in December.
Another person with a well-informed opinion on surviving the holidays is Dr. Amanda Holloway of the Spirit of the Hawk Naturopathic Clinic. With all that people have going on during this time she said it’s important to slow down and recharge.
“What I suggest is make some time for you, like 20 minutes for some walking,” she said.
Holloway also summarized a few other things one can do to keep from getting rundown or sick during the festive season.
“Drink plenty of water,” she said. “Try to get all the sleep you can get; it’s huge for the immune system. And I would take some kind of supplement for your immune system as well because typically you are in contact with tons of people that are coughing, sharing snacks and all sorts of other things.”
