Christmas revelers urged to observe healthy lifestyle

Past records of the Department of Health show an increase in the number of patients admitted to local hospitals after a long Christmas vacation.

This prompted Dave Bargamento, National Nutrition Council Region 7 officer, and Ronald delos Reyes, program coordinator of the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center, to urge the public to observe a healthy lifestyle during the holidays.

During the Dec. 17 episode of Pagtuki, the weekly radio program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. aired every Saturday morning over dyLA, Bargamento and delos Reyes shared tips on how to stay healthy this yuletide season.

“People, especially those who are always attending parties, should eat moderately. They should avoid eating high fat and salt content foods. Too much of fat and salt will always have a negative effect on one’s body,” Bargamento said.

Both Pagtuki guests promoted the eating of fruits and vegetables and lessening the use of seasonings.

“Since it will be a long holiday for everyone, it would be better to allot time for exercise. Exercise would help burn excess calories. The sweat would help release toxins from our body,” delos Reyes said.

“Intake of water would also be helpful, especially when you drink alcoholic beverages. Water can help dilute alcoholic drinks,” Bargamento added.

They also advised partygoers to eat food that are rich in protein before going to their parties, saying that being very hungry before an event would trigger them to eat a lot.

“Eating ham on noche buena should also be minimized. Ham is processed meat and is high on salt. One or two slices of it would be enough,” Bargamento said.

He also urged parents to store the kids’ favorite, spaghetti, properly since it “perishes easily” compared to other food.

Bargamento and Delos Reyes pointed out that excess intake of food would lead to obesity and other possible illnesses, such as colon cancer.