December puts extra pressure on your digestion, your blood sugar and your energy. Rich food, busy schedules and more social plans can leave you feeling sluggish before the month has even begun. You can prepare your gut now with small steps that fit easily into everyday meals. These habits help you stay steady through the season and make it easier to enjoy the food you love without the usual discomfort.
1. Start Your Meals with Bitters
Bitter foods stimulate digestive enzymes, stomach acid and bile flow—key for breaking down richer foods.
Try: rocket, radicchio, watercress, endive, chicory, with my turmeric vinaigrette, also a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water before meals helps to stimulate digestive juices.
2. Increase Fibre to Feed Your Microbiome
Your gut microbes thrive on diverse fibres, and a well-fed microbiome is more resilient when your diet shifts.
Include: leafy greens, lentils, chickpeas, oats, flaxseed, nuts, seeds, and plenty of seasonal veg like Brussels sprouts, leeks, onions, and parsnips.
3. Add Fermented Foods Daily
A small amount of fermented food can keep digestion regular and reduce bloating.
Try: sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented veg in general are so amazing as they are more nutritious than regular vegetables as well as providing prebiotic fibre to feed good bacteria AND they contain probiotics or beneficial bacteria too. Why not come to my next fermenting workshop to learn how to make them yourself! More detail on the Events page.
4. Support Blood Sugar to Reduce Cravings
Sugar and alcohol cravings peak when your blood sugar is unstable.
Tips:
- Have protein at every meal – more than one source if vegetarian (eggs, meat, fish, tofu, tempeh, pulses, quinoa)
- Build meals around fibre (vegetables / wholegrains) + protein + healthy fats
- Add cinnamon to porridge or stewed apple – this helps keep blood sugar balanced.
- Avoid going too long between meals, eat well before you get ‘hangry’.
- Eat a protein rich meal before going on a night out or a boozy lunch.
- At your Christmas do, try to hold off on the alcohol until you have eaten some protein. Drinking on an empty stomach plays havoc with blood sugar and this disrupts everything, from your hormones to inflammation to sleep quality and mood.
5. Nourish Your Liver-Gut Axis
Your liver works hard in December—help it now by choosing foods that support detoxification pathways and reduce inflammation. Include: cruciferous veg, garlic, onions, beetroot, turmeric, rosemary, green tea, nettle tea and plenty of water.
Milk thistle is also a handy herbal supplement which supports liver function, although check
with your prescriber if you are on medications before incorporating this in your routine.
Find out more about supporting your body with nutrition at one of my events, workshops or talks.
