Written by Dr. Suzanne Tang

December 8th, 2024

’Tis the season to be intentional and healthy. The holidays can be a joyous time of travel, festivities, and connection with family and friends but for many it can also be a time of overwhelming and long to-do lists and extra stress, family triggers, worry, and obligations. As stress mounts it’s common to put your health aside, postpone lab work, cancel wellness visits, skip workouts or meditations and consume more sugar and processed foods.

Trust me I get it since I was the queen of busyness. When friends asked me how I was doing, I would automatically reply, “I’ve been so busy”, as if it was some sort of badge of honor of industriousness. I was raised to be productive and high-achieving and believed the illusion that my worth was based on my successes and the number of tasks and chores I had accomplished. For many, including myself, busyness and workaholism are addictions no different than an addiction to sugar, online shopping, or alcohol. Every time I check off an item from my to-do list I would get a juicy, feel-good hit of dopamine but would then be left craving more dopamine. When the holidays roll around, the pressure to do more can go into overdrive.

Yet there is another way and you don’t have to hit rock bottom or have a physical or mental health crisis to change die-hard limiting thoughts and unhealthy habits. The past few tumultuous and unpredictable years with work have taught me again and again that my worth comes from within not from external measures, to release attachments that are no longer serving me and to let go of outdated thoughts and habits to be free of worry and cultivate my peace. In order to maintain my sanity and my health, I created and followed the mantra, “As the demands of stress increase, practice even greater self-care to meet those demands.” Instead of neglecting your health during times of high stress, choose the opposite path and make yourself and your health a priority even if you don’t think you have enough time (keep reading for tips on creating more time in you schedule). Because without your health you cannot truly live your purpose whether it be to travel more, enjoy time with your family and friends, have more joy and peace, or help others.

Here are Five Tips for an Intentional and Healthy Holiday Season:

Simplify and Minimize. The holidays can be a time of excess with more socializing, eating, drinking, decorating, card making, and giving and gift buying. If this brings you great joy to do it all feel free to skip to the next tip. To quote Marie Kondo, decluttering guru, “To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.” In other words, let go of the traditions or obligations that no longer serve you, your health or your bank account. Minimize and simplify your calendar and your to-do list by choosing to only attend social events that are really important to you, decorating less which means less clean up after the holidays (this is a tough one for me because I love my Nightmare Before Christmas decorations), or buying less gifts. A white elephant gift exchange, donation to a worthy cause, homemade gift cards for an act of kindness or service or family trips are great alternatives to purchasing gifts for each family member. Better yet give your friends and family the gift of wellness from Inspire Natural Wellness. Please email or call our office to purchase your gift cards. No time to make and send curated holiday cards? No problem. Call your friends and family instead.
Small Bites and Sips. With the abundance of holiday food and libations at social functions, it’s tempting to eat and drink excessively. To infuse the holidays with more intuitive and mindful eating, use smaller plate and glasses to reduce your portions, stop eating when you are 80% full and take smaller bites while chewing your food thoroughly, which will cue your brain and hunger hormones to signal that you are full. Drink plenty of water instead of sugar-laden cocktails or soda and if you do drink alcohol stop at one or two drinks. Also ask yourself if the food you are about to serve yourself will nourish your body and help you feel healthier. If not, skip the item and opt for a nutritious and healthy choice such as salad, veggies and lean protein. I always bring a healthy dish to potlucks to ensure that there will be extra veggies, fiber and nutrients available. Check out my recipe corner below for one of my favorite kale salad recipes.
Ease Digestion. Eat plenty of fiber from nuts, seeds, and veggies and fermented foods, such as pickled vegetables, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and non-GMO miso or tempeh and take your probiotics consistently to optimize your microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome not only boosts digestion and absorption of nutrients but also supports immunity, mood, metabolism, blood sugar regulation and heart health. Taking digestive enzymes are also a must to help break down those heartier meals and to reduce holiday indigestion and bloat.
Get Regular Rest and Sleep. Balance your errand runs with time for restful breaks and aim to sleep at least 7-8 hours per night. Sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality are extremely detrimental to your health and significantly increases your risk of having cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, increased infections, and dementia and dying in a fatal car crash. Poor sleep is also linked to increased hunger, poor appetite control, anxiety, depression, irritability and poor focus and memory. Exposure to natural morning light and turning off blue light from screens 1 hour before bed are essential for improving sleep quality and your circadian rhythm. For more effective sleep tips head over to an older blog post of mine.

5. Stick to Your Self-Care Routine. Hopefully you already have a self-care routine in place but if you don’t or need to add more tools to your wellness toolbox, incorporate one act of calming self-kindness that brings you joy or peace each day. This can include reframing your thoughts, stretching, reading, journaling, meditating, taking nature walks, exercising, resting, doing yoga, receiving acupuncture, craniosacral therapy or massage treatments, and taking deep breaths throughout the day. Add this act of kindness to your schedule to remind yourself that you are worthy of time and care for yourself regardless of the busyness and you will find yourself feeling more grounded, energized, and positive, all wonderful gifts to share this holiday season. You will feel so good that you won’t need to be searching for the next hit of dopamine from your holiday to-do list.

Dr. Tang’s Recipe Corner

Click HERE for the full recipe and more detailed directions!

Wishing you and your family a very healthy and peaceful holidays filled with nourishing intentions! May this season brings you the calm, care and wellness that you truly deserve!

Yours in Wellness,

Dr. Suzanne Tang, ND, LAc
Inspire Natural Wellness