Thanksgiving is a holiday devoted to consumption. It’s true, endless food and endless wine most often lead to endless fun. One thing they always lead to, however, is the dreaded food coma. That belly-busted, bloated, lead-balloon-like feeling that will take you and your family members out of the game far too early.
While there is no better cure for the food coma than self control… who are we kidding?! On Thanksgiving, it seems, that’s simply not an option.
With the holidays in mind, here are a handful of tricks that can help to minimize the severity of your food coma while still allowing you to go ham on some turkey.
1) Apéritif it up.
Apéritifs are (quite literally) drinks that are meant to be served before a meal. That’s because they simultaneously settle your stomach and get your appetite going. If you’re about to do a lot of eating, those are good things. Think of it as your stomach’s warm up for the big game.
2) Pace is the trick.
We wouldn’t dare tell you not to eat way too much on Thanksgiving, but we would advise that you eat way too much slowly. If you go from 0-60 on that gravy the food coma will follow with thunderous vigor. Smaller bites at a respectable pace means you give your stomach a head start vis-a-vis digestion. Digestion = good.
3) Did someone say digestif??
As pompous as it sounds to offer up digestifs at a dinner party, an after dinner dram can work wonders. Beverages like Brandy, fortified wines, Eaux de Vie, Fernet or even a good old splash of whiskey will soothe your sad tummy. Bitter digestifs in particular contain carminative herbs, which help to aid digestion. There you go, it’s science, drink ‘em.
4) Walk it off, you champion!
Lying down on that sofa will hurt more than it helps. Once your body starts sleepy-time your digestion will slow and that food coma will carry over. Before you even wash the dishes (or make somebody else do it) propose a family jaunt, constitutional or traipse around the block. It’s the last thing you’ll want to do, but you won’t regret it.
