Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Healthy Holiday Eating
Aired December 24, 2002 - 08:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For many people the holidays certainly lead to -- well, we know this, overindulging in high-fat foods and alcohol. Dr. Sanjay Gupta now, back to Atlanta and the CNN Center to talk about how to avoid eating yourself sick or drinking yourself sick.
How are you? Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Here's an interesting fact for you. Most American citizens gain about a pound only between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was previously believed to be 5 to 10 pounds. But they actually studied this, and it's only about a pound. That's the good news. The bad news is that pound can actually stick around with you, does stick around with you, and is very hard to shed. So you put about 20 or 30 holiday seasons behind you, and you have 20 or 30 extra pounds, and that's exactly how that weight adds up, Bill.
So we do have some holiday eating tips. Let's try to get right to them as far as what to do to try to lay off that one pound. Consume alcohol in moderation, a lot of empty calories there. Drink diet or club sodas. Socialize away from the food table. Don't hang out and chat by the buffet table. Don't binge. Plan healthy food options as well. Smaller is better in this case. Listen to your stomach. Physical activity as well. Bill, another one I'll throw in there, try not to go to the party on an empty stomach. Scarf some protein down, some chicken or something before you get to the party. That will probably help as well -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sanjay, you're taking all the fun away.
GUPTA: No, no, it's fun. And you'll have so much more fun later in the year when you don't stack on those pounds. Your belt and your pants will fit better. You'll be able to snow board better.
HEMMER: I'll buy that one.
Why do you say it takes so long and hard to lose that one pound that you gain?
GUPTA: Some of the food we're talking about, I'm going to tell you what some of the worst foods are as well. These foods actually tend to stick around for a long time. They're full of fat. They're full of empty calories.
Let's look at some of the worst holiday choices, if you partake the season, which many of us still will. Pecan pie, one of my favorites, Bill, 502 calories from one serving, 27 grams of fat. Egg nog also really bad, 342 calories, 18 grams of fat. You can read the entire list there. Gourmet candies also not on the list there, but also really bad. A lot of people like to give those away, and they're really hard to resist to get a box of those, and they just sit on the table and you keep eating those. Keep away from those as well -- Bill.
HEMMER; If that's the bad food, what's the good food?
GUPTA: Well, there are some good foods, and certainly, we talk about the big meal, whether it's Christmas meal or some meal during the holiday season.
Let's look at some of the meats that are actually better and not so good for you. Talking about turkey, first of all, turkey skin. Take the skin off your turkey, 39 grams of fat in a 3.5 ounce serving. Dark turkey meat a little better, but still not that great with skin. You can see the best is the turkey breast without the skin. That's the good meat that you should eat. Try to scarf down protein before you get to those parties, such as turkey or chicken. That will help you not eat so much at the buffet table.
HEMMER: We'll have to exercise some discipline.
GUPTA: Use a plate, too, Bill. Use a plate, too.
HEMMER: You're waiting for that one, weren't you?
Thank you, Sanjay. Have a good holiday.
GUPTA: Happy holidays to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 24, 2002 - 08:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For many people the holidays certainly lead to -- well, we know this, overindulging in high-fat foods and alcohol. Dr. Sanjay Gupta now, back to Atlanta and the CNN Center to talk about how to avoid eating yourself sick or drinking yourself sick.
How are you? Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Here's an interesting fact for you. Most American citizens gain about a pound only between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was previously believed to be 5 to 10 pounds. But they actually studied this, and it's only about a pound. That's the good news. The bad news is that pound can actually stick around with you, does stick around with you, and is very hard to shed. So you put about 20 or 30 holiday seasons behind you, and you have 20 or 30 extra pounds, and that's exactly how that weight adds up, Bill.
So we do have some holiday eating tips. Let's try to get right to them as far as what to do to try to lay off that one pound. Consume alcohol in moderation, a lot of empty calories there. Drink diet or club sodas. Socialize away from the food table. Don't hang out and chat by the buffet table. Don't binge. Plan healthy food options as well. Smaller is better in this case. Listen to your stomach. Physical activity as well. Bill, another one I'll throw in there, try not to go to the party on an empty stomach. Scarf some protein down, some chicken or something before you get to the party. That will probably help as well -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sanjay, you're taking all the fun away.
GUPTA: No, no, it's fun. And you'll have so much more fun later in the year when you don't stack on those pounds. Your belt and your pants will fit better. You'll be able to snow board better.
HEMMER: I'll buy that one.
Why do you say it takes so long and hard to lose that one pound that you gain?
GUPTA: Some of the food we're talking about, I'm going to tell you what some of the worst foods are as well. These foods actually tend to stick around for a long time. They're full of fat. They're full of empty calories.
Let's look at some of the worst holiday choices, if you partake the season, which many of us still will. Pecan pie, one of my favorites, Bill, 502 calories from one serving, 27 grams of fat. Egg nog also really bad, 342 calories, 18 grams of fat. You can read the entire list there. Gourmet candies also not on the list there, but also really bad. A lot of people like to give those away, and they're really hard to resist to get a box of those, and they just sit on the table and you keep eating those. Keep away from those as well -- Bill.
HEMMER; If that's the bad food, what's the good food?
GUPTA: Well, there are some good foods, and certainly, we talk about the big meal, whether it's Christmas meal or some meal during the holiday season.
Let's look at some of the meats that are actually better and not so good for you. Talking about turkey, first of all, turkey skin. Take the skin off your turkey, 39 grams of fat in a 3.5 ounce serving. Dark turkey meat a little better, but still not that great with skin. You can see the best is the turkey breast without the skin. That's the good meat that you should eat. Try to scarf down protein before you get to those parties, such as turkey or chicken. That will help you not eat so much at the buffet table.
HEMMER: We'll have to exercise some discipline.
GUPTA: Use a plate, too, Bill. Use a plate, too.
HEMMER: You're waiting for that one, weren't you?
Thank you, Sanjay. Have a good holiday.
GUPTA: Happy holidays to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
