Green beers for St. Patrick’s Day? A dietitian weighs in.
It’s easy to go overboard on alcohol, especially on holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day. But you should know that binge-drinking, or excessive amounts of alcohol drank regularly, leads to major problems with your liver, pancreas and heart.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines has not changed its guidelines on alcohol — it’s still recommended to stick to one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men — so alcohol is something we still need to be careful with consuming. Alcohol isn’t necessary for promoting good health like healthy eating and physical activity. Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly are still your best bets for good health.
That said, if you’re following the one or two drinks per day and it isn’t affecting your health, that’s not necessarily a problem. Just make sure you are actually sticking to the recommendations.
Even with this updated information, it’s important to realize that the basics of a healthy diet haven’t changed. Follow an overall healthy dietary pattern rather than focusing on individual nutrients. It’s what we eat over the course of weeks, months and years that makes a big difference in our health — not a single meal or day. Enjoying special foods to celebrate the holiday is alright, especially if it’s an exception in a generally healthy diet.
Don’t expect to be perfect. You don’t have to eat perfect 100% of the time. Aim for closer to 80-90% of the time. This allows for some flexibility to have a couple treats here and there. And when you do slip, catch it quickly and get back on track.
In your overall diet, focus on eating mostly nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, low fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein foods such as poultry, fish, eggs, and healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, and seeds. Eat sensible portions and balance this with physical activity.
Even one day of binge-drinking can be dangerous, so please drink responsibly on St. Patrick’s Day. Remember to take water breaks, don’t drink on an empty stomach and as always, know your limits.
Heather Klug is a registered dietitian with Aurora Health Care.
Related Posts
Comments
One Comment
About the Author
Heather Klug, MEd RD is a registered dietitian and cardiac educator at the Karen Yontz Women's Cardiac Awareness Center inside Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI.
Man, thank the the Lord that Advocate included this story in today’ edition. Had I not read it, I would not know how to handle celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this year.