Healthy Holiday
December 5, 2006

Let the joy of the season outweigh the stress

Anna Roufos / Special to The Detroit News
December 5, 2006

T hose sleigh bells ringing might as well signal stress and gluttony. With all the parties you need to attend, presents to be wrapped and people to please, the holidays can certainly take their toll.

But they can also be surprisingly good for you -- really. Here's how.

Rituals have a hidden health benefit

The thought of sitting through dinner and having to listen to Uncle John's jokes -- again -- might make you cringe. But research shows that families who practice rituals that hold meaning for them, or even provide a sense of predictability, report feelings of better health, greater satisfaction in relationships and less stress.

"The holidays can be harried and stressful, but rituals bring an emotional cementing," says Barbara Fiese, professor of psychology at Syracuse University and author of "Family Rituals and Routines" (Yale University Press, $55).

The anticipation can provide some very positive feelings, she says. What's more, it's the simple rituals that carry the most impact.

"We found that it wasn't the elaborate or complicated aspects of rituals that people looked forward to," Fiese says. "It's the more subtle symbolic things that let you know that you belong to this particular family, whether it's the same joke that's told every year or the lumps in the mashed potatoes."

Focus on the things that you really look forward to and reduce the things that feel like an imposition, Fiese says.

Several traditional holiday foods are nutritional goodies

Sweet potatoes are full of beta carotene, which boosts immunity, says Cynthia Sass, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and co-author of "Your Diet is Driving Me Crazy: When Food Conflicts Get in the Way of Your Love Life" (Marlowe & Co., $14.95). They're also full of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Cranberries are packed with antioxidants, including those that lower heart disease and cancer risk. They also contain substances that help prevent urinary tract infections, Sass says.

Pumpkin has three times the recommended daily value for vitamin A and is rich in fiber. It can also replace the fat in baked goods.

Even low-fat eggnog has a health benefit -- a serving can provide 15 percent of the daily value for calcium. Just be sure not to drink too much, since there are still 1.5 grams of saturated fat in a half cup.

We are reminded to forgive

Reaching out to others can be the best gift you give -- and receive.

A growing body of data shows that chronic unforgiveness can result in health problems, beginning around age 55 to 60, says Everett L. Worthington Jr., author of "Forgiving and Reconciling" (InterVarsity Press, $15). These include an increased risk for heart attack and stroke, and decreased immunity, so you're less able to fight off disease, he says. Not forgiving can also be associated with depression, anxiety and anger, he says.

On the other hand, forgiving can lower the risks for mental health difficulties -- usually by changing the amount of replaying of negative thoughts that people engage in, Worthington says.

"If people can forgive old hurts and give the person the benefit of the doubt, sometimes it can lighten the mood of the entire season," he says.

Do yourself a favor this season and let bygones be bygones.

It's the giving season

Several studies show that 'tis truly better to give. In fact, it may help you live longer.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that people who volunteered for two or more organizations were 63 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who did not.

University of Michigan researcher Stephanie Brown has also found an association between giving help and decreased mortality. In the study, those who provided support to others had a 30 to 60 percent decreased risk of dying during the five-year study period relative to those who provided less or no support.

Helping others may trigger the activation of hormones that reduces the harmful effects of the stress hormone cortisol, Brown says.

You're seeing family and friends

Being social can improve health. A study from the University of Michigan found that chatting with family and friends can help keep the mind sharp.

"As the population ages, interest has been growing about how to maintain healthy brains and minds," U-M psychologist Oscar Ybarra says in a press release about his findings. "Most advice for preserving and enhancing mental function emphasizes intellectual activities such as reading, doing crossword puzzles and learning how to use a computer. But my research suggests that just getting together and chatting with friends and family may also be effective."

In the study, the more socially engaged participants were, the lower their level of cognitive impairment and the better their working memory. Think of hitting those holiday parties as your assignment.

Holidays mean heightened level of activity

You might not see the inside of a gym until January, but all is not lost. The holidays can provide lots of small ways to incorporate activity -- which can quickly add up. One lap around Oakland Mall, for instance, is a mile.

"You can reap the benefits with short amounts of exercise," says JoAnne Bieniasz, an exercise physiologist at the Ministrelli Women's Heart Center at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. "We encourage this at all times of the year, especially for those who are not currently active, because it is more achievable."

If you're not currently active, Bieniasz suggests wearing a pedometer and counting your steps. Aim to take 1,000 or 2,000 steps a day, which is the equivalent of walking a half-mile and mile, respectively. Walking briskly for 10 minutes is about 1,200 steps.

Those who are already active can maintain fitness levels with moderate bouts of exercise, such as brisk walking, jumping rope, or climbing the stairs for five to 10 minutes, or dancing at your office party for 10 to 15 minutes.

"Any activity is better than none, and by incorporating 10 or 15 minutes throughout the day, you can help lower blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides, as well as manage stress, improve sleep and increase energy," she says.

Now that's a lot of bang for your buck.

It's time to give thanks

Instead of making a list for Santa, write out what you are grateful for. Studies show that grateful people exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, feel better about their lives as a whole and are more optimistic about the future than the not-so-grateful. They also feel more connected to others, and they become more helpful people.

Research shows that gratitude is part of a person's "psychological immune system" that operates to convert adversity into prosperity, says Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. "An attitude of gratefulness permits a person to transform even a tragedy into an opportunity for growth. In these instances, people are not, of course, thankful for the circumstance, but rather for the skills that came from dealing with it or new opportunities afforded by it."

Gratitude is a key to happiness, Emmons says. "People are moved, opened and humbled through experiences and expressions of gratitude. It provides life with meaning. Without gratitude, life can be lonely, depressing, impoverished."

The good news is that gratitude is an attitude that can be freely chosen, but it also requires "disciplined hard work to approach life through the lens of appreciation," Emmons says.

"You cannot be grateful all the time any more than you can be happy all of the time," he notes. It is relatively easy to feel grateful when life is going our way. It's a much greater challenge, of course, to be grateful when things are not going so well. "But with practice, you can increase your chances of adopting an appreciative perspective on life."

Time off is typical near the holidays

Taking a vacation is essential for relieving stress and boosting creativity, says Kathleen Hall, CEO of the Stress Institute and author of "A Life in Balance: Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness" (American Management Association, $21.95).

"It usually takes a person two to three days for their brain to really start disengaging from work. That's when the right and left brain start getting balanced and you get more creative, you get new ideas, you have a new openness about you."

If you're staying home, try engaging in a project, such as learning to knit or renovating something in your house. If it's something you enjoy, it becomes playful -- and the brain loves play, Hall says. "Play makes us feel alive and helps you to think creatively and productively."

If you're going into a stressful family situation, you can still recharge, Hall says. Employ the stress reduction techniques that work for you and limit your time around negative people.

Anna Roufos is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.

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Give to receive health
Visit these Web sites for ideas on how to give to others -- and yourself -- this holiday season.

Volunteermatch.org: Enter your ZIP and get a list of volunteer opportunities. There are currently 300 listed volunteer opportunities in the Metro Detroit area.

Dosomething.com: An online forum for young people to participate in volunteer and charitable activities that are meaningful, from food drives to helping kids in the Sudan.

Firstgov.com: This is the official Web portal of the U.S. government and features helpful links to organizations where consumers can volunteer their time.