How to avoid bloating this Christmas

The 'morning after the night before' to beat them all has got to be the one you endure on Boxing Day. By now you've already been partying for at least two weeks and on Christmas Day you've pushed all the boundaries with the blow-out of the year, so maybe this year it's time for a diet rethink.

Concentrate on positive foods

Not all seasonal food is going to drag you down. While sausage rolls and cheese balls will inevitably make you feel leaden, lots of delicious lighter options are on offer. By making better choices you can maximise your enjoyment and make sure you don't feel deprived. What's more, you will avoid over-eating on stodgy, greasy foods which have a deadening effect on your energy levels.

• Tempting treats are often fatty and we crave this. Satisfy the craving with healthy fats from foods such as smoked salmon or nuts. A useful canape, instead of cocktail sausages, is lean bacon wrapped around pitted prunes.
• Christmas pudding and mince pies are guaranteed to bloat you up, especially if you have a wheat sensitivity. There are really good wheat or gluten-free options these days which means you can enjoy without bursting! A wheat-free turkey stuffing could include quinoa, pine nuts, garlic and herbs.
• The problem with sugary foods is that it they trigger blood sugar highs and lows, which open the floodgates on bingeing. By enjoying non-sugary snacks and concentrating meals around protein foods, you avoid this. Snack on olives and pickles, stack up small oatcakes or rounds of pumpernickel bread with delicious toppings such as smoked duck breast slices, garlicky spread and sliced grapes, sweet cured herring and sour cream, or low-fat cream cheese, dried apricot slices and walnut halves.
• Calling all chocoholics: Instead of the family pack assortment of cheap chocolates, choose better quality 60-70 per cent cocoa solid chocolates. They are a bit more expensive but with such concentrated flavour, a little goes a very long way, meaning you are not tempted to over-indulge. They are easier to nibble at delicately, instead of necking down enough to make you feel sick.
• Avoid large packs of nuts and crisps, which are so salty they make you reach for the fizzy drinks that bloat you up. Choose fresh nuts and invest in a nut cracker as a Christmas gift. Because they take longer to crack and nibble on, you eat less and they are much tastier and more satisfying.
• After meals drink mint tea which is a potent digestive aid and will help your stomach to feel calm.

Portion control

This is not about limiting yourself and limiting your fun, it is about listening to your body. It takes about 20 minutes for the sensation of 'fullness' from your stomach to get back to your brain. During this time you've had the chance to load up your plate again and are groaning as a result. Indulge in some conversation, play a game of charades or pull crackers with the kids. And 20 minutes later, decide if you really want that second portion, you probably won't.

Grazing is also another weak point. We all do it and it is probably unrealistic to avoid it. But instead of cruising the roast potatoes or mini pork pies, pick at lean turkey or baby new potatoes. Alternatively, you could mash up some avocado as a dip for vegetable sticks. It is the act of grazing that is satisfying and while you won't miss the greasy food you will miss feeling bloated the next day.

Booze

To help avoid a hangover and some of the worst effects of the demon drink, try some of these tactics:

• Avoid mixing drinks. Mulled wine is a good example where brandy is often added to wine. You can make the mulled wine with the spices and fruit and leave the brandy out. Stick to one type of drink all evening and don't mix.
• For every alcoholic drink you have, consume an equal amount of water.
• Try to only drink when you can dampen the effect with some food, even if it is just some olives or nuts.
• If you get a bad reaction to your usual drink, switch to another. Often red wine causes a histamine (reddening effect) in some people and white wine will go down better. Beer may make some people feel gassy and a switch to a long drink may be a solution.
• Mix shorts with juice (such as tomato juice or orange juice) instead of fizzy mixers which may increase bloating, and certainly speed up alcohol absorption into the blood from the carbon dioxide in the mixer.
• If all else fails and you have overdone it, artichoke extract, sold as a herbal supplement, is very successful at reducing bloating and calming a 'liverish' feeling. The herbs artichoke and milk thistle are restorative for the liver.