Don’t beat yourself up too much if you slipped up during the holidays and overindulged a bit. The important thing is to get yourself back on track with a healthy nutritional routine afterwards. Although they may be delicious, those overly tempting “cheat foods” can wreak havoc on your digestive tract, so restoring your digestive health quickly takes top priority after overindulging.  

The beneficial bacteria in your gut can be harmed by “make believe” foods, especially those with refined white flour, refined white sugar, trans fats, and other processed ingredients with “yuk” preservatives and toxic additives. In addition, eating large portions of “junk” food means it will take longer to digest and sit in your gut longer, potentially leading to uncomfortable gas and bloating. . . let alone, weight gain, low energy, and more. Breaking from your normal eating patterns by overindulging in poor quality “junk” foods can throw your digestive system into disarray because your body is not accustomed to digesting these foods. Therefore, restoring your beneficial gut bacteria and enzymes is critical to your recuperation.  

If you end up overindulging and feel gassy, bloated, or sluggish, try immediately taking some digestive enzymes with your meals. Digestive enzymes play a key role in breaking down the foods that you eat, speeding up the process of turning nutrients into energy. Enzymes can naturally be found in all raw foods but especially in foods such as pineapple, papaya, mango, avocados, and fermented foods such as fermented greens. Incorporating additional digestive enzymes as a nutritional supplement into your routine can help facilitate healthy digestion and relieve painful bloating and gas.  

In addition, try adding some hearty fiber to your daily routine. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. This decreases your chance of constipation and also helps maintain bowel and digestive health. Dietary fiber is found in fruits and vegetables but is also available as a dietary supplement concentrate which can be added to smoothies or main dishes. When you add concentrated dietary fiber to your routine, be sure to drink adequate amounts of purified water to experience the full digestive benefits.  

While indulging in fattening foods or high-sugar sweet treats once in a blue moon may sound tempting, remember that these pampering events are often more trouble than they are worth. Weight gain, mood swings, blood sugar changes, and digestive distress may all be the end result of your foray into the unknown dietary jungle of toxic chemicals. So, while it’s not the end of the world to slip up once in a while, stick to your goal of regularly consuming a delicious, whole food, plant-based diet that is rich in organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, as well as occasional wild-caught fish. Live your life to the fullest with world-class nourishment so you can enjoy your own best health.