This episode of Late Night Health features Pamela Nisevich Bede, a nutrition expert and author, who shares healthy eating strategies for the holiday season. Ms. Nisevich Bede explains how people can enjoy traditional holiday foods while maintaining stable glucose levels, which helps regulate mood and energy. Eating vegetables, protein, and fats before carbohydrates and sweets, and taking a 10-20 minute walk after meals are good practices not only for the holidays, but all year long. For those who would like to monitor their glucose levels more closely, Ms. Nisevich Bede introduces Lingo by Abbott, an over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor that helps users understand how their body responds to different foods and activities, enabling better wellness choices without requiring major dietary overhauls during the holidays. To learn more about Lingo, visit hellolingo.com
This is a special edition of Late Night Health. I’m Mark Alyn. Holidays are just around the corner, and of course, that means pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, which is my favorite, and lots and lots of other not so healthy things. Our guest is Pamela Nisevich Bede. She’s a six-time author, has completed more than 30 marathons. That makes me speechless. And is a nutrition expert with Abbott’s Lingo business. Pamela, welcome to Late Night Health.
Hi. Thank you for having me.
Our pleasure. Real quick, to people overeat at this time of year?
Yes they do, right? We look forward to the holidays all year long. So it’s sometimes it’s hard to resist some of those familiar favorites, but luckily, there are actually ways that you can incorporate a lot of those healthy, well, you know, your familiar favorites, but do it in a healthy way.
Well, but turkey itself is okay, right?
The turkey is a great source of protein. So there’s there’s different foods on our holiday table that move us towards our health and wellness goals. And some that, while you might think they’re moving you away towards it, you can actually eat them in a way that works for you your energy levels, your glucose, and your health. You just have to strategize a little bit.
What about mood? Because, you know, Uncle, Uncle Joe is always, pushing my buttons, and Aunt Jane is, pushing Uncle, Uncle Joe’s buttons. Is there a way to keep the mood happy?
Yes. Actually, you know, what’s interesting is we have we have data on how mood responds to carbohydrates, how mood responds to glucose. And here’s here’s how it happens, right? So throughout the holidays, throughout the year, we have just shifts in our healthy habits, right? So maybe we’re eating later. We’re moving less. We’re dealing with Uncle Joe at the at the Thanksgiving table, right? But if we can keep our glucose steady or we can keep our mood a bit steadier, right? We can keep our focus a bit steadier. It’s just better understanding how to do that in a way that works for our lifestyle, in a way that works for our own personal health. So yes, you can absolutely eat in a way that keeps your mood in a better place.
As a nutritionist, you work with people on these kinds of things all the time. During holidays, do we have to be more, more involved with what we’re eating than say, you know, in non-holiday times?
Well, I think sometimes the holidays challenge us a little bit more. Foods that we look forward to. Our schedule is disruptive, right? We have probably more access to a lot of foods and treats than we might through other times of the year, but a lot of the, the strategies that we can use at holiday time work throughout the year. For example, our glucose, which is one of the main energy sources in our body. It fluctuates throughout the day. It fluctuates throughout the year, right? And it fluctuates, usually, in response to our food, our exercise, our stress, and much more. But having this like having a tight hold on your glucose, understanding how your body reacts or responds to different foods can really help across the across the holidays, across the year. So you can make changes so that, you know, no one wants to overhaul their holiday plate, right? Think about the foods that you look forward to on Thanksgiving, right? You’re not going to walk away from those foods. But what if I told you that what you ate first mattered? If you add in vegetables, protein, fat before your carbohydrates, before your sweets, you can kind of have this approach of have your cake and eat it too, but still stay more metabolically healthy.
But I can’t resist that apple pie or the pecan pie. There’s a new tool that you’re talking about. It’s a, it’s technology, and it’s, I believe it’s called Lingo from Abbott.
Right. So Lingo by Abbott is a over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor. So you don’t need a prescription to kind of peek behind the curtain and understand what’s happening with your glucose minute by minute. So, Lingo is designed to help you take the guesswork out of wellness and show you what works for you. And it’s all about making better choices and habits. So, for example, you love that apple pie or that pumpkin pie, the pecan pie too. If you have it, and then you go for a walk, say 10 to 20 minutes after that meal, what happens is your glucose is going to be sent to your working muscles and your muscles love using glucose for fuel, right? So you’ve enjoyed your pie. You go for a walk rather than falling asleep on the couch, and that keeps you steadier. It keeps your energy in a better spot. It keeps your glucose within a healthy range, right? So it’s just knowing how you’re responding to the apple pie. How you are responding to movement that actually moves you in the right direction?
That’s a great idea. And of course, then, the older guys won’t, unzip their pants and unbutton them as they fall asleep on the couch, if you want information, go to hellolingo.com. That’s hellolingo.com. Pam, thank you very much for spending some time. I know you’re busy. We’ll let you go.
Thank you very much, Mark. And have a great holiday season.
You too. I’m Mark Alyn, and this is Late Night Health.
