How to Stay Healthy During the Holidays

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Vegetable Gumbo with Cabbage
Spicy Mexican Walnut Mix

If you’re stumped about what to buy for a holiday gift, consider this: Some gifts may transform people’s lives for the healthier.

In a study published in the 1996 Journal of the ­American Dietetic Association, researchers conducted ­interviews with 150 people who had made notable ­improvements in their eating habits. Some of those interviewed mentioned gifts as pivotal ­influences.

“I think when people receive a gift, they feel obligated to try it—or eat it, if appropriate—when they might not do so otherwise,” says Cheryl Achterberg, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Penn State and a researcher on the study. Gifts that may help change a person’s habits include unfamiliar or exotic fruits and vegetables that the receiver wouldn’t normally buy.

“Similarly,” Achterberg says, “an invitation to dinner for a different cuisine—for example, Indian—or a [gift] certificate to a different restaurant might again spur someone to try different foods that he or she may then incorporate more routinely into the diet.”

The findings show that one modest change can prompt several changes that researchers call a “clump.” Just one gift can trigger such a clump.

“Behavior change tended to occur in groups of about six to eight specific changes,” Achterberg says. “The gift of a wok might trigger an increase in ­cabbage and peppers, an increase in rice or complex carbohydrates, and a decrease in meat, as someone uses this appliance on a regular basis.”

Study participants mentioned several kitchen appliances as motivators, including rice cookers and bread machines, which can lead to the consumption of more whole grains. A gift of homemade food alone is not likely to change someone’s behavior unless it is accompanied by the means and motivation to do so, Achterberg says. For example, she recommends supplying the recipe for the gift or the book that contains the recipe.

“The main thing is that someone needs to try it, like it, and then follow through and re-create it,” she says.

A Basketful of Nutrition

What can you give friends and family that would be more meaningful than a box of candy, slippers, or another tie? Healthy gift baskets may be a good place to start. Nutrition and health-food stores have a wide selection of books and videotapes on nutrition and cooking, healthy snacks (such as roasted soybeans or pumpkin seeds), teas, juices, and products such as specialty skin creams and soaps. Visit grocery stores for exotic fruits. Beth Bussey, a registered dietitian and EatRight weight-control program coordinator in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says she likes to assemble the ingredients for a healthy bean soup and include a recipe. Dried beans come in many colors and are nutritious, too. She stuffs a basket with the beans, plus canned items, specialty crackers, and a soup mug.