As the year is coming to a close, loved ones gather to celebrate, often leading to back-to-back parties, indulgent meals, drinks, and dancing. While all of this brings joy, it can also place sudden stress on your body, particularly the heart, liver, and gut. Festive fun, if not indulged mindfully, can carry hidden health consequences.
HT Lifestyle spoke to Dr Sushil Kalra, Director of Internal Medicine at CK Birla Hospitals, Jaipur, who shared how vital organs are affected by the intense, round-the-clock parties and get-togethers. He alerted that the combination ofalcohol, heavy meals, irregular sleep, dehydration, and prolonged sitting leads to something calledholiday health hangover’
Heart
All the festive indulgence, whether it is guzzling alcohol or binge eating, contributes to stress on the heart. These sudden and sometimes extreme changes can adversely affect cardiovascular function.
Dr Kalra explained the risk of hypertension and irregular heartbeats, “From a cardiac perspective, binge drinking and high-sodium foods can raise blood pressure, trigger palpitations, and in vulnerable individuals, precipitate rhythm disturbances.”
Moreover, people with underlying issues such as obesity, smoking or unmanaged stress are more likely to experience health problems. Dr Kalra noted that chest discomfort and shortness of breath are common among these vulnerable groups, even though they may appear healthy from the outside.
Liver
During the festive season, there are grand feasts and overall excessive consumption. This puts significant stress on organs like the liver, which plays a crucial role in the body’s detoxification.
The doctor said, “Alcohol metabolism increases liver inflammation, while fatty, processed foods push the liver into metabolic overload.” You may think it is only for a few days, but Dr Kalra warned that even short-term excess consumption of junk food and alcohol can be harmful, leading to raised liver enzymes, fatty liver flare-ups, and digestive intolerance.
Gut
The gut is sensitive to major lifestyle changes and reacts quickly. The expert pointed out that during the year-end festivities, people tend to be more lenient with their habits, leading to disrupted meal timings, low fibre intake, and alcohol consumption. These factors, in turn, affect the gut, resulting in acidity, bloating, reflux, constipation or diarrhoea.
Prevention
So does that mean you have to put a lid on your year-end celebrations? No, that does not mean you cannot enjoy them. It just means being mindful and balancing everything properly.
Dr Kalra suggested these tips so that you don’t stress your organs:
- Spacing alcoholic drinks, alternating with water
- Avoiding late-night heavy meals
- Prioritizing sleep
- Maintaining some level of daily physical activity
- Limiting fried foods
- Increasing fibre through fruits and vegetables
- Overnight fasting windows to help restore balance
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
