Pigs in blankets and Christmas pudding are two festive staples that diet expert Tim Spector will never allow to be served on the day.
The scientist, co-founder of popular diet app ZOE, said he generally took a more relaxed approach to eating healthy on Christmas Day compared to the rest of the year.
However, pigs in blankets, full of saturated fat, salt and, by their very nature, processed meat, are strictly off the menu.
‘Even if it’s Christmas, I wouldn’t touch processed meat. Consider trying a homemade pâté if you’re looking for a meaty fix,” he said. The telegraph.
Professor Spector, also an expert in genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, previously warned of the clear evidence that processed meat is bad for us.
These meats are high in saturated fats that can raise blood cholesterol levels, increasing the likelihood of life-threatening heart disease.
The high salt content in processed meats such as bacon and sausages can also contribute to dangerous increases in blood pressure if consumed too frequently.
Processed meats are also a known risk factor for bowel cancer due to substances added in the preservation process called nitrates and nitrites, which react in the body to damage cells.
Pigs in blankets and Christmas pudding are two festive staples that Tim Spector will never allow to be served on the day.
The food guru, who runs nutrition company ZOE, said he generally took a more relaxed attitude to eating healthily on Christmas Day compared to the rest of the year, but admitted even this has its downsides. boundaries. stock image
Cancer Research UK estimates that almost a sixth of the 44,000 annual cases of bowel cancer in Britain are caused by eating too much ultra-processed meat.
Professor Spector has also described how some sausages, the “pork” of pigs in blankets, also contain emulsifiers, an industrial food ingredient used to improve texture and shelf life.
Emulsifiers have specifically been suggested to cause intestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel diseases, and have been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer.
The traditional Christmas pudding is also rejected by the Spector family.
Professor Spector said the festive treat, along with other similar hypersweet options, was simply too high in sugar to make an exception, even on Christmas Day.
“Options with a lot of sugar, like Christmas pudding or sticky toffee pudding, wouldn’t work,” she said.
As an alternative, the expert recommends a homemade chocolate mousse that consists of combining “dark chocolate, olive oil, maple syrup and the liquid from a jar of chickpeas.”
Another option, he added, was a rhubarb crumble “with a mixture of kefir and yogurt as a topping, instead of cream.”
Christmas puddings are full of sugar; Some options on supermarket shelves contain almost 38g of sugar per serving, which exceeds the 30g limit of sugar per day that the NHS recommends British adults adhere to.
Eating too much sugar can lead to excessive weight gain and obesity, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes.
Professor Spector has previously detailed how eating sugar can cause potentially worrying blood sugar spikes, increasing feelings of hunger throughout the day, making you more likely to snack.