Enjoy Christmas festivity in moderation – health official

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CEBU CITY, Philippines — As we celebrate the holiday season, a health official here is reminding the public to also think of their health conditions.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), said on Monday that while Christmas is the season to enjoy food, drinks and different activities with families and friends, it is important to also consider its health risks.

These risks include the over consumption of food, which is not good for those who have diabetes and high blood pressure, lack of sleep, and too much outdoor adventure.

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“Ato nang i-balanse tanan kay sa lawas gihapon na mopadong,” he said.

(We have to keep in mind to balance everything because this will all affect the body.)

Fatty food

In addition, overeating fatty food like lechon and humba, is risky to those who already have prevailing health conditions, he said.

“Mao gyud nay problema, di na nato ma monitor atong kaon. Suddenly motaas unya atong cholesterol and blood pressure, basig madugangan ang problema sa atong selebrasyon sa Christmas,” Bernadas added.

(That is where the problem starts because we do not monitor what we eat. Suddenly, the cholesterol and blood pressure increases, this could lead to a problem during the Christmas celebration.)

Moreover, Bernadas is reminding the public to always be mindful of the amount of food that they will prepare to avoid spoilage and possible contamination.

“Dapat kung mag preparar ta og pagkaon, kanang capable nato hiposon safely aron makaon pa later kaysa ma-expose siya sa risgo sa contamination ug spoilage,” he said.

(If we prepare food, we should only have something that we can safely keep and eat later on to avoid exposure and risks of contamination and spoilage.)

Bernadas said that DOH-7, for its part, has already raised the Code White Alert for the Christmas and New Year’s celebration to ensure the readiness of the hospitals to respond to emergencies, especially during events with large gatherings.