Feel like you drank and ate too much over Christmas and the New Year and now you’re feeling sluggish and out of shape? January is the perfect month to really take a look at your overall health and diet and to make necessary changes where needed. Read on to find out what you can do to feel healthier and give your health a much needed boost.

Christmas and New Year’s Eve is not easy on the digestive system as we generally overeat and drink too much alcohol around this time of year, which is not good news for our bodies. Most of us feel a little worse for wear after the party season. We’ve put our bodies through the mangle by consuming too much rich food and alcohol, so it comes as no surprise that come January we start to feel a little unwell and the urge to clean out our digestive systems and start living healthier begins to sound very appealing.

Cleaning out our system is not so difficult to do and with a little willpower and the right recipes you will soon have everything under control again.

Frequent causes of hangovers
As is often the case we usually only pay attention to our digestive system when there’s a problem. There can be a lot of reasons why our stomachs hurt or rumble (and not from hunger), but a lot of the time it’s due to bad nutrition or alcohol excess. Further causes are stress, illness, intolerance to certain foods or emotional problems.

January is the time when we should pay particular attention to our digestive system after all the excesses of the festive season. Start by eating healthy foods that contain high amounts of fibre which will help get your digestive system back in working order, food such as fresh fruit and vegetables, pulses and wholemeal grains all have a high fibre content.

And don’t forget to drink plenty of liquids, of the non-alcoholic variety of course! Health professionals recommend we drink 1.5 to 2.5 litres of water per day, which includes fruit juices mixed with water, fruit or herbal teas. Black and green tea can be dehydrating and so should therefore be avoided. A cup of coffee can aid with digestion but too much coffee is also dehydrating. Movement also plays a large role, so instead of lounging around the house go for a brisk walk instead; you’ll feel so much better for it.

Things you can do to avoid a hangover
The good news with hangovers is that they are actually a clever reaction of our bodies, which prevents us from alcohol addiction. This is because the symptoms of a hangover such as dull, thumping or throbbing headaches to feelings of nausea, dizziness and a dryness of the mouth take away our desire to drink more alcohol for the next few days. As least until our hangovers have gone completely, which can take up to 72 hours even though we feel better sooner.