Goose Well Digested

Do you love goose? Or are you more the turkey type? Do you prefer lobster, salmon and co.? Or are you more tempted by meringues, almond pudding and sorbets? Whatever the case may be. With the holidays, your digestion is in for a real fight. But you can do quite a lot to get through the upcoming feasting season without heartburn, bloating and discomfort.

How does digestion work?

By digestion, we mean the transformation of food with the help of enzymes into substances that the body can utilize. This begins in the mouth, where salivary enzymes initiate this conversion during chewing. In the stomach, hydrochloric acid and the main digestive enzyme pepsin are added. The liver contributes bile for fat digestion, and in the various sections of the intestine, the food pulp is then further broken down and crushed with the help of billions of bacteria so that the vital substances can be absorbed through the intestinal mucosa and transported through the bloodstream to the organs, muscles and brain.

Holidays are big fight days

It stands to reason, of course, that overly sumptuous, fat-laden foods mean heavy lifting. Some festive meals simply go beyond the powers of the digestive system – especially if not all sections of the food channel are working as they should. Or do you chew thoroughly? Do you take enough time to eat? And your intestines? Do you help it by walking ten kilometers every day and exercising your abdominal muscles regularly? However, you can also stimulate the natural digestive movement of the intestines in other ways. For example, by sensible composition of food or also by bitter substances, such as those contained in dandelion, broccoli, hops, sage and rosemary, in artichokes or radicchio salad. Such bitter substances act mainly via the taste buds of the tongue. Seconds later, the gall bladder and pancreas produce increased secretions, intestinal motility is activated and overall digestive work is enhanced.

How to relieve the digestive system

If you want to eat and digest more easily, you should also know that in the body certain food components are processed preferentially, while others are very quickly added to the body’s fat stores:

• First of all, the organism burns alcohol calories, because it cannot store them. 1 gram of alcohol provides 7 calories!
• Second comes the carbohydrates, as contained in sugar, but also in potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or vegetables. 1 gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories.
• In third place is processed protein – from meat, fish, eggs, cereals, legumes or vegetables. One gram of protein is estimated at 4 calories.
• Only last come the fat calories. And if the meal has already contained enough energy by then, the fat calories are immediately saddled on top of the fat pads. 1 gram of fat brings after all 9 calories, so more than twice as much as carbohydrates or protein.

No wonder, then, if so many people complain of gastric distress, hyperacidity and heartburn, overweight and constipation.

Is roast goose healthy?

A delicious roast goose is one of the typical Christmas meals – but how many calories are actually in a piece of goose? The calorie content of goose depends primarily on whether the meat is eaten with or without the skin. 100 grams of goose without the skin contain about 150 calories. If, on the other hand, the goose is eaten with the skin, 100 grams of goose contain more than double the calories. Who wants to do something good for his body over the Christmas holidays, should therefore better do without the skin when roasting goose.

From anise cookie to cinnamon star

Spritzgebäck, vanilla crescents and shortbread cookies are the fat heavyweights among the Christmas snacks. Surprisingly few calories bring coconut macaroons, honey cake and anise cookie.Here you can see what calories, fat and fiber is in the sweet treats – each per 100 grams.