Dinner at 11:00am

I don’t know what excites you about the holidays, but for many people, it’s…food! I’ve already had the conversation. I want dinner at 11:00am. Then a nap, football, more dinner, a nap, more football, more dinner, and dessert mixed in between. The holidays, Thanksgiving in particular, seem to be one of those times when we make an exception for overeating and in doing so our fleshly desires pull us toward sin.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:12 that everything is permissible, but not all things are beneficial. In other words, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Just because we can have 2nd, 3rd and 4th helpings of that delicious buttery turkey doesn’t mean we should.

Is overeating a sin? It certainly can be.

• The Bible teaches us that we should not be controlled by anything and that we should be masters of our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:12, 9:27). When we lack self control and when food has control over us, it becomes a sin.
• In Matthew 23:25 Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocritical “greed and self-indulgence.” When we eat in a glutinous, self indulgent, greedy manner without any regard for those less fortunate who are without food and hungry, it becomes a sin.
• God commands us we should have no idols before him (Exodus 20:3). When food becomes an idol, when we use it as our source of comfort and peace, it becomes a sin.

At this point, maybe your convictions have convinced you to eat less dinner, so that you can have more…dessert! Sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, peach cobbler, blueberry cobbler; my salivary glands are aching.

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

Yes! Proverbs 25:16 says, “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.”

Food, in excess, can not only be spiritually unhealthy as we’ve seen above, it can be physically unhealthy as well. And when we harm our bodies physically, we destroy the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us! So we must honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

One day of over indulgence is not likely to cause immediate catastrophic damage to your body. But over time, if we allow ourselves to eat too much food, we run the risk of gaining weight and acquiring the health problems that come with obesity.

As an emergency room physician, I know that around the holidays I am going to see an increase in certain medical conditions. Usually they are directly attributed to excess consumption during the holiday festivities. For some patients, surviving the holidays means avoiding these things.

Patient #1

This patient comes in confused, unable to think clearly, and slurring their words. They may have developed a new abnormal heart rhythm and it is likely they have likely made decisions that they will later regret.

Diagnosis: Too much alcohol. Someone spiked the eggnog. The line between moderation and excess when it comes to alcohol is so thin that for most it is best avoided. It should especially be avoided if you or your family members have a propensity toward any sort of addiction.

Patient #2

This patient can’t breath. Their blood pressure has gone up, they are having chest pressure, their legs are swollen and their lungs have filled up with fluid.

Diagnosis: Too much salt. This is more likely to happen to someone with pre-existing high blood pressure or heart failure or someone who has these conditions but does not know because they skip their annual check ups. Avoid the salt. It doesn’t taste as good, but neither does lung fluid.

Patient #3

This patient has abdominal pain and vomiting. They are very thirsty and generally do not feel well. In extreme cases they may even be confused.

Diagnosis (Hint- it’s not rotten potato salad; but good guess): Too much sugar. Similar to high blood pressure, diabetes will cause health problems that build up over time. The diabetic patient who does not control their sugar can go into a diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a health emergency. Avoid sugar and follow your glucose closely and you’ll get to spend the holidays at home instead of in the hospital. Trust me, the food is better at home.

Finally, as a medical professional, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention COVID-19 during this 2020 holiday season. Best practices when it comes to surviving the holidays with COVID-19 lurking behind every laugh and kiss of an asymptomatic carrier is avoiding getting it in the first place. Your best chances to avoid contracting COVID-19 and avoid passing it onto your family members, especially your parents and grandparents who are likely in the elderly most vulnerable population, include: 1. wearing a mask, 2. socially distancing, 3. quarantining before and after gathering, 4. staying away and isolating yourself if you are symptomatic with cough, fever, body aches, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Everything in moderation.

Get outside, exercise for 30 minutes, and enjoy that pie. Doctors orders, you’ve earned it.

Author: Michael Hudson, MD