There are less than three weeks left until arrival Christmas in 2025. One of the most awaited activities of this celebration is the Christmas Eve dinnerDecember 24th. However, it is important to know whether the portions served are appropriate so as not to compromise health, especially for people with existing medical conditions such as diabetes.
The nutritionist from Social Health Insurance (EsSalud)Bettyna Benavente explained that people usually gain some weight during these weeks because food has an important social component in Peru. “I don’t share, no, I don’t share my friendship, I don’t share my, my affection with people unless it’s about food,” he said.
“Often these meetings take place at work, then in the family, then in the group of friends from university, again in the group of friends from school. So we have many social events that can trigger and influence weight,” he added.
The specialist also pointed out that it depends on each individual, since there are people who do not attend these events, for example. “It depends a lot on the social factor, the portion and the choices we make will also depend a lot. All of this can ultimately lead to weight gain,” he clarified.
According to the interviewee, the portions of panettone need to be checked. An 80 gram piece is equivalent to about two and a half loaves of bread and provides almost 300 calories.
“Now if we add a typical chocolate to my panettone, I suddenly put butter on it and drink my cup of chocolate, that can be 625 calories, which is more or less the same as the breakfast of a tall, sporty person. So we would have to see if I am, say, short, don’t do much physical activity, with this chocolate alone I would already cover almost a third of the calorie needs for the entire day,” he warns.
Benavente states that you could reduce portions or, for example, choose a cup of low-fat chocolate, avoiding the addition of mashmellos or other things that could increase calorie intake. As for them PanettoneAvoid the full portion, eat only half and avoid additives like butter.
“If we want to enjoy, that would be an alternative, especially not so much in a healthy person, because in a healthy person and with good regular physical activity, these calories are suddenly burned. But let’s say I’m someone who has diabetes or is already overweight and that I’m suddenly small and also don’t do physical activity, that will definitely have a greater impact than a person who does physical activity, who is taller and burns more calories, right? So, we also have to look at the context of the person look at what is supposed to achieve this, let’s say chocolate.