Watching out for elevated health risks during the holidays

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The holiday season is ramping up.

"We're all excited to gather," said Dr. Owen Goldsworthy, a Family Medicine Physician at Kaiser Permanente in Fresno. "That's really what the holidays are about for a lot of people."

People are checking off their Christmas list and kids are getting ready for the winter break.

But with all the holiday cheer, doctors say to watch out for any elevated holiday health risks.

"We see a lot of visits to the ER," said Dr. Goldsworthy. "From heart failure episodes, from our diet, maybe from too much water."

Doctor Goldsworthy explains part of managing the holiday health risks is to be mindful of your stress level. When that is in check, it can benefit both your blood pressure and eating habits.

"Trying to limit you know how much in a day we let ourselves stress about things," said Dr. Goldsworthy. "Whether it be our know, family matters or or financial stress that comes with the holidays. That's gonna help our sleep as well."

When it comes to eating your favorite holiday foods, it's important to savor the moment. Which helps prevent overindulging.

"Just kind of pacing yourself," said Dr. Goldsworthy. "Focusing on the texture, focusing on that flavor. It allows you to not only listen to those feedback signals of 'I'm full now' but it also lets you enjoy it."

With kids out of class for a few weeks, Dr. Goldsworthy says keep them busy and limit screen time.

"We need to focus on getting our kids a little bit more active and less sedentary," said Dr. Goldsworthy.

As always, with a rise in respiratory illnesses, doctors say it's best to stay home if you're feeling sick.

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