Christmas is the season of goodwill – of family and feasting. Unfortunately if you indulge too much in the Christmas season, you might find yourself in need of a detox treatment in the New Year! Most people would agree that your Christmas dinner isn’t likely to be your healthiest meal of the year, but few realise quite how many toxins are lurking on your plate.

Today we’re taking a look at some of the top offenders, so you’re more aware of what you’ll be sitting down to eat on Christmas Day.

Cranberries

If you’ll be serving your turkey with a side of cranberry sauce, that also means ladling this substance over your plate. In small quantities, it has anti-inflammatory and antibiotic qualities (it’s the same chemical present in willow bark that made it a traditional remedy for pain and fevers before it was concentrated into aspirin!), but too much can cause bleeding in your stomach.

It’s unlikely even the most ardent cranberry fan can consume enough to cause any problems if they’re in full health, but it reacts badly with blood pressure medication like warfarin, so do check to see if anyone’s on any medication, especially if you have older family members joining you.

Cloves

Cloves are one of the secret heroes of Christmas: present in everything from mulled wine to mince pies, they add a warm, spicy taste that conjures up the spirit of Christmas in an instant.

That said, they also contain a mysterious compound that you may want to be alert for. Eugenol is currently being tested by scientists to find out exactly what it does: it’s caused weight loss in rats and acts an anaesthetic for frogs. Who knows what else it could do?

Booze

Christmas and drink go together like a married couple: mulled wine and cider are traditional winter drinks, and more than a few bottles of champagne will be consumed on Christmas morning with more wine following with dinner.

This is the only item on the list you might have to worry about consuming enough to genuinely do you damage: quite apart from the impact on your decision making that could see you trying to scale the Christmas tree or debate immigration policy with your granddad, there are physical side effects you’ll want to avoid.

Too much to drink dehydrates you, leading to horrible hangovers as your brain literally contracts in your skull. It disrupts the function of your liver, damages your cells and skin and even effects your fertility!

If there’s one thing it’s worth trying to restrict over the Christmas period it’s how much you have to drink.

Moderation

There’s one vital thing to bear in mind with everything on this list: a toxin is something that’s harmful if you take in too much of it, and that’s true of anything! Too much water is harmful to your health. That’s what too much means! So, if you’re looking forward to some Christmas indulge, try not to worry about toxins. Just indulge in a safe quantity and you’ll look and feel great in 2019.