To Engage, Educate, and Entertain is the passion of Dr. Marlene Smith, pen name Dr. Marlene MD. She shares her written and spoken words as an educator, author, poet, and professional speaker. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and gives professional presentations on various subjects at local communities. Her personal vignettes are both educational and humorous. She has an M.D. degree and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, retiring from clinical medicine in 2015. She was an Assistant Adjunct Professor, teaching nutrition at the graduate school level, retiring in 2023. For a warm, welcoming experience, visit DrMarleneMD.com
Our Thanksgiving dinner, a food feast, served buffet style. From appetizers to dessert, traditional and homemade, the food is delicious. At every Thanksgivings past, the food beast lurked in the shadows, waiting for the right time to pounce! Not in the year 2025. I am determined!
My Thanksgiving plate in 2024 was piled high with foods of various colors. Green bean casserole, orange sweet potatoes, red apple pie, and more. All the colors of the rainbow melded together. Each one stared, glared at me, silently whispering, “Thanks for choosing me. I will keep you healthy!”
Choosing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, the colors of the rainbow are a healthy way to eat. The color is determined by the dominant plant pigment or phytochemical. Each phytochemical has a beneficial effect on our cells, often helping to decrease inflammation and neutralize excess free radicals.
Free radicals? Free radicals as in give me more, they are free! No, no, absolutely no. Excess free radicals are the trash or debris produced by working cells. They contribute to aging and chronic diseases. Excess free radicals need to be eliminated. Decrease the free radicals, increase the health of your cells. I call this the rainbow effect, a win-win!
No content in this article should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your There is an uninvited guest at this 2024 Thanksgiving celebration: the food beast. This beast was hiding under the Thanksgiving table. It carefully watched me as I ate a mass quantity of food at lightning speed. Medically speaking, it takes 20-30 minutes after starting a meal for the hunger sensation to abate, for the gut to get this signal to the brain. This Thanksgiving, I hung up my white coat and ignored my full meter signal.
After cleaning my plate, I fully enjoyed second helpings. After all, this feast consists of rainbow-colored healthy foods. Then, zap, boom, pow! The beast was in my belly, and I felt like a stuffed turkey. My belly was uncomfortable, overfilled and made me nauseous. Yuck, I overdosed on the rainbow food again!
Silently, I prayed and promised not to eat like this again. I developed simple rules to help me avoid these beastly overeating bellyaches. Eat slower, be cognizant of the time, have smaller portions, no second helpings, and stop eating when the full meter goes off (even if there is food on your plate). Regulating this timing, amount, and speed of food consumption are healthier mealtime habits, the key to keeping the beast away.
May your Thanksgiving feast be as colorful as the rainbow and void of the beast. Hopefully, I will follow my own advice this year. For more nourishment, visit DrMarleneMD.com.
References:
Cleveland Clinic, (September 20,2023), The Gut-Brain Connection, Health Library, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/the-gut-brain-connection
Streed, J., (July 21, 2022), Eat the rainbow for good health, Mayo Clinic News Network, https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/eat-the-rainbow-for-good-health/