Thanksgiving: Eating Great and Loving it

Here comes the Big Bird balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Wow, look at the meat on that Big Bird! Oh, sorry, it's just hot air -- not very filling, but think of all the calories you'll save.

And here's Macy's mechanical turkey float. How about that gobbler? No, probably too many toxic heavy metals in the stuffing.

But really, how do you choose a turkey?

Leading nutritionists say the best turkeys are the organic, free range, or minimally processed ones. By contrast, injected turkeys usually have extra bad fat and harmful additives put in them.

That often means less desirable saturated fats, harmful trans fats, and the toxic flavor enhancer MSG and related additives.

But eating well on Turkey Day is not just about setting patterns for long-term health, there are short-term risks.

Men, especially, need to be cautious about eating a large, heavy meal -- a huge dinner puts a great strain on the heart.

Emergency rooms fill up on Thanksgiving with men having heart attacks and cardiac symptoms.

Medical technicians know this because they are up all night Thanksgiving, doing the lab tests to look for heart attacks.

And all that Thanksgiving food could also bring on non-heart chest pains -- which are really stomach pains from a stomach pushed up higher than normal, because of the large food mass going through the stomach.

That combination scares people; they get nervous and think they're having a heart attack.

While most of the ER admissions are just stomach upsets from overeating, heart attacks are more likely after such a meal.

But keep in mind the overall goal: having a tasty, pleasant holiday, while keeping the fat and sugar and total quantity in check. And it's not all about restrictions.

Serve a variety of vegetables -- a salad with a lower fat dressing can be quite filling and crowd out some of the heavier foods that will weigh you down.

There are many other vegetables to consider at the grocery for Thanksgiving. Some of the healthiest are cabbage, broccoli, red and orange peppers, tomatoes, and carrots.

Just limit the amount of oil or butter used to cook them in. Steaming is one way to keep the fat down. Using fresh or dried herbs is another way.

Taking about low fat -- back at the turkey farm, low-fat is one reason that turkey is so good. And much of the fat it has is like olive oil. That's healthier, monounsaturated fat.

Avoid the worst fats, those trans fats just mentioned. They're often listed as hydrogenated oils on product labels.

Those oils appear in most store-bought crackers and pies and cookies.

In all your healthy efforts, don't overdo your "sweet" potato. They are already sweet , so don't add all that sugar to them.

And serving sweet potatoes and steamed carrots gives you a double shot of beta caroten, that orange nutrient that is good for the lungs and helps a person recover from seasonal colds.

But sugar and sugary products do the opposite -- they lower your immune system for up to four hours after intake, making you more susceptible to colds.

And what about those herbs and spices we mentioned?

Ginger and cinnamon, for instance, on those sweet potatoes are not only tasty but aid digestion and reduce stomach upset.

Herbal spices such as rosemary, tarragon, and basil are a good idea on a variety of meat and vegetable dishes.

All spices enhance taste without fat and provide antioxidant protection to the body.

And there's another little known fat fact.

Garlic and onions can actually prevent blood from getting sticky after high-fat meals, and prevent cholesterol from going up so much with overeating.

And if all this healthy turkey talk is too much for you, relax -- use your frozen injected gobbler for that other great American tradition -- bowling with the bird -- after all, little-known fact, three strikes in a row is called a turkey.