How to Avoid the Thanksgiving Crash (With Better Nutrients)

Thanksgiving Edition 🦃🍂

Hi friends,

Thanksgiving is one of the few days where people eat completely differently than they do the rest of the year. Bigger meals, richer foods, longer gaps between eating, more sugar, more salt, and more variety on a single plate. And your body feels that shift.

Today’s issue breaks down the nutrition mistakes most people make during Thanksgiving, why the body feels so heavy afterward, and the simple things you can do before, during, and after the meal to help digestion, blood sugar, and energy stay stable.

This isn’t about avoiding foods. It’s about understanding what your body needs so it can handle the holiday meal without the crash.

🌿 IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES WE’LL COVER:

• Why Thanksgiving meals feel heavier than usual

• How food order, heat, and timing affect digestion

• Common mistakes that cause bloating and fatigue

• Nutrient pairings that keep blood sugar steady

• Why minerals matter most on Thanksgiving

• A digestion-friendly recipe that still fits tradition

• Easy next-morning habits to reset and reduce inflammation

Weekly Insight

The Real Thanksgiving Problem: Your Body Isn’t Overloaded by Calories

Most people think the heaviness after Thanksgiving comes from “eating too much.” But the real issue is how differently the meal is structured from a normal day. You eat later. You wait too long between meals. You have multiple carb-heavy dishes in one sitting. You add sugar on top of starch. You drink cold beverages while eating warm food. And digestion slows down quickly because your stomach acid gets diluted.

Your body is built to handle rich foods. It’s not built to handle sudden, dramatic changes in eating patterns.

The state your digestion is in before the meal matters just as much as what’s on your plate. When stomach acid, enzymes, and minerals are low, you can eat the same food and get completely different outcomes. This is the part most people never think about, the nutrition chemistry behind holiday meals.

Most Common Misconceptions

Misconception #1: “It’s the heavy food that makes me tired.”

It’s actually the blood sugar spike that hits you first. Thanksgiving meals stack multiple starches, sugars, and fats on one plate, and that combination pushes glucose higher than your body is used to. When glucose rises fast, the body releases a large amount of insulin to bring it down. That drop is what triggers the sudden fatigue and the feeling of being “knocked out” after eating. The food is rich, but the real issue is how quickly your blood sugar swings.

Misconception #2: “Bloating means I overate.”

Most bloating starts because stomach acid was too weak to break the food down properly. Cold drinks, long gaps between meals, and fast pacing all reduce acid before you even take the first bite. When stomach acid is low, proteins don’t break apart and carbohydrates begin to ferment. That fermentation creates gas, pressure, and the heavy feeling people blame on overeating. The amount of food matters less than how ready your digestion is.

Misconception #3: “Clean desserts won’t spike blood sugar.”

Even desserts made with natural ingredients still enter the bloodstream quickly when eaten alone. The body doesn’t slow down sugar absorption just because the ingredients are organic or unprocessed. What slows sugar is pairing it with protein, fiber, or healthy fats, which changes the way the meal is digested. Without that pairing, even “healthy” sweets behave like traditional desserts in the body. The sugar hits fast, and your energy follows the same pattern.

Misconception #4: “I get inflamed because the food is unhealthy.”

Inflammation rises mainly because Thanksgiving meals are heavy in sodium and light in potassium and magnesium. Those minerals regulate fluid balance, nerve function, and digestion, and when they’re low, sodium holds onto water. That water retention creates swelling, stiffness, and a thick, heavy feeling the next day. It's not always the ingredients that cause the problem, but the imbalance they create in your mineral levels. The right minerals bring your body back into balance.

Misconception #5: “The day-after crash is unavoidable.”

That crash happens because hydration, minerals, and blood sugar all drop overnight. Your body works hard to digest a large meal, and that process uses more minerals than usual. When you wake up, you’re often dehydrated, even if you drank water, because electrolytes were never replaced. Low minerals and low blood sugar together create the classic fatigue, irritability, and brain fog people feel the next day. Supporting those areas prevents the entire “holiday hangover.”

What You Should Do

A Nutrition-First Strategy for a Smooth Thanksgiving

You don’t need to limit foods. You just need to support the internal chemistry that makes digestion work.

Before the meal

• Have a protein rich snack 1–2 hours before dinner
  (This stabilizes blood sugar and prevents overeating.)

• Drink warm lemon water or ginger tea
  (Warms the digestive tract and boosts stomach acid.)

• Add a pinch of sea salt to water
  (Improves mineral balance and helps hydration.)
  

During the meal

• Start with protein first: turkey before mashed potatoes
  (This slows glucose absorption and prevents sugar spikes.)

• Choose warm foods over cold when possible
  (Warm foods digest faster and with less strain.)

• Add herbs like rosemary, sage, or thyme
  (These naturally support enzyme activity and digestion.)

• Give yourself pauses between bites
  (Digestion depends on chewing and pace.)

After the meal

• Take a 10-minute walk
  (Reduces blood sugar spikes by up to 30 percent.)

• Drink warm water instead of cold
  (Prevents stomach acid suppression.)

• Have a mineral rich snack later: avocado, bone broth, or pumpkin seeds
  (Rebalances sodium and reduces next day swelling.)

These small adjustments help your body handle a heavy meal with less fatigue, less bloating, and smoother digestion

Our Recipe of the Week

Rosemary Sweet Potato Purée (Blood Sugar Friendly + Digestion Supportive)

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes

• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil

• 1 tbsp chopped rosemary

• Sea salt

• Splash of warm bone broth or water

How It Helps

• Sweet potatoes stabilize blood sugar better than white potatoes

• Rosemary supports enzyme function and eases digestion

• Butter or olive oil slows glucose absorption

• Sea salt replaces minerals lost from long cooking times

• The warm temperature supports stomach acid
  

Why This Meal Works
Sweet potatoes paired with fat and herbs create a slow, steady release of energy instead of the typical spike and crash. It's a grounding, nutrient-dense dish that fits naturally into the Thanksgiving table without feeling like a “healthy swap.”

Did You Know?

Most people lose up to 30% of their stomach acid before big holiday meals.

Stress, rushing, cold drinks, and long meal gaps all weaken acid production, which is why Thanksgiving meals feel so heavy later.

Article Insights

Key Takeaways

• Thanksgiving is hard on the body because of timing and food combinations

• Blood sugar swings create the afternoon crash, not the food itself

• Digestion depends heavily on stomach acid, minerals, and warmth

• Herbs, warm foods, slow eating, and better food order prevent bloating

• Minerals reduce inflammation and next-day heaviness

• Supporting your body before and after the meal changes everything

Our Challenge For You

Reader Challenge

For the next seven days, try eating protein first at every meal. Notice how your energy, cravings, and digestion shift when you stabilize blood sugar before anything else.