Delivering billions of presents in one night is a big job and cookies and milk can only get you so far. This month we asked Santa to share what foods he eats to keep him in top form and that we can all add to our diets for an extra health boost this Christmas.
Santa lives in the North Pole which is in darkness for six months of the year. That means he doesn’t get exposed to much direct sunlight so his body can produce vitamin D, so he has to find it elsewhere…
Vitamin D helps the growth and development of bones and teeth. Research also suggests it helps in regulating mood and decreasing the risk of depression and if you find Boxing Day depressing imagine how Santa feels knowing his one night of the year to shine is over and now it’s back to the grind of making presents.
Few foods naturally contain vitamin D but luckily for Santa he is surrounded by an abundance of one of the best sources – oily fish. Salmon, sardines and herrings are his favourite, but he is also partial to canned tuna when he’s too busy to head out and catch his dinner. When the fish aren’t biting, Mrs Claus whips up omelets as egg yolks are also a good source of vitamin D.
Visiting billions of homes and imbibing all types of homemade cookies and milk that has been left sitting out means that Santa can’t be a scrooge when it comes to taking care of his immune system. Vitamin A not only helps to keep Santa’s immune system in top gear, it also helps protect his eyesight so he can spot naughty kids all over the world.
While one of the best sources of vitamin A is beef liver, Santa’s reindeer do not approve of him eating meat, so he relies on fruits and vegetables as his prime source. Sweet potato, carrots, spinach, mango and dried apricots are his top picks, though you can pretty well find vitamin A in any colourful fruit or vegetable. As for his all-time favourite, well nothing beats Mrs Claus’ homemade pumpkin pie.
Santa’s story stretches all the way back to the 3rd century so it’s fair to say he can be classed as a senior citizen. About 1 in 6 older people experience iron deficiency which means their bodies can’t produce enough of the hemoglobin in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. Iron deficiency can result in tiredness and being short of breath and as it worsens can lead to more serious symptoms.
For regular meat eaters iron deficiency is rarely an issue but as those pesky reindeers get all judgy when Santa whips out the BBQ tongs, he has to find other good sources, such as such as legumes, nuts and seeds and so he always keeps a bag of trail mix in his sack to nibble on to keep the fatigue at bay.
Now you would think sleeping was a breeze for Santa – after all he always knows when you’re sleeping – but living with six months of darkness followed by six months of sunlight means his sleeping routine is often out of whack.
Melatonin is a hormone made in the body that regulates night and day cycles or sleep-wake cycles. People most commonly use melatonin for insomnia and improving sleep in different conditions, such as jet lag or sleigh lag in Santa’s case.
Eggs, fish and nuts are all good sources of melatonin, but Santa said nothing beats smashing a few billion glasses of milk before hitting the sack to guarantee a good nights sleep. While one glass of milk before bed may not be sufficient to help you sleep as it contains a low concentration of melatonin, studies have shown a correlation between meeting daily calcium intake recommendations and better sleep habits so it is definitely worth a try.
So if you want to be able to go all night and bring joy to all, do it Santa style.
