Pigs in blankets and Christmas pudding are two festive main dishes that diet expert Tim Spector will never allow to be served that day.
The scientist, co-founder of popular diet app ZOE, said he generally took a more relaxed attitude to healthy eating on Christmas Day than the rest of the year.
However, pigs in blankets, which are full of saturated fats, salt and, by their nature, processed meat, are strictly speaking not on the menu.
‘Even though it’s Christmas, I wouldn’t touch processed meat. If you’re looking for a meat fix, try some homemade pate,” he shared The Telegraph.
Professor Spector, who is also an expert in genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, has previously warned about the clear evidence that processed meat is bad for us.
Such meat is high in saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of potentially fatal heart disease.
High salt content in processed meats such as bacon and sausage can also contribute to dangerous increases in blood pressure if eaten too often.
Processed meat is also a known risk factor for colon cancer because of substances added during the preservation process called nitrates and nitrites, which react in the body to damage cells.
Pigs in blankets and Christmas pudding are two festive main courses that Tim Spector will never allow to be served that day
The diet guru, who runs nutrition company ZOE, said he generally took a more relaxed attitude to healthy eating on Christmas Day than the rest of the year, but admitted even this had its limits. Stock image
Cancer Research UK estimates that almost a sixth of the 44,000 annual cases of bowel cancer in Britain are caused by eating too much ultra-processed meat.
Professor Spector has also detailed how some sausages, the ‘pig’ in pigs in blankets, also contain emulsifiers – an industrial food ingredient used to improve texture and shelf life.
Specifically, emulsifiers have been suggested to cause intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, and have been linked to an increased risk of colon cancer.
The traditional Christmas pudding is also avoided by the Spector household.
Professor Spector said the festive treat, along with other similar hyper-sweet options, simply contained too much sugar to make an exception – even on Christmas Day.
“I wouldn’t serve high sugar options such as Christmas pudding or sticky toffee pudding,” he said.
As an alternative, the expert recommended a homemade chocolate mousse, combining “dark chocolate, olive oil, maple syrup and the liquid from a jar of chickpeas.”
He added a rhubarb crumble ‘with a mixture of kefir and yoghurt as a topping, instead of cream’ was another option.
Christmas puddings are packed with sugar, with some options on supermarket shelves containing almost 38 grams of sugar per portion, which is more than the 30 grams of sugar per day limit that the NHS advises British adults to adhere to.
Eating too much sugar can lead to excessive weight gain and obesity, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
Professor Spector has previously outlined how sugar intake can lead to potentially worrying blood sugar spikes, increasing feelings of hunger throughout the day and making you more likely to snack.