With the Lunar New Year holiday a traditional time for feasting, health experts advised people to avoid overindulging in meat and other food that are high in cholesterol or which might react adversely with their medication.
Chi Mei Hospital has over the past few years seen an increase in the number of people whose medical condition worsened during the Lunar New Year period, said Chiu Wan-chun (邱婉君), a pharmacist at the hospital’s Department of Pharmacy.
Citing an example, Chiu said that one elderly woman with atrial fibrillation had been managing her condition by taking anticoagulants, but had poor results on a blood test taken after the holiday.
Photo: Taipei Times
The woman had consumed more than her usual amount of vegetables — including spinach, lettuce and asparagus — which are rich in vitamin K, Chiu said.
However, people with arrhythmia usually take medication, such as warfarin, to inhibit the generation of vitamin K, and the woman’s diet over the holiday had directly affected the drug’s efficacy, Chiu said.
Some traditional medicinal herbs, such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, or red sage, and Angelica sinensis, can increase blood flow throughout the body, but pose a risk of hemorrhage for people with atrial fibrillation if taken in large quantities, she said.
People do not have to avoid certain types of foods altogether, Chiu said, adding that taking everything in moderation is key.
As long as patients maintain the same level of intake for certain foods, they should be fine, she added.
Family members should also be alert to possible symptoms of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation, such as nerve disorders, falling unconscious, numbness on one side of the body, or hemorrhage, and should immediately contact the doctor or pharmacist they regularly visit, Chiu said.
Chen Chih-hsiang (陳至翔), a physician at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary department, cautioned people, especially the elderly, against binge eating during the holiday to avoid digestion problems.
Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that gastrointestinal disorders ranked first among the top 10 diseases reported by emergency rooms during the Lunar New Year holiday of 2019, with about 44,000 people seeking treatment.
In the week following the holiday, more than 280,000 people sought emergency care or outpatient services for gastrointestinal problems, the data showed.
While most elderly people follow regular routines, diets and exercises in ordinary times, they might indulge themselves a little by eating and drinking more during holiday gatherings, Chen said.
A sudden change in daily routine or dietary habits could cause digestive problems, he said.
As older people might have more difficulty chewing, they might swallow food without breaking them into smaller pieces, he said, adding that food that is greasy or rich in fiber is harder to digest.
Preparing too much food and repeatedly heating the dishes allow room for bacteria to grow, resulting in food poisoning, he said.
Food that is greasy could also stimulate one’s gall bladder, increasing the risk of inflammation of the bladder or pancreas, he said.
People should avoid consuming too much sticky rice cake and steamed sponge cake — which are commonly served during the holiday — as they are not easy to digest, he said.
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