Yes, my name really is Dr. Santa. (It’s Hungarian.) I like doctoring around the holidays—my name makes it fun, and a lot of important health issues come up then, too. I hope this series helps you navigate the season.
TIP 3 Dr. Santa’s stocking stuffers
Good gifts don’t have to come in big packages. And the best are those that are good for you, your family, or your friends. Here are nine to tuck into someone’s stocking or gift basket this year.
1. Good fats. Think extra-virgin olive oil, walnuts, or smoked salmon—choose Nova Scotia style for less salt. (Fresh salmon, especially wild, is also healthful, because it’s high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in mercury. But Santa wouldn’t put a fresh fish in your stocking—unless you’d been naughty.)
2. Healthful sweets. Mangos and pomegranates are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other healthful compounds—and fit quite nicely into the toe of a stocking. Or wander through a well-stocked grocery store, and fill up a gift basket with an assortment of exotic fruits—blood oranges, dates, guavas, lychees, mangosteens, papayas, rambutans, starfruit, or whatever catches your eye. The mix will provide a welcome tropical note, and perhaps encourage more varied eating throughout the year.
3. Tasty hot beverages. Tea, perhaps especially green tea, is packed with antioxidants and other substances that might help ward off cancer and protect the heart. Coffee might offer some of the same benefits—provided you drink it with restraint. See our Ratings of some fancy Kenyan and Sumatran brews. Hot cocoa might not provide the same health benefits as dark chocolate, but cuddling by a warm fire with a hot mug is no doubt a powerful placebo.
4. Herbs and spices. Throw in a few attractive bottles of cinnamon or turmeric, an attractive stalk of garlic cloves or chunk of ginger, or a small potted basil or dill plant. All contain healthful substances. And cooking with them can help people cut back on salt, too.
5. A few choice supplements. Most people don’t need extra vitamins and minerals, and some supplements can be downright harmful. But multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium, and certain other dietary supplements can make sense for some people. See our supplements to consider.
6. Sunscreen. Light reflecting off snow in winter can be as powerful as the rays in summer, especially at high altitudes, making it important to choose the right sunscreen year round. While you’re at it, think about adding a lift ticket to a ski resort or a coupon to rent cross-country skis.
7. A gift to reinforce a healthy habit. Give an unusual pair of running gloves, a trail map of a nearby park, or an entry (for two) to a walk or run at a scenic venue.
8. Meaningful entertainment. Consider a ticket, DVD, or download to a show that that says something you think might be healthy and helpful. This year’s The King’s Speech, about King George VI, who had to confront some difficult emotional problems to cure his stammering, is that kind of film. Rachel Getting Married from a few years ago took on a tougher subject—a family adjusting to addiction.
9. A gift of time. Consider stepping in to help a friend who is caring for an older relative, an offer to serve as a temporary taxi service for someone who needs rides to the grocery store or doctor’s office, or a few healthy, home-cooked meals for someone recovering from an illness—or anyone who just needs a little TLC.
—John Santa, M.D., M.P.H, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center
TIP 1 Don’t shop till you drop: How to navigate the holidays in a stress-free and healthful way.
TIP 2 Lights, ladder, and candles: Avoid holiday accidents.
