Navigating diabetes, GERD and overeating at Thanksgiving

Nov. 21, 2025

By Mary Wade Burnside

As Thanksgiving approaches, many home cooks are planning menus as they prepare to gather with friends and family for a big feast.
In addition to anticipating a big day of dining (and giving thanks), it’s a good idea to also consider an approach that allows you to splurge on a once-a-year meal while avoiding the icky bloated and too-full feeling that comes from overeating.
Monongalia County Health Department offers nutritional counseling, and MCHD Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) program manager Cami Haught, a registered dietitian, weighed in with helpful tips.
First of all, keep in mind that you don’t have to eat all of the foods all at once, and that smaller portions are better for you. You can always eat leftovers later. “You can enjoy a wonderful meal with friends and family. You don’t have to stuff yourself,” Haught said. “Take a plate home for later.” That goes for a restaurant too. Feel free to ask for a to-go box when you get your meal, especially if the portions are large.
November is National Diabetes Month and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) Awareness Week begins on Saturday. Both of these conditions present additional challenges during the holiday season.
It’s no coincidence that GERD Awareness Week is celebrated in the week of Thanksgiving.
Avoiding certain foods, including spicy dishes, as well as eating smaller portions, can relieve GERD symptoms.
Eating slowly, avoiding smoking and alcohol and targeting foods you like also help. If you know you’re going to have mashed potatoes and stuffing, maybe don’t put any dinner rolls on your plate, let alone three.
Even if you don’t have GERD, these are good tips to navigating Thanksgiving dinner without feeling gross.
As a nutritional counselor, Haught realizes that habits can be difficult to change, so she advises to start small.
“It’s important to pick one goal and work on achieving it,” she said. “If you pick a lot of goals to achieve at once, we might not be able to accomplish them and we kind of give up. Picking one thing you can work on will keep you motivated in continuing to change your lifestyle.”
Haught, who has counseled patients with diabetes and GERD throughout her career, also addressed how people with diabetes (or prediabetes) can make better choices in general.
“Basically, individuals with diabetes should be focusing on whole grains in their diet, trying to avoid processed carbohydrates, like cakes, cookies and soda,” Haught said. “They are also going to want to choose low-fat dairy items and leaner or more vegetarian proteins, such as beans, nuts and seeds.”
Diabetes is a condition that causes blood glucose — or sugar — levels to rise higher than normal, according to the American Diabetes Association’s website. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes.
According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 226,300 adults in West Virginia, or 15.9% of the adult population, have diagnosed diabetes. Every year, an estimated 8,400 adults in West Virginia are diagnosed with diabetes.
According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, GERD is a digestive disorder that occurs when stomach acid, or food and fluids, back up from the stomach into the esophagus. About 20% of Americans have been diagnosed with this condition.
“When you overeat to the point of discomfort, you are going to be more likely to reflux,” Haught said. “It changes the pressure in your stomach and allows the contents to come back up through the esophagus. You can’t continuously overeat to the point of discomfort and expect to be OK.”
After all, the only stuffing you want is the kind that’s in the turkey. In small portions, of course.
For more information on diabetes, check out this link: diabetes.org/about-diabetes. For more information on GERD, check out this link: www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/acid-reflux-ger-gerd-adults. And to make an appointment for nutritional counseling at Monongalia County Health Department, call 304-598-5181.

Mary Wade Burnside is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.