Healthy eating at Christmas - do you need to think about it?

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: September 2026 | Do you need to think about eating healthily at Christmas? Christmas tables, Christmas sweets and long dinners are part of Christmas for many of us, and at the same time, tips appear every year on how to make Christmas a little more ”healthy”. But how much does a few days of Christmas celebration really matter? For most people, eating habits over time are more important than individual meals – and food is so much more than just nutrients.

Do you need to eat healthy at Christmas?

The short answer is that you can of course eat healthily even at Christmas, but you don't need to consider some festive days as a major health problem. For most people, it's the big picture that matters: what we eat and how we live over the long term.

It is sometimes said that It's more important how you eat between New Year's and Christmas than how you eat between Christmas and New Year's.. It's not an exact scientific rule, but a pretty good way to describe the importance of our habits over time.

Furthermore, concepts like ”healthy” and ”unhealthy” food are quite blunt. A food or meal does not need to be assessed in isolation – it is the whole and the eating pattern that is interesting.

Anyone who needs to adjust their diet for medical reasons may of course need to think differently even during Christmas and follow the advice that applies to their own situation.

Food is more than nutrition – especially at Christmas

Food is not just about protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. It also has social, cultural and emotional meanings – and perhaps this is especially evident during holidays.

A certain herring may have always been on the family Christmas table. Someone absolutely wants Jansson's temptation, while someone else can't imagine Christmas without meatballs or a special kind of Christmas candy. Flavors and smells can evoke memories and traditions can create community.

In other words, Christmas food can serve more functions than just providing us with nourishment. Eating something you really enjoy with people you love can also be an important part of Christmas.

READ MORE: Christmas table and Christmas food in Sweden – traditions and dishes

The Christmas table contains a lot that fits well into the diet.

Christmas food is sometimes presented as synonymous with "unhealthy food", but of course it's not quite that simple. On a traditional Swedish Christmas table there are a lot of foods that fit well into the general dietary guidelines.

Herring and salmon contribute vitamin D and healthy fats, among other things. Many Christmas tables also feature different types of cabbage. Kale, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts contributes fiber, vitamins and minerals, among other things, and nuts are another example of foods that fit well into a healthy diet.

At the same time, a traditional Christmas table often contains things that, according to general dietary advice, we are advised to eat less of, such as cured meats, sweets and alcohol.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to divide the Christmas table into a "good" and a "bad" side. Again, it's the overall picture over time that's important.

Choose what you actually like

A Christmas table can be enormous. Herring, salmon, eggs, ham, meatballs, prince sausage, Jansson's temptation, different kinds of cabbage, cheeses, bread, salads, desserts and Christmas sweets – sometimes there are almost more dishes than you can keep track of.

But you don't actually have to eat everything just because it's all there. We prefer to choose things we really like. For Peter, there must be meatballs, potatoes and beetroot salad. Christmas ham with mustard, preferably on a hard sandwich, is also important. And then herring and salmon.

For me, herring is a must, as is Jansson's temptation and preferably Brussels sprouts. We both like to have a nubbe with the herring, and then it should preferably be spiced brandy.

We drink the latter, of course, because we think it's part of Christmas – not for the sake of our health. Alcohol poses health risks even in small quantities, and the Swedish dietary advice therefore recommends avoiding alcohol or keeping consumption very low.

Christmas candy can also be Christmas candy

Of course, it is possible to make Christmas sweets with nuts, fruit and other ingredients that contain a lot of nutrients. But not everything we eat needs to be transformed into a ”healthier alternative”. If you like crackers, chocolate or marzipan, you can eat it because it is delicious.

For us, Anthon Berg's marzipan bread is a bit of a Christmas luxury that we like to treat ourselves to if we celebrate Christmas at home in Sweden. It's hardly something we eat for its nutritional content – we eat it because we love it and because it has become a part of our Christmas.

Maybe that's also a good principle for Christmas treats: choose something you really like and enjoy it.

Consider how Christmas food is stored

One health aspect that is easily forgotten when discussing Christmas food is food safety. A Christmas table often means that many dishes are on display at the same time, and leftovers can go in and out of the refrigerator for several days.

It is best to prepare smaller amounts of food at a time and add more as you go. Food that needs to be kept cold should not be left out longer than necessary, and leftovers that need to be saved should be cooled quickly and placed in the refrigerator. The Swedish National Food Agency recommends a temperature of around 4 degrees in the refrigerator.

Good management of leftovers not only reduces the risk of someone getting sick, it can also reduce food waste – and provide a few more tasty meals after the Christmas table.

Feel free to take a walk – but not to compensate for the Christmas meal

Getting exercise is good for your health all year round, and Christmas is no exception. During the Christmas holidays, a walk can also be a nice way to get fresh air and daylight and break up long periods of sitting still.

We try to walk regularly ourselves, both at home and when we travel. During Christmas it can be extra nice to get outside for a while between meals and other activities.

However, walking doesn't have to be seen as a way to "burn off" Christmas food or make room for the next meal. Food and physical activity don't have to be counted against each other in that way. Take a walk because it feels good to move!

This is how we think about Christmas food and health

We don't try to create a perfect "healthy Christmas table." If we celebrate Christmas at home in Sweden, we like to eat the Christmas food we really enjoy: herring, salmon, Jansson's temptation, meatballs, ham, Brussels sprouts, and other favorites.

However, we don't need to have everything that is traditionally found on a Swedish Christmas table. For example, we can easily skip the fish, jam and dip in the pot. And then we can have a nubbe with the herring and some marzipan bread when we feel like it.

If we are traveling over Christmas, however, it may be something completely different. Then there may not be any Swedish Christmas food at all – and that is also completely okay.

After all, Christmas is just a few days out of a whole year. For us, Christmas food should be delicious, traditional and enjoyable, without every bite needing to be judged on how ”healthy” it is.