Overeating on Thanksgiving not recommended

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Doctors say if you don't want to end up in the hospital this Thanksgiving eat in moderation.

In Los Feliz, grocery shoppers headed to the stores early in preparation for Thursday's big feast.

"We going to have four turkeys, tamales and a lot of stuff from Ecuador," said shopper An Jimenez.

"For whatever reason it is basically a celebration of eating food, you overindulge for sure," said shopper Chris Barksdale.

It sounds like fun until you get so sick you need someone like Dr. Nagi Sous.

"I see people with a lot of stomach pain, nausea and vomiting," said Dr. Sous.

Every Thanksgiving, Dr. Sous says it's always like clockwork in the emergency room. It's quite all day long until right about 4 p.m. Dr. Sous says so many patients come in, he always makes sure to staff extra people.

He says overeating can cause a range of symptoms.

"Some people have chest pains, some shortness of breath and some say they are dying," said Dr. Sous. "That could be anything."

He says people on restrictive diets shouldn't stray. Too much salt can stress the heart and too much fat can halt the digestion process.

"If the stomach is not used to that load it sits in there and just makes them nauseated," said Dr. Sous. "And a lot of people just throw up."

Although she's planning a big spread, Jimenez says she'll try to take it slow.

"I will just have one portion of each and that's it -- right," said Jimenez.

After feasting, she's planning a long family walk. Then the time for gorging will be over.

"Don't go back home and eat again, wait until tomorrow," said Jimenez.

Another thing that puts people in the emergency room on Thanksgiving Day is bad food preparation and storing. Dr. Sous says don't let raw food sit out when you're cooking and don't let cooked food sit out on the table for more than two hours.

Plus, reheating doesn't always kill all the bacteria.

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