Cheese pies, cream-sauce pastas, cheesecakes, and endless desserts – Shavuot may be considered one of the most delicious holidays on the calendar, but for quite a few Israelis, it also arrives with less pleasant phenomena such as bloating, gas, fatigue, and a feeling of heaviness after eating.
Although many tend to immediately think of lactose intolerance, this is not always the reason. Sometimes it is simply an unusual overload on the digestive system: Particularly rich meals, a combination of fat, sugar, and carbohydrates, and continuous eating over hours.
To understand why dairy holiday meals specifically burden the body so much, we checked with Dr. Menachem Schechter, a gastroenterology specialist, and Michal Adani, a clinical naturopath and herbalist from Bara Herbs, to find out which mechanisms lie behind the feeling of heaviness and how to ease the digestive system without giving up the holiday foods.
Dr. Menachem Schechter, a specialist in gastroenterology in the Jerusalem district of Meuhedet, explains that "Dairy and particularly rich holiday meals can burden the digestive system even in people who do not usually suffer from any special sensitivity. This overload can slow down the rate of gastric emptying and lead to bloating, gas, a feeling of heaviness, and sometimes also abdominal pain or diarrhea."
According to him, one of the central factors for these sensations is lactose, the milk sugar. "The breakdown of lactose requires an enzyme called lactase, but in a large part of the adult population, there is a natural decline in the ability to produce it over the years. When lactose is not fully broken down, it reaches the intestine, where intestinal bacteria break it down while creating gases, which can cause discomfort after large dairy meals."
A Significant Overload on the Stomach
Dr. Schechter emphasizes that it is important to distinguish between a milk protein allergy and lactose intolerance. "Lactose intolerance is not an allergy but rather a difficulty in digesting milk sugar, and it is very common worldwide. If symptoms recur regularly, it is advisable to seek a medical evaluation."
To ease the digestive system during the holiday, he recommends eating in moderation, ensuring water consumption, incorporating vegetables and dietary fibers, and avoiding particularly heavy meals all at once. "Those who know they have a lactose sensitivity can choose low–lactose products or hard cheeses that contain less lactose," Dr. Schechter concludes.
"On Shavuot, people eat differently than usual," says Michal Adani, a clinical naturopath and herbalist from Bara Herbs. "In a single meal, they combine pastries, fatty cheeses, pastas, desserts, and sometimes they also eat over hours without much balance. For the digestive system, this is a significant overload."
Michal explains that people with lactose sensitivity are usually already aware of what suits them and are more careful with their choices. Paradoxically, it is precisely those who do not normally suffer from special sensitivities for whom holiday meals rich in dairy products, fat, and sugar can create an overload on the digestive system and lead to a feeling of heaviness and discomfort. "When a single meal becomes particularly heavy and rich, the digestive system has to work much harder."
The feeling of fatigue after the meal is also no coincidence. Large meals rich in fat and carbohydrates can affect the level of alertness, partly due to digestive overload and changes in blood sugar levels.
"In herbal medicine, Shavuot is viewed as a period in which the digestive system works overtime," she adds. "The transition to richer and heavier holiday meals can create an overload for quite a few people, and therefore there is interest both in eating habits and in medicinal herbs that can support the digestive system."
What Can Help the Stomach Calm Down After a Shavuot Meal?
One of the central recommendations for this period is the integration of aromatic medicinal herbs, which have been identified for years with natural support for the digestive system. There are plants identified with reducing the feeling of bloating and gas, others are known for their calming effect on the digestive system, and some simply ease the discomfort after a heavy meal.
At the top of the list is peppermint, one of the most well–known plants in the context of the digestive system. According to studies, the essential oil of peppermint contains menthol, a component studied in the context of relaxing smooth muscles in the digestive system. This is also the reason it has been identified for years with relieving the feeling of bloating, gas, and heaviness after meals.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and chamomile (Matricaria recutita) also star among the recommendations, especially for those who feel that their stomach responds to the stress and overload of the holiday as well. In traditional herbal medicine, they are used in situations where a connection exists between tension, stress, and a feeling of discomfort in the digestive system. Both are traditionally identified with supporting calmness and relaxation, alongside easing the feeling of heaviness, bloating, and abdominal discomfort, out of the understanding that a close connection exists between the nervous system and the digestive system.
Alongside them are also rosemary, sage, and white savory, aromatic plants that have accompanied traditional herbal medicine for years.
Rosemary has been considered for years as a plant that accompanies heavy and fatty meals, especially in Mediterranean cuisine. It contains aromatic compounds that have been studied in the context of digestive juice secretion and the feeling of heaviness after eating. Sage is a very veteran plant in traditional herbal medicine. Throughout the years, it has been used, among other things, for situations of fullness and discomfort after large meals.
White savory, which is also very well–known in Middle Eastern cuisine and folk medicine, has been identified for years with natural support for the digestive system and in situations of a feeling of overload in the stomach.
So how can you enjoy the holiday without suffering afterward?
"You do not have to give up the foods you love to feel better after the meal," says Michal. "Sometimes it is precisely the small things that make the difference: Eating a little slower and in a mindful way, not overloading from everything all at once, and not arriving starving to the meal. Combining vegetables and an adequate intake of water, and at the end of the meal, preparing a pleasant herbal infusion that can help the digestive system calm down."
She emphasizes that even small habits have significance: Between the cheesecakes and the pies, it is easy to forget that Shavuot is also a holiday of fruits, vegetables, and colorful agricultural abundance. It is recommended to start the meal with vegetables and not straight away with heavy cheeses, to avoid combining several dairy desserts in the same meal, and to prefer slow eating that reduces overload on the digestive system.
It is important to remember that medicinal herbs are not a substitute for medical treatment in cases of significant abdominal pain or diagnosed sensitivities, but for many, they can be integrated as part of eating habits and natural support for the digestive system, especially during periods of culinary overload like the Shavuot holiday.
Shavuot may remain the cheese holiday of Israel, but with a few small adjustments, the digestive system does not have to pay the price.