How to help avoid bad hangovers this festive season
How to help avoid bad hangovers this festive season
With the sun and celebrating we enjoy over the summer months often comes the odd hangover or five!
While drinking can be fun at the time, there really is nothing nice about the after effects of over indulgence. The headache, dry mouth and dehydration, not to mention the cravings for salty foods, and general fatigue... You can however, enjoy the festive season, still enjoy a few drinks and have a great time without having to go through that ghastly ‘day after the night before’ feeling!
Here’s how…
Hydrate up BEFORE you start drinking
If you head to a BBQ or out for drinks it can be really easy to knock back your first few drinks because you are just super thirsty! Quench your thirst before you go (or as soon as you arrive if needed) with a couple of glasses of water to help you slow your initial pace with your alcoholic drink of choice.
Look out for LOW alcohol options
There are more and more fantastic low alcohol beers and wines available that taste really good. Not only are they a great way to reduce the total volume of alcohol you have, but it is also a really smart move for your waistline! A common misconception is that the issue with wine and beer when it comes to your weight is that they are packed with sugar, but this isn’t the case. An average glass of wine (150mls) has around 3g of sugar (3/4 tsp), and beer even less, with your average beer having less than 1g (1/4 tsp) per bottle. It’s the ALCOHOL content which has the biggest impact on the number of kcals/kJ in the drink, so opting for LOW alcohol drinks is a great way to go. Members of the Brewers Association have done an awesome thing and now have nutritional information on their packaging so you can see just what is in the drinks you are having. Let’s hope one day we will get nutritional information on ALL alcoholic drinks!
Get a nip pourer for your spirits
When you pour your own spirits, it can WAY too easy to be heavy handed! I know this myself, when I measured what I poured before I had a ‘nip’ measurer, it was far more than I thought! Large glasses, particularly wide based ones will make you pour out more than a smaller, taller glass (they trick your mind into thinking you haven’t poured so much!) so be mindful of that too. 30mls of a 40% proof spirit (like vodka, gin, rum) is a single unit and it is recommended to limit your drinks in one sitting to 4 units for a female and 5 for a male and in total, for women to have less than 10 units a week, men 15 with at least 2 alcohol free days a week. More on that here. Measure out what you pour and you might be surprised!!
Enjoy non-alcoholic drinks instead of or in between alcoholic drinks!
Water is always an easy, convenient option but to make it more interesting, use sparkling water and add fresh lemon, lime, mint, cucumber or flavour with herbal teas. Kombucha is another great option which tastes great! It has the benefits of good bacteria and also isn’t too high in sugar, especially compared to some of the other non-alcoholic options which can be PACKED with sugar. Check out some of the common traps here and find out how much sugar is in your drink here.
Eating ISN’T cheating
As some alcohol is absorbed through the stomach wall, having food in your stomach BEFORE you start drinking can help slow the impact of alcohol on your body. A healthy meal pre-drinking is the way to go.
Top up on your terms
In some situations, it can be incredibly hard to manage the amount you drink when people constantly fill up your glass. If you don’t want to drink too much, then keep your glass close and ask whoever is the ‘pourer’ not to top you up until you have finished your glass! A simple ‘no thanks’ is all good!
Avoid mindless or habitual drinking
The more accessible alcohol is to you, the more likely you are to drink it. If you have a second fridge outside or out of your main kitchen, store alcohol there rather than having drinks ready to go right in front of you every time you open your main fridge. If you are trying to drink less during the week or have alcohol free days, take your drinks out of the fridge, if they aren’t chilled, they will be much less appealing!!
Don’t compromise your sleep
A pre-dinner drink or two and one with your meal, but not too many after, will help you get a better quality sleep which makes all the difference to how you feel the following day!
Take care, have fun and look after yourself so you can enjoy the next day too!
