The holidays are a season of celebration, joy and social gatherings. Alcohol is often present. It’s the season to celebrate and have fun, but it’s important also to be aware of your alcohol consumption. Overindulgence not only can dampen holiday spirits, but it also has long-term effects on our health.
Did you know:
- Brain shrinkage
- Hinders fat loss
- Vitamin and mineral absorption is inhibited
- Inhibits the muscle protein synthesis
- Damages collagen (skin)
- Inflammation
- Lowers testosterone
- Breast cancer and other cancers are at increased risk
- Ruins your sleep?
It’s not good for you, but I won’t tell you to stop drinking over the holidays. Instead, here are five tips that will help you enjoy the celebrations while maintaining a balance and minimizing the damage.
We’re here for you to help you navigate a joyful and responsible holiday season. Let’s raise our glasses to a healthier and happier festive season while learning how to party in style without the extra headache!
1. Be Strategic
Darker liquors, like whiskey and wine, have more congeners (byproducts of fermentation) and can cause a hangover. It’s also important to consider your mixers, like lemonade, which contain a lot of sugar.
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- You should choose lighter spirits like vodka, tequila, or gin. These are lower in congeners.
- Alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Cocktails and mocktails are not to be trusted! The high sugar and calories in these drinks can increase your chances of getting a hangover or digestive upset.
2. Hydrate
Alcohol is a diuretic, which leads to dehydration. This is one of the primary causes of hangovers.
What you should do:
- Alternative alcoholic beverages with water
- Select healthy mixers such as soda water with lime or Kombucha.
- Consume electrolyte-rich drinks before, during and after alcohol consumption. Make your electrolytes instead of sucking down sugary commercial ones. You will need 250ml of filtered water, sea salt flakes and the juice of one lime.
3. Before and during drinking, eat protein-rich food
Protein-rich foods can reduce alcohol absorption because they are digested slower, delaying gastric emptying. Proteins increase gastrin, which is responsible for slowing alcohol’s progress to the small intestine, where it is rapidly absorbed.
Food also forms a barrier inside the stomach. This reduces alcohol’s contact with the stomach lining, stabilizes blood sugar, and helps to prevent crashes and spikes. It not only helps to slow down the absorption of the alcohol, but it also gives you a sense of fullness. This could reduce your overall alcohol intake.
What you should do:
- Grab some beef or biltong bars if you can’t eat anything before drinking.
4. Select the best supplements
The consumption of alcohol can cause the body to lose vital nutrients, such as zinc and B vitamins, which can lead to a worsening of hangover symptoms. These nutrients can be replenished, notably through liver capsules, before and after alcohol consumption. This may reduce the severity of hangover symptoms.
What you should do
- The liver capsules contain zinc and B vitamins, which are essential for metabolising alcohol and supporting enzymatic detoxification functions. These capsules provide a broad range of nutritional support that may help improve the body’s ability to process alcohol and recover from a hangover.
5. Take a cold dip
Cold showers and ice baths may help ease the discomfort of a hangover through several mechanisms. Cold exposure promotes circulation and helps remove the toxic alcohol byproducts that cause hangover symptoms. This also reduces inflammation, which can lessen the severity of headaches.
Cold water can increase alertness and combat the drowsiness associated with hangovers. The endorphins released by this practice provide pain relief and lift mood. The cold also causes a rush of adrenaline, which helps to energize the body and mind.
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- If it is safe, take a quick dip in an ocean or pool. You should also not go anywhere if you are under the influence!
- If you are under the influence, take a cold shower.
What would you do if, after a night of drinking, you ended up with a bad hangover?
Rehydration is the best strategy to implement on day two.
Try our XMAS SMOOTHIE, which is packed with collagen, magnesium and other healing nutrients.
- 1 scoop of Chief Dark Chocolate Collagen Protein. (It contains cacao powder, which is rich in magnesium and Himalayan salt and is excellent for rehydration.
- You can also try Blue Bay organic kefir.
- Handful of frozen spinach
- 1 tablespoon almond butter (magnesium, good fats).
- Half frozen banana (magnesium, other nutrients and vitamins)
- Handful of frozen cherry (magnesium, anthocyanins and pain relief).
- If you do not like your smoothie to be too thick, add a few ice cubes along with filtered water.
Enjoy!
