Three Ways to Cut Back on Binge Drinking This Holiday
The holidays are coming, and everyone’s eager to celebrate. However, as everyone knows, it’s easy to get a bit carried away. Now, this won’t be some sort of preachy article meant to tell you to not drink or enjoy yourself, but it will be a guide to keep you safe while drinking. There are three methods you can use to have an enjoyable time responsibly.
For those unaware, binge drinking is when a person or persons drinks an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period of time. It’s often a sign of excessive alcohol use, and 1 in 6 adults do so weekly.
As a disclaimer, it’s important to note while these are effective methods, they aren’t the be-all-end-all to drinking responsibly. Be sure to have a friend with you if you’re going to go out drinking, never drink and drive, and overall, just rely on old reliable common sense! If you feel you or a friend may be addicted and need some help, The Addictions Coach or Sober on Demand are wonderful resources that can get you back on your feet. Here are the TOP:
Three Ways to Cut Back on Binge Drinking This Holiday
Alternate to cut back on binge drinking this holiday season
A good rule of thumb for drinking is that you must constantly drink water. That means you must drink water beforehand, during, and afterward. This will keep you hydrated and stave off the potential for a hangover, which is a lifesaver! For those curious about the exact science behind this, MedicalNewsToday explains further:
“Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it increases the amount of urine a person passes. The resulting loss of fluid can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. These factors contribute to a hangover.
Staying hydrated while drinking alcohol could help to prevent or reduce a hangover. People can try drinking a glass of water between alcoholic drinks and just before bed.”
As a bonus tip, it’s also advised to avoid medication containing acetaminophen if you were to feel pain during a hangover! Your liver, while used to break down alcohol, also breaks down acetaminophen. As a result, you may be susceptible to liver damage due to increased vulnerability to the toxic effects of acetaminophen.
Less Hard Liquor, More Beer to cut back on binge drinking this holiday season
It’s also advised that you steer away from hard liquor and try to drink beer instead. Beer contains much less alcohol, so you can drink more without as catastrophic of an effect! This isn’t to say beer is much healthier, alcohol by itself can have some negative effects on the body, but to compare: A bottle of liquor can have nearly 40% more alcohol by volume than a can of beer.
This leads one to ask: Why bother if hard liquor gives the same effect in a smaller amount of time? Well, it comes down to how easy it is to go overboard with liquor as opposed to alcohol. That one extra drink can be the difference maker between a good time and an alcohol binge.
Fill Up Before You Go to cut back on binge drinking this holiday season
Finally, it’s always a great idea to eat before you go. It’s much harder to get drunk on a full stomach. This is due to the food slowing the transfer of alcohol to one’s small intestine, leading to further alcohol inactivation as it slowly travels and overall, less alcohol getting into your circulating blood. It’s been shown that food may even have a positive effect after the alcohol has reached your bloodstream by increasing your liver’s speed at inactivating it. This is all to say that eating with a full stomach helps your body get drunk less.
Be cautious when doing your celebrating, and remember you don’t have to abstain, you’ve just got to be responsible.
Need help? Call us Medical Detox .
Need coaching? Call us The Addictions Coach at 800 706 0318
