October 2008

Despite knowing we shouldn't, we have all been guilty of having a few too many lemonade shandies on occasion. If you find yourself in this scrape in the run up to Christmas follow our advice on alcohol damage limitation?

Eating is not cheating.

Eat before you start drinking. Food slows the effects of alcohol on your blood sugar levels, meaning you should be able to hold it together a little better. This is advisable even if you are going out for dinner – have a small snack first as it will help you drink less while waiting for your food.

Avoid sugary cocktails.

As tasty an non–alcoholic as they may seem, cocktails are high in calories and play havoc with your blood sugar levels, meaning they rocket one moment and plummet the next. This will lead to you craving high calorie junk food later in the evening or the following day. Good wines or pure spirits with natural fruit juices are a wiser option.

Drink plenty of water.

A hangover headache is caused by dehydration so make sure you drink lots of water when you are out to minimise the dehydrating effect of the alcohol – even if you are having water to accompany an alcoholic beverage. When you get home, always have a large glass of water before bed too.

Avoid high fat foods.

Tasty and appealing as they are after a few bevies, curries, kebabs and takeaways on top of high calorie drinks are a sure fire way to put on a few pounds. Try and steer clear of junk food at all times. If you follow steps 1 and 3 though you should minimise your cravings.

Be prepared.

If you know you are having a night on the town get prepped by having a selection of healthy option snacks available for when you get home or the morning after. Good options are low fat yogurt and oatcakes. These will help rebalance your sugar levels too.

The morning after.

If you can, rest the body to help the recovery process from the toxin overload of the previous evening. Eat plenty of green vegetables and try teas such as peppermint to help your recuperation.