Before You Party
By Dr. Mercola
Some people believe that an occasional glass of red wine can benefit your health. Regardless of the merits of this view, too much red wine is a recipe for disaster.
Alcohol can impair decision-making abilities and motor skills. It is frequently a factor in vehicular accidents, violent behaviors, unplanned pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to the lethal danger of alcohol poisoning, too, which negatively impacts your health and may even cost you your life if it’s not properly addressed.
In the United States alone, there are estimatedly 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) reported yearly from 2006 to 2010 due to alcohol poisoning, hacking off an average of 30 years on the lives of those who died. 1
What Is Alcohol Poisoning?
- Staying hydrated – Drink a glass of water along with each alcoholic beverage to help prevent dehydration. At bedtime, drink another large glass of water or two to help stave off hangover symptoms in the morning.
- Eating before and during drinking – If your stomach is empty, it will speed up the alcohol’s rate of absorption into your body. It may also cause severe stomach irritation. Make it a point to eat a meal before you drink alcohol and nibble on satisfying snacks (such as cheese) while you drink. At the very least, try this old piece of wisdom from the Mediterranean region: take a spoonful of olive oil before drinking alcohol to help prevent a hangover.
- Replenishing electrolytes – Try drinking coconut water before you go to bed to help reduce hangover symptoms in the morning.
- Sticking with clear alcohol – Generally, clear liquors (vodka, gin, or white wine) will contain fewer congeners than darker varieties (brandy or whiskey).
- Stopping once you feel buzzed – When you feel buzzed, it’s a sign that your body’s detoxification pathways are becoming overwhelmed. Take a break from drinking, or quit for the day entirely, to allow your body to metabolize the alcohol effectively.
In addition, I also advise against drinking when you’re feeling down, or worse, depressed, as this can only lead to unconscious and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. Note that alcohol can actually alter your brain chemistry and lower the levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical in your brain, increasing your anxiety and stress instead of reducing it.
Rather than falling into the vicious cycle of alcohol abuse, I recommend addressing your emotional health as soon as possible. Try Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which is one of the most effective energy psychology tools for me.
Sources and References
- 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI)
- 2 National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- 3 Drink Aware UK
- 4 Brown University Health Promotion
- 5 Alcohol Controls
- 6 University of Notre Dame
- 7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alcohol and Public Health
- 8 Virginia Tech
- 9 University of Texas
- 10 Journal of Pharmacology, 1988 May;245(2):pp. 407-12
- 11 Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 1984 September-October;8(5):pp.451-8
- 12 Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology
- 13 American Journal of Psychiatry, 2001 February;158(2):pp.198-204
- 14 The Lancet Oncology, 2007 April;8(4):pp.292-3
- 15 Journal of Studies on Alcohol Supplement, 2002 March;(14):pp.118-28
- 16 Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2004 Jan;65(1):pp. 37-45
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