Alcohol conscious choices tips

• There are big differences in the types of alcohol you consume. For example, a cocktail can often contain between 2-5 standard drinks. A healthier option is to monitor and limit your amount of standard drinks throughout an event.
• It is not just the alcohol but also what you mix with it. A humble cocktail can often contain between 68-340 calories per drink just for the alcohol. Now imagine if it contained lemonade, cream and other goodies…
• Hydrate, hydrate and then hydrate some more. Hydration is calculated based on a person’s weight—i.e. 30ml per kg body weight. Then, additional re-hydration is required for every glass of coffee, tea, alcohol or soft drink drunk. When you add this all together some time people need to drink as much as 3.5L per day. The old rule of one alcoholic drink followed by a glass of water in between is a good general recommendation. Remember—most hangovers are often simply caused by dehydration.
• Replenish what is lost. Alcohol depletes our reserves of key vitamins and minerals. The most important group that are lost are B vitamins. A quick tip is to take a B complex before you head out and then an additional one during the night. It reduces the incidence of hangovers markedly, provides valuable nutrients for your liver so it can process the alcohol and keeps your mood (and your wits) positive so helps you have a better night. Food sources are tricky as the alcohol is likely to destroy them through digestion so supplementation is the most realistic.
• Protect your liver. Another important prescription is the wonderful herbal medicine called St Mary's Thistle (Silybum marianum). Taking this herb before the big night can make a huge impact on your recovery and your enjoyment of the evening - well worth investing! Additionally, it helps to protect our liver in the long term so reduces long term effects and damage.
• It's too late, the big night is over already...The best approach is to hydrate with pure water and obviously be gentle with your body. Expecting it to run a marathon is simply stupid; expecting your poor and overworked liver to process a 'fry up' is also a bad idea.
• Extract taken from The Food Coach Newsletter: www.thefoodcoach.com.au