Drinking Alcohol While Staying Healthy

The majority of adults enjoy a regular drink, and for many of us alcohol is a part of our routine that we may have stopped thinking about too hard. It’s easy to forget that alcohol is a drug, and alcoholic drinks contain other harmful substances as well as plenty of calories in most cases. Drinking carelessly can seriously hinder weight loss attempts and of course it can lead to a whole host of other problems. However, we have some great ideas to help you manage your drinking and stay relatively healthy.

1) Don’t drink on an empty stomach

Eat a healthy meal with plenty of fibre, protein and vegetables before you start drinking alcohol and this will help your body process it in a healthy way. Not only that, but you’re less likely to be hungry later and crave fatty foods.

2) Get plenty of rest

Before and after you have a few drinks or more, you need to get plenty of rest and relaxation. Heavy drinking after a busy and stressful day is a bad idea as your body has no time to recover like it normally would. Alcohol can lower your blood sugar and if you’re tired already this will be more extreme.

3) Be aware of your surroundings

Depending on where you are, alcohol can have a different effect. If you’re outside in the sun or inside somewhere hot at night, you have a higher chance of getting dehydrated which can be dangerous. This leads directly onto our next key point!

4) Drink lots of water

Alternate between drinking alcoholic drinks and water to make sure you don’t lose track and stay hydrated all night. Water doesn’t stop the effects of alcohol but it does keep you in a healthier condition and stops you drinking too much without realising.

5) Choose your drinks wisely

Sugary pre-mixed drinks, which are often marked out by their vivid colouring, tend to be high in calories and not worth the toll they take on your body. Darker spirits contain higher levels of congeners, which are a by-product of the distillation process and have been linked to more extreme hangovers, so these are another thing to cut back on. Clear spirits with low-calorie mixers are a healthier option, or alternatively stick to wine which has a relatively low number of calories, more antioxidants and isn’t so quick to drink.

6) Don’t lose track

If you count your drinks (and alternate with water as we mentioned earlier) it’s much easier to control the damage to your body. The recommended daily limit is only two drinks, and more than four in one session is classed as binge drinking. Decide in advance how many you can allow yourself and keep count so you don’t go over.