We wish you plenty of happy and healthy celebrations this festive season. If you’re planning to have a drink or two, Lisa Fitzgibbons has some helpful tips for minimising the impact of alcohol on your health.
Tame our partying ways
The lead-up to Santa’s arrival is pretty darn exciting – I’ll admit! But come Christmas, you don’t want to be mistaken for the big man himself. The combination of being overweight, aged, and bright-red is not really a good look. So, might I suggest you take a few precautionary measures now, before you get too carried away with the Xmas ‘spirits’?
Don’t worry – we can still have some fun!
We just have to approach this whole silly season with a good defence strategy. And the easiest way we can manage our health during this time is to simply take care of our liver. The liver will help our blood to run ‘clean’, help to nourish our cells with nutrients, and clear away any toxins from our tissues. When our liver is functioning well, our digestive and immune systems work better, we feel energised & happy, and it’s easier to maintain a healthy weight. We therefore need to do everything we can to actively support this process.
Pre-party ‘prep’
- While it’s a good idea to supplement your diet daily, at this particular time of the year it’s wise (and easy) to ensure your health by taking a specifically blended formula that contains alkalising and detoxing organic ingredients such as ginger, lemon, beetroot, ‘greens’ (barley grass & wheat grass) and herbs like peppermint, coriander and fennel.
- Eat a primarily plant-based diet and cut back on mineral deplete (processed) food.
- Drink adequate amounts of filtered water.
- Try to get to bed by 10pm when you’re not socialising. (And try not to drink any alcohol on these ‘off' days.)
- Minimise your stress – by asking for support
Mollycoddle your liver if you’re going to ‘drink’
- Eat dinner before you start drinking.
Note: The best time of the day to metabolise the ‘demon drink’ is generally between 5pm—10pm. This makes after-work drinks, and dinner-dates the perfect time to ‘partake’.
- Drink high quality, more expensive alcohol. This way you will savour it (sit on it) and will be more reluctant to drink large quantities of it.
- Drink light coloured or clear drinks such as white rum, vodka, gin, ales, lagers and white wine as they contain less congeners than dark coloured drinks such as dark rum, bourbon, brandy, whiskey, dark beer and red wine. Congeners can cause or intensify your hangover symptoms.
Note: If you’re also going to be drinking more than the recommended two standard glasses of alcohol, then it pays to avoid Champagne, sparkling wine, fizzy drink or sparkling water. Fizz sends alcohol into your bloodstream more quickly.
- Always ‘nurse’ two drinks — one alcoholic and one plain filtered water.
Note: Don’t alternate your alcoholic drinks with mocktails or juice. This sugary stuff will mess with your blood sugar levels and will also increase dehydration.
Other than that? Have yourselves a merry little Xmas and a jolly new year!
Lisa Fitzgibbon, Naturopath & Medical Herbalist
Lisa Fitzgibbon is a qualified (2006), experienced and registered Naturopath + Medical Herbalist. She draws on her professional training + experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice. Lisa writes the popular health blog: www.lisasaid.so.
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