5 Things to Remember When Consuming Alcohol

There is much to say about consuming alcohol. This is the season when many people consume too much alcohol.  Ordinary, a little alcohol is not harmful, consumption of more than one drink a day for women or 2 drinks for men is considered excessive. Too much alcohol is bad for your heart, increase blood pressure, and inflammation of the pancreas. Alcohol does not just affect your liver. It also affect your behaviour and your relationships with others.

Needless to say, here are five important things you should remember  when consuming alcohol during this Carnival season (or any other event that encourages heavy drinking) because over-consumption can place the drinker at a physical and health risk .   If not managed properly one can cause damage to their liver, heart problems, and weight gain.

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Taking Care Consuming Alcohol

1.  Alcohol affects everyone differently.  Women  get intoxicated faster than men. This is because they have less of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase in their stomach than men and so their blood alcohol content will be higher than men even if similar amounts of alcohol was consumed.  However, as men age their alcohol dehydrogenase reduces and they are more likely to get intoxicated than younger men.  Also some conditions, such as damaged liver and menopause, can cause the liver to produce less alcohol dehydrogenase and so such persons may quicker get intoxicated on smaller than normal doses of alcohol.

Generally, Asians and American Indians have a a form of alcohol dehydrogenase that efficiently metabolize alcohol, but also allow large amounts of the poisonous compound acetaldehyde in their bodies.This acetaldehyde causes a number of unpleasant reactions, such as headaches, nausea, vomiting , heart palpitation. They are more likely to also get a hangover.  However, people who are allergic to wheat, barley, corn or yeast are also more likely to get a hangover, but, heavy drinkers  are less likely to get intoxicated when larger quantities of alcohol is consume.

2. Do not drink on an empty stomach.  When you drink on an empty stomach the alcohol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and so you can get intoxicated quicker.  Some foods such as dairy foods, garlic, and milk thistle can slow the absorption of alcohol into your system.  You can also take 50 milligrams of vitamin B6 before leaving home and another 2 to 3 hours at the party with your glass of water.

3.  It matters what you drink.  You will quicker get intoxicated when drinking concentrated alcohol, unflavored alcohol, such as vodka; carbonated alcohol and mixed drinks with diet soda.  It is also suggested you drink a full glass of water after every 2 to 3 alcoholic drinks and stick to one kind of alcohol.

4.  Avoid mixing alcohol with medication.  Some drugs interact negatively with alcohol.  Such drugs as: aspirin mixed with with alcohol can cause intoxication on a smaller than average dose of alcohol;  Tylenol with alcohol can cause liver failure;  Ambien and narcotic painkillers with alcohol can cause blackout; and mixing alcohol with any antihistamine can cause drowsiness.  You should consult with your medical practitioner before indulging in alcohol if you are taking medication.

5. Alcohol can cause slight spikes in blood sugar which is then followed by a fall in blood sugar levels.  For this reason people who have diabetes  must be cautious when consuming alcohol.  They are generally recommended to avoid high carb alcoholic drinks.

Lastly, after your consumption of alcohol most folks would do well to take a vitamin B6 again with lots of water and eat a light meal with a glass of orange juice to help the liver process the alcohol.  So enjoy your time, stay safe, and don’t drink and drive. So if you remember these five things when consuming alcohol, you can have a safer and more enjoyable carnival or any other event for that matter. Stay safe.

For more information on how the body consumes alcohol click here.