The facts

Oscar Wilde’s campaign for everything to be done in moderation, including moderation itself, has earned its place in the pantheon of wisdom for the ages. Which is to say, flout it and you’ll have to learn a few things the hard way.

Year-end festivities tend to go to the extremes when it comes to eating and drinking. Apart from the cosmetic downsides, like an expanded midsection you may not be too happy about, it also carries health risks. Excessive caloric intake, whether through food or drink, poses various risks to the body’s metabolic system. Insulin spikes, liver function overload, dehydration, insufferable hangovers are some of the costs overdoing it exacts on the body.

Plan ahead

Impromptu dinners, parties and the like may be unavoidable but you can still decide ahead of time what you’ll eat and drink, and more importantly, how much. Smaller meals eaten throughout the day accompanied by a serving of water, goes a long way to maintaining an even blood sugar level and helping your digestive system adequately processes everything you eat and drink. This means you’re less likely to be hit with cravings for everything you see, and won’t have to deal with any subsequent discomfort.

Prepare your body with liver tablets like Essential. The morning after is often filled with post-drinking regret, so help your post-party self with extra vitamins, electrolyte sachets and Vitamin B tablets. Whenever you know you’re overindulging in food or drinks, make sure you also drink a lot of water.

Eat, drink, and be merry

If, however, you prefer doing things spontaneously and find yourself in the unwanted position of feeling bloated, hungover, and generally reeling after back to back parties, there are some things you can do to speed up your recovery.

First, drink a glass of water. And then a few more. Hangovers and general feelings of malaise can be traced back to a lack of hydration. Alcohol is hygroscopic, which means it draws water out of its surrounds. That our bodies are comprised mostly of water creates a recipe for disaster when we’ve knocked back one too many alcoholic drinks. The ensuing dehydration is the main reason you wake up to a pounding headache and general grogginess the morning after.

Next, give your liver a hand with B-vitamins. The liver is the body’s detox centre, and works overtime when you party it up. Alcohol, again, presents a challenge by depleting the liver of stores of vitamins it needs to function properly. Various B-vitamins, in particular, are crucial to the liver for alcohol metabolism.

Avoid drinks with Congeners

Through the process of ethanol fermentation, sugars are converted into carbon dioxide and ethanol, also known as alcohol.

Congeners are toxic chemical by-products that are also formed in small amounts during this process, with different alcoholic beverages contain varying amounts.

Some studies have found that consuming drinks with a high amount of congeners could increase the frequency and severity of a hangover. Congeners may also slow the metabolism of alcohol and cause prolonged symptoms.

Drinks that are low in congeners include vodka, gin and rum, with vodka containing almost no congeners at all.

Meanwhile, tequila, whiskey and cognac are all high in congeners, with bourbon whiskey containing the highest amount.

Get plenty of sleep

Alcohol can cause sleep disturbances and may be associated with decreased sleep quality and duration for some individuals.

Though low to moderate amounts of alcohol may initially promote sleep, studies show that higher amounts and chronic use can ultimately disrupt sleep patterns .

While a lack of sleep does not cause a hangover, it can make your hangover worse.

Fatigue, headaches and irritability are all hangover symptoms that can be exacerbated by a lack of sleep.

Getting a good night’s sleep and allowing your body to recover may help alleviate symptoms and make a hangover more bearable.

Hold the coffee

Once you feel up to starting your day, hold off on any caffeine or greasy foods. These tend to compound the effects of dehydration and will leave you feeling sluggish for much longer than you’d care to. Instead, go light on meals, favouring greens and lean proteins and avoiding carbs to help level off insulin levels.

Live it up this festive season, but take care to have fun responsibly, and not harm your body. Remember, hydration is key, and when in doubt, space those meals out.

Tips

- Prepare your body for the onslaught with liver tablets like Essential which provides phospholipids to better process the alcoho

- Hydrate - increasing your water intake may help alleviate some symptoms of hangovers and even prevent them altogether.\

- Give your liver a hand with B-vitamins. Various B-vitamins, in particular, are crucial to the liver for alcohol metabolism.

- Drink a rehydration or diarrhoea treatment sachet before you go to bed. A dehydration sachet is good because it provides sugar and replaces lost fluid as well as minerals and salts of which alcohol depletes the body.

- Hold off on any caffeine or greasy foods. These tend to compound the effects of dehydration and will leave you feeling sluggish for much longer than you’d care to.

Visit clicks.co.za/holidayhealth for more holiday health tips from your Clicks pharmacist.