Advice on Limiting Alcohol to Reduce Health Problems

Always Drink Responsibly

There are a few basic points to remember when drinking alcohol. Choose your drink wisely. Remember that not all alcoholic drinks are created equal. A cocktail with soda and fruit juice will have less alcohol than a martini. Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on your body, so drinking water regularly while drinking alcohol is essential to stay hydrated. This will help prevent feeling lightheaded and drunk on a full stomach. Moderation is key: Remember that no amount of alcohol is healthy for your body. Even one drink can have negative effects on your body if consumed in large quantities over a short period of time. Be mindful of your surroundings. Alcohol impairs your judgment and can cause you to make poor decisions, so be mindful of your surroundings while drinking.

Slow Down When You’re Drinking

When you’re drinking alcohol, it’s easy to down a drink quickly, but there are a few ways you can slow down to ensure you’re drinking responsibly. Take a shot that’s ice cold before you even start drinking. This will slow you down as you drink and help you drink slower. Before you pour yourself a drink, set a timer for 30 minutes and drink one drink as slowly as you can for the allotted time. This will help you slow down and make sure you don’t drink too quickly. Take a sip of water in between every drink. This will help slow you down as well as help you stay hydrated.

Eat Before and While Drinking

Eating before you start drinking is essential for preventing a hangover and for keeping your blood sugar balanced. When you eat before drinking, you’re less likely to get a headache from dehydration, you won’t get as sick from alcohol poisoning and you’ll have a better time overall. When you’re eating, don’t go for something heavy like a steak or a large pasta dish. Instead, find something light like a salad, soup or an appetizer. When you’re eating while drinking, make sure you eat small portions of food every 30 minutes or so as you drink. This will help slow your rate of intoxication, keep your blood sugar balanced and prevent a hangover the next morning.

Stay Hydrated

For many people, alcohol is the socially accepted beverage at parties, bars and dinner dates. Since alcohol is a diuretic, it increases urination and causes you to lose a lot of water. To avoid feeling dehydrated, it’s important to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water as you drink alcohol. When you’re drinking alcohol, you should be drinking about 3 glasses of water for every glass of alcohol. This will help you replace the water you lose from urination and help prevent dehydration, headaches and illness from alcohol. Drinking water before, during and after drinking alcohol is essential for staying hydrated.

Find Activities That Help Taper Your Desire to Drink

If you’re trying to drink less, one of the best ways to curb your desire to drink is to find an alternative activity that you enjoy just as much as you enjoy drinking. Doing something you enjoy will distract you from the desire to drink and help you avoid the temptation all together. Here are some ideas. Join a sports team, playing sports is a great way to relieve stress and meet new people. Find a hobby that involves creativity. This can be anything from painting to writing to woodworking. Get out and explore your city, while out exploring, try to do something you’ve never done before. Attend a music or theatre performance, although you’re not drinking, going to an event will give you a sense of being sociable.

Conclusion

The key to drinking responsibly is to always drink within your limits. If you don’t know your limits, drink water. If you know your limits, you can have a drink or two a day (no more than 2 drinks per day for women and 3 drinks per day for men). And if you’re trying to drink less, remember to drink slowly, eat something before you drink and always stay hydrated. Beyond that, it’s important to be mindful of your surroundings and choose your drinks wisely.