Avoid festive hangovers during the party season

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The pre-Christmas party season is well underway and you may find that your diary is starting to fill up with long, boozy lunches, year-end catch ups over a glass of wine (or 3) and lots of parties. This is before we even hit the days surrounding and including Christmas and New Year.


Before we think about the New Year and all that brings, let’s instead focus on getting through the next few fun-filled weeks feeling as refreshed as possible and (ideally) hangover-free.

• Keep hydrated

As soon as we get an alcoholic drink in our hands we can totally forget that we should also be consuming water throughout the evening (as well as during the day). Don’t arrive at a party already thirsty, and if you do, ensure that you have several glasses of water before you hit the hard stuff. A good way to avoid getting very drunk (and therefore avoiding the hangover from hell) is to drink one glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have. Opt for not drinking in every round and alternate with water instead. Remember to drink a glass of water before bed and leave a glass at your bedside so that you can drink it as soon as you wake

• NEVER drink on an empty stomach

We ALL know that this is something to avoid, but we often forget or run out of time - DON’T! If you drink without eating then you increase the rate of alcohol absorption. Even if you are planning to eat during a party, ensure that you eat something before you start drinking, as you may feel less hungry and avoid food after a drink or two. Opt for foods that will take longer for you to digest and will therefore help to slow down the alcohol absorption. Ideally a mix of slow-release carbohydrates, fats and protein, so some wholemeal brown brown with butter or olive oil, or some olives and nuts, or if you are grabbing something before you leave home or the office and you don’t have time for a meal then 3-4 oatcakes with a tablespoon of hummus is a good option. Ideally, in the day leading up to a celebration, keep your food intake balanced and regular so that your appetite is stable before you start

• Choose your drinks wisely

As a general rule, the darker the drink, the more congeners it contains which basically means the worse your handover will be. Opt for clearer drinks (vodka, gin, white wine) over darker choices and opt for fruit mixers instead of carbonated drinks as this will help to slow down the alcohol absorption. Cheap booze will often contain more toxins and can result in feeling much worse the next day, so pick quality over quantity!

• Eat breakfast the next day

So, you have prepared for the party, kept your food intake stable and balanced, ensured that you are hydrated throughout and not hit the bar too hard. However you could still be feeling a little delicate the next day as alcohol is pretty hard for our bodies to process and will often disrupt our sleep.. So how do we ensure that we start the day after a heavy night on the right track? No matter how much you don’t feel like food, it is a really wise idea to eat breakfast. It doesn’t need to be a huge amount of food, something simple like scrambled eggs on a slice of wholemeal toast will often do the trick. A perfect mix of slow release carbohydrate and essential fatty acids. Eggs also contain cysteine which helps to break down the toxins that cause hangovers. If you really feel that you cannot face cooked food, then opt for some dry toast or oat cakes and the all important water. Sachets of rehydration salts such as Dioralyte can stop feelings of nausea.

• Pace Yourself!

Try to avoid several weeks of continued drinking. Your liver won’t thank you, you are likely to opt for calorific food and will hit 2016 feeling exhausted. We all know that January is the time for detox, but don’t start on the back foot. You won’t thank yourself if you start the New Year overweight and sluggish. Avoid drinking daily and ensure that your diet doesn’t slip. Keep meals nutritionally balanced and full of seasonal fruit and vegetables. There is so much wonderful, healthy food available at this time of year, it is not all about Twiglets & Quality Street!