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Your party drinking survival kit

Don't ruin the party season by constantly being hungover. Follow our tips to healthier drinking…

With the festive season fast approaching and the Yule-tide party circuit about to begin, it’s a good time to swot up on the ins and outs of alcohol, so that come Christmas day you feel on top form and have not unwittingly gained a few pounds in the general social whirl.

Knowledge is, as ever, power. And one of the first things to understand is that women are more rapidly affect by alcohol than men. This is partly down to the fact that, put simply, women have smaller livers, and so produce less alcohol-breaking enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase). But other factors are also at play. For instance, men have a higher percentage of body water, which means alcohol is more diluted in their bodies.

Check out the facts

A unit of alcohol (one unit equals a 125ml small glass of wine; a glass of champagne; a small shot of spirits or half a pint of lager), takes around an hour for women’s livers to break down. Wine and champagne usually have between 70-100cals per glass, spirits about 50cals and lager 100cals per half pint.

It is worth being aware, however, that because our livers make less alcohol dehydrogenase during the day, this breakdown of alcohol happens more slowly at lunchtime and more rapidly at 8.00pm, when production is at its peak.

Drinking with a meal slows down alcohol absorption and again delays its effects, as does having a glass of full-fat milk, a yoghurt-based smoothie or a bowl of cereal with milk before you go out. These options literally ‘line’ your stomach.

Whatever time you are drinking, research shows that when you are tired, one drink will act like two, and hormonal changes pre-menstrually have a similar effect. Taking milk thistle extract (200mg capsule, three times a day) for two weeks before the party season helps to fortify your liver, allowing it to process alcohol at optimal rates. It is also good to take three capsules before going out and the morning after.

If you want to make your drink last longer, so that you can balance drinks out over the evening, then avoid those with added ice. The coldness of icy drinks triggers the valve at the tops of our stomachs to open encouraging us to gulp rather than sip.

Handling hangovers

1.  Organic wine can still give you a hangover if you drink too much, but the headaches triggered by additives in standard wine will not be as bad.

2.  Alcohol has a diuretic effect, so drink spirits with plenty of mixers like slim-line tonics, diet lemonade and cola or fruit juice to reduce dehydration-induced hangovers.

3. Take 6 x 320mg capsules of artichoke extracts before going out and the following day to quell hangover nausea.

4. Blood sugar dips for up to 36 hours after drinking. Eat slowly digested carbohydrates on waking, like multigrain toast to avoid morning-after snacking.

5. Nurofen is an anti-inflammatory and helps to stop your brain swelling after drinking which is one of the main causes of hangover headaches. Take before going to bed when you come home from a party.

Smarter drinking 

• Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut champagne – Sugar-free and just 60cals a glass.

• Winter Pimms – 1.3 units or alcohol per 50ml measure.

• Vodka and gin – They have fewer ‘congeners’, which worsen hangovers, than dark rum and whisky.

• A glass of water per every unit of alcohol to slow down your alcohol intake.

• Orange juice on waking early in the morning. It may help to rebalance blood sugar levels, allowing you to sleep on and replaces the liver-protecting vitamin C depleted by alcohol.

• …And drink mulled wine with caution – You never what strength it is or the quality of ingredients used, and the same goes for any punch-style drink. .