I should be telling you that alcohol is one of the greatest modifiable risk factors we know of when it comes to chronic disease.
I should be shaking my finger reminding
you that our huge rates of colon and breast cancer in New Zealand are undoubtedly tied to our love of the grog. Trust me, I loved reading those studies that say alcohol in moderation is good for us as much as you did, but the fact is, in New Zealand we drink way too much, and it IS impacting our health.
We know we need to cut down, we need to find alternatives for stress reduction, and we need to take our health more seriously……BUT with the dawn of the silly season upon us, we should probably just talk about that next year, so ill raise my glass, and step off my soapbox for 2016.
Is there anything we can do if we are going to drink to mitigate the negative effects of alcohol on our bodies? I think there is.
1) Choose your Booze
While quantity is the biggest factor, the type of alcohol you choose will profoundly impact how drunk you get and how bad your head will hurt in the morning.
Enter congeners. These are the byproducts of fermentation found in large amounts in red wine, and dark bourbons. They can include a host of chemicals that your liver must also metabolise on top of the alcohol and are responsible for the "I'm never drinking again" exultations the morning after a big night. While red wine does have more antioxidants (including resveratrol) than other types of alcoholic beverages, drinking alcohol for its antioxidant status is like burning your house down because you're feeling chilly. There are far better ways to consume antioxidants, and in fairness in order to get an active dose of resveratrol (500mg), you better buy shares in Stony Ridge because it's going to take upwards of 40L of Pinot a night. Unless you simply love the taste of red wine, can sip only one or two (glasses not bottles) with dinner or are studying for your Sommelier license, skip it in lieu of clear spirits.
You're best anti-hangover choice of booze are clear spirits - the more distillation the better, as it removes contaminants that add to the headache - drinks with triple distilled Vodka or even grain alcohol, high quality gin or tequila are good alternatives.
Vodka may conjure up images of a sweet Screwdriver or VodkaCran, but keep in mind once you start adding sugar to the (clear) alcohol mix, you run into trouble. Sugar is never good, especially not when it is combined with alcohol. With sugary drinks you get a huge insulin spike contributing to weight gain and metabolic syndrome and you drink much more than you would if your booze was not masked with a sweet taste. The average rum and coke contains a whopping 7 tsp of sugar; save your sugar allowance for Grandma's Pav.
This brings us to the next point. How about artificially sweetened mixers? Two words. Bad News. Not only do artificial sweeteners contribute MORE to diabetes and obesity than regular sugar sweetened drinks, artificial sweeteners also tend to dull our taste buds to naturally sweet foods (like fruit) and result in us craving MORE sugar than when we don't consume them at all. Studies show that consumption of diet drinks was associated with a 36% greater risk for metabolic syndrome and a 67% increased risk for type 2 diabetes (1) !
Now back to the context of a mixed drink. The bottom line is artificial sweeteners increase the rate of gastric emptying, making you drunker, faster on the same amount of booze (2). The other way to get drunk fast is to combine your alcohol with a fizzy mixer. The carbonation increases pressure on the stomach, increasing alcohol absorption and speeding the rate of intoxication for some people (3).
Your best bet for a hangover free holiday is to again stick to clear spirits, mixed with a non-sugary mixer. Also keep in mind if you mix with soda water, drink bubbles or beer, you may need to pace yourself. Having a snack or glass of water between drinks is another good strategy for preventing hangovers.
2) Metabolise Wise(ly)
No matter the form you choose to consume, your body will need to detoxify the alcohol. This process requires additional B complex vitamins as well as Zinc and magnesium. Supplementing with a high quality B complex vitamin providing at least 100mg B1 is very important (I recommend using active B complex vitamins to overcome potential genetic issues in B vitamin biotransformation) (4). Eating seafood is your best bet as a source of Zinc, and green leafy vegetables will provide you with additional magnesium.
As magnesium is so important to over 400 different chemical reactions and is depleted by alcohol, I recommend supplementing with 300-500mg of Magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate. Glycine helps to slow alcohol absorption and helps support the detoxification of alcohol through producing the antioxidant glutathione (5).
As you begin drinking, alcohol is transformed into the very toxic metabolite acetaldehyde (accumulation leads to the flushing seen in those from some Asian countries who genetically cannot break down this chemical easily). In order to protect your cells from acetaldehyde, take 500mg Vitamin C and a supplement called NAC (600-900mg) with your first drink, somewhere in the middle of the night. This helps to increase the intracellular antioxidant glutathione that will protect your poor liver from the all those cocktails (6). If you are prone to popping a Nurofen before bed or in the morning, this is especially important. Paracetamol is notoriously hard on the liver, and is the over the counter agent responsible for the most liver injury and deaths worldwide (More than 150mg/kg can put you into irreversible liver failure 7). The antidote to paracetamol poisoning is intravenous NAC. Take NAC before your liver damaging activities and avoid paracetamol (use ibuprofen for your throbbing head if you need relief).
Other alcohol supportive nutrients include Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA), selenium and the amazing botanical Silybum marianum or Milk thistle. ALA helps your body to recycle that glutathione it makes, protects against hepatitis and neurological decline, decreases blood pressure and helps to balance blood sugar (8). Selenium can be found in Brazil nuts (you only need 3-4 a day for your Selenium needs). ALA is very safe and is dosed at around 300-600mg daily.
This use of Milk Thistle as a medicine dates back to the first century AD, where Roman physicians used it for snake bites and to increase bile flow in patients. With hundreds pf scientific studies published on the effects of this plant, we now know that the active constituent Silymarin - not only protect and help regenerate hepatocytes (liver cells), but that it may be active against viral hepatitis, as well as liver damage from other drugs or environmental toxicants (9). For liver damage from drugs or toxins, 160-800 milligrams of Silymarin for at least two weeks is required.
3) Before bed, and the Morning After
When you get home from your Christmas Party Adventures you have one more chance to do damage control. Pick up some activated charcoal from the chemist and keep it by your bed. As you retire pop 4 to help soak up any residual alcohol still in your gut as well as help bind any congeners or mould toxins that may have been present in your grog. Also DRINK MORE WATER. Keep in mind though activated charcoal binds indiscriminately so do not take it with medications or supplements. Dehydration in and of itself can cause hangover symptoms and alcohol is notoriously dehydrating.
Alcohol tends to cause sedation in the short term, then rebound stimulation as it wears off. This leads to that annoying early morning exhausted wake up. In order to combat this, take your magnesium glycinate throughout the night. If you want to lessen the stimulating effect you can take the amino acid L-theanine (200mg) if you wake up early and another 200mg in the morning to reduce the lingering effects of alcohol- most notably the anger and irritability that comes with a hangover. L theanine helps to calm the brain, protects it from the stress hormone cortisol and help you to feel focused but relaxed. It is also found in green tea (10).
Dr V's Five Step Hangover Helper
This protocol is suitable for a 68kg adult without any preexisting medical conditions, looking to reduce the risk of acute alcohol intoxication.
Please speak to your doctor before beginning any new supplements or medications.
Booze Choose - from low to high congeners - Vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, other distilled spirits, dry cider, dry champagne, dry white wine, white wines, red wines, dessert wines, beer. Avoid sugary mixers
References