An NHS doctor has shared a top tip to help party-goers stay in control and ease the potential hangover brought on by the season’s indulgences. With Brits known for enjoying a tipple or two more during this time, health risks and undesirable hangovers might seem inevitable – but there are ways to lessen their impact.
On the popular social media app TikTok, Doctor Karan Rajan recommended eating beforehand to moderate alcohol’s effects on your body. He was providing advice in response to another TikTok user who had suggested cheese as an ideal pre-drink snack.
As reported by The Mirror, she said: “If you are going for a night out on the town and you are going to drink alcohol, eating cheese before drinking alcohol can decrease your risk of having a hangover. This is because cheese has a lot of protein fat and complex carbs that can coat the stomach.”
Yet, Dr Raj clarified that while completely preventing the effects of alcohol isn’t possible, there are certain dietary choices one can make to slow down their digestion and the rate at which alcohol is absorbed. He explained: “Here’s a life lesson from a doctor: you can’t line your stomach or form a physical barrier before drinking alcohol to get less drunk because most of the alcohol is absorbed in your small intestine, but you can slow down digestion overall and GI transit time by consuming meals high in fats, protein and fibre and also slow down the rate of alcohol absorption.”
In a demonstration involving a balloon and pipe, the expert showed how consuming nutrients can cause the stomach to release food into the small intestine at a slower rate. He explained: “This delays alcohol’s entry into the small intestine, which means it’s absorbed more gradually in the bloodstream.
“So you get less spikes in the blood alcohol concentration and you get drunk much slower.” Dr Raj also pointed out that this effect isn’t limited to specific foods, as any caloric intake before drinking can slow down the process.
He added: “Essentially consuming calories with or before consuming alcohol delays gastric emptying and digestion overall. It’s also why drinking alcohol with zero calorie mixes gets you drunk faster than with full calorie mixers, the sugar and calories stimulate the release of digestive hormones like gastrin which slows down digestion.”
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks, the NHS recommends:
- Men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
- Spread your drinking over three or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
- If you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
Fourteen units is equivalent to six pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.