Surviving party season: Have fun, and keep the consequences in check
The Christmas season can bring celebrations aplenty. Being able to navigate them safely can keep the good times rolling. Picture: iStock
With the party season upon us, how do we best prepare for the endless rounds of finger food and glasses of fizz?
Few of us will emerge completely unscathed from the festivities — and partying can take its toll on virtually everything from our skin to our waistline, posture and mood — but before you indulge in one mini mince pie or mulled wine too many, check out out the strategic damage limitation tips suggested by experts.
It takes about one hour for the body to metabolise a unit of alcohol, so it’s pretty obvious that a night of heavy partying means the liver is working overtime to churn out chemicals such as aldehyde with compounds like formaldehyde that make us feel woozy.
Hangover symptoms occur when raised blood alcohol concentrations drop back to zero.
It’s a myth, say scientists, that the order in which you take your drinks will make a difference to the after-effects. A study in the disproved the adage, ‘beer before wine and you’ll feel fine; wine before beer and you’ll feel queer’.
“Using white wine and lager beer, we didn’t find any truth in the idea that drinking beer before wine gives you a milder hangover than the other way around,” said Jöran Köchling, an alcohol researcher at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany, the lead author on the paper.
What will help is alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks or low-alcohol versions of your favourite tipple, a trend known as ‘zebra-striping’.
“If you can limit your intake to no more than one unit of alcohol per hour, you are much less likely to feel rough the next day,” says Dublin-based dietitian Orla Walsh. “Use any tactic you can to reduce the amount you drink.”
The season is a good time to invest in a probiotic supplement that will provide a dose of healthy gut microbes.
Choose a supplement with at least 10bn viable counts of beneficial bacteria and one that contains Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, as shown in a recent Spanish study.
The supplement will reduce bloating and gut symptoms, probably by binding to cells in the gut wall, displacing harmful bacteria and reducing inflammation.
Research from University College London also suggests that probiotic supplements or shots are best taken in a fasted state.
The bacteria will have a higher survival rate and be better able to colonise the gut.
Beneficial bacteria are destroyed by heat, so take them first thing in the morning with water.
“Not all probiotics work to reduce bloating,” Walsh says.
“And not every supplement is high quality enough to survive transit to the gut, so find one that works for you.”
According to the Irish Skin Foundation (ISF), winter can play havoc with our skin as central heating and lower humidity aggravate skin dryness. Partying adds to the toll.
Alcohol causes the body and skin to dehydrate, says the HSE, and that accentuates wrinkles and a dull complexion.
Frequent drinking during the party season can result in micro-inflammation of the skin, a risk factor for inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, rosacea and psoriasis.
The ISF recommends applying a hydrating moisturiser that contains both a humectant, which draws water from the atmosphere into the skin, and an occlusive, which locks in the moisture, for optimal skin recovery.
Plain yoghurt is one of the best (and cheapest) things you can eat for good gut health.
You could also try kefir, the fermented dairy product that has been a health staple in Eastern Europe for centuries and is now part of the trend for gut-friendly food.
Pronounced “keff-fear,” it means “feel good” in Turkish. It has an acquired taste — a tart, creamy flavour that’s not initially to everyone’s liking — but it is worth persevering with it during the party season, particularly as it is reputed to provide a larger dose of beneficial bacteria.
In one study published in the , researchers showed that kefir helped people prone to gassiness and bloating reduce their symptoms by half compared to when they drank milk.
Eating yoghurt also reduces bloating.
“Kefir can also be helpful for reflux and heartburn if you over-indulge over the festive season,” Walsh says. “But if you don’t like the taste, eating plain live yoghurt regularly is also good.”
A review of evidence conducted by Kings College London researchers concluded that nothing on the market will prevent a hangover, although the authors conceded that some ingredients available in supplement form, including the amino acid L-cysteine, clove extract, pyritinol, H dulcis fruit extract, red ginseng, and Korean pear juice appeared to be helpful in a few small trials and did “merit further study”.
L-cysteine was the focus of a 2020 study by Finnish scientists, who gave a group of men either a placebo or pills containing a 600mg or 1200mg dose of L-cysteine before asking them to consume alcohol over three hours.
When the men were asked to assess how they felt the following morning those who had taken the 1,200mg capsule had the fewest headaches and sickness, while the 600g dose left men feeling less anxious.
“L-cysteine would reduce the need [for drinking water] the next day with no or less hangover symptoms: nausea, headache, stress and anxiety,” the researchers wrote in their paper
Before buying L-cysteine, keep in mind the advice of Emmert Roberts, lead author of the KCL study: The only sure way to prevent a hangover is not to drink.
Overindulging can cause indigestion and bloating, acid reflux, and constipation.
Massage therapists and osteopaths specialise in treating the stomach, but there are steps you can take yourself, says osteopath James Davies, author of Body.
“One of the staple strategies for all my clients during party season is for them to practice self-massage of the abdominal area,” Davies says.
“Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, then using the fingertips of both hands, massage around the tummy in a circular motion.”
Perform clockwise and then anticlockwise for several minutes.
“If any areas are tender, press gently and take a deep breath in and out, as this can act as a release,” Davies says. “Apply gentle pressure to that area until it feels more relaxed.”
If symptoms last more than a few days, it’s best to get checked by a GP.
Alcohol increases urination and excess loss of fluids from the body, and the mild dehydration that results later on can make hangover symptoms, such as fatigue and a sore head, feel worse.
If you are well-hydrated before you take your first drink, the alcohol in your system will be well-diluted, Walsh says.
“My golden rule is to make sure your urine is the colour of champagne before you drink champagne. A light, straw-coloured urine is a sign you are well-hydrated with plenty of tea, some coffee, nourishing soups and water during the days ahead,” she says.
Disturbances in our gut microflora are common when we suddenly change our eating and drinking habits at this time of year.
“Even when these microbial alterations are minor, they can result in huge changes in how we digest food,” says Walsh.
“It is really important to maintain some sort of routine as much as you can, so focus on having your normal breakfast and lunch if you are going out that evening.”
Another tip is not to go out hungry.
Walsh says: “If you head to a party on an empty stomach, you are more likely to feel the adverse effects of any alcohol consumed more quickly, but will also be prone to over-eating.
"Pack in wholegrains, nuts, fruit, and vegetables over the next few weeks as they will fill you up and support a healthy immune system.”
