Top 5 Healthy Alcohol Consumption Tips
When it comes to eating healthy, most people don’t give alcohol a second thought. They change the actual foods they’re eating but continue drinking the same types and quantities of alcohol as they did before. However, alcoholic drinks often contain more calories and can be worse for you in terms of health than junk food. So if you really want to improve your overall health, you need to be factoring in your alcohol consumption. In this article I’m going to be helping you do exactly that and providing you with five top tips that will allow you to enjoy alcohol in moderation without it sabotaging your healthy lifestyle goals.
Tip 1 – Limit Your Consumption To A Maximum of 2 Alcoholic Drinks Per Night
Heavy alcohol consumption can cause you to become dehydrated and this has a negative effect on your metabolism, your blood flow, your vital organs and more. In addition to this, heavy alcohol consumption directly damages a number of vital organs including your brain, your kidneys and your liver. Finally, most alcoholic drinks are relatively high in calories, so by drinking excessively, you’re likely to gain weight. By moderating your alcohol consumption and drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks per night, you can avoid all these negative effects without giving up on alcohol completely.
Tip 2 – Have At Least 2 Alcohol Free Nights Per Week
Even if you’re drinking in moderation, consuming alcohol on a daily basis is not good for your health and the buildup of alcohol in your system can lead to the same health complications discussed above. Therefore, it’s important that you have at least two days per week where you completely avoid alcohol. Doing this cleanses your system and gives your vital organs a break from alcohol exposure.
Tip 3 – Drink A Large Glass Of Water After Drinking Alcohol
As mentioned in the first tip, one of the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption is dehydration. However, even in small amounts, alcohol does have a dehydrating effect. Therefore, to fully protect against dehydration and avoid the health complications, make sure you drink a large glass of water after drinking alcohol.
Tip 4 – Choose Low Calorie Alcoholic Drinks
Alcohol is relatively rich in calories and contains 7 calories per gram. In addition to this, most alcoholic drinks contain large amounts of carbohydrates and sugar which adds further calories to the drink. As a result, just a couple of regular alcoholic drinks can add over 500 calories to your daily intake. Not only can this lead to unwanted weight gain but the large amount of calories in liquid form can also cause your blood glucose levels to surge and drop rapidly. By choosing low calorie alcoholic drinks, such as champagne, light beer or spirits, you can slash the total calorie count to below 100 calories per drink and avoid these complications.
Tip 5 – Don’t Drink Alcohol Within The Last 2 Hours Before You Sleep
Drinking alcohol close to your bedtime can interfere with your sleep patterns and reduce the amount of deep sleep you get during the night. As a result, the sleep you get will be less effective and you’ll feel exhausted if you drink alcohol close to your bedtime. Therefore, make sure that on the nights you do drink alcohol, you drink it at least two hours before you go to sleep.
Summary
If you’ve been rigorously sticking to your healthy eating plans but haven’t been getting the results you desire, your current level of alcohol consumption could be why. So if you’re not presently implementing all five of the above tips when it comes to alcohol, start making some changes today and give your health a huge boost.