Alcohol Consumption | Guidelines to safer drinking during the New Year from Mike Delaney, Clinical Director at Delamere Health Ltd
Recent research found that 36% of adults have increased their alcohol consumption during this year’s lockdowns and with Dry January around the corner, many people will be looking to reduce their alcohol intake.
Even high profile celebrities Elton John and Chrissy Teigen have revealed personal struggles with alcohol.
The toxic mix of a stressful year, combined with the need to escape reality during the lack of NYE festivities, will give many the excuse to overindulge in alcohol – even more so than they would normally at this time of year.
Mike Delaney, Clinical Director and one of the UK’s leading authorities in addiction treatment at Delamere Health Ltd, has compiled the following list of safer drinking tips to help you into the new year.
Follow the safer drinking medical recommendations
The Chief Medical Officers low-risk drinking guidelines state that regardless of age or gender, you should consume no more than 14 alcoholic units a week and that these units should be spread out evenly over seven days. To put this in real terms, 14 units is the equivalent to 6 pints of standard 4% lager, 6 standard glasses of 13% abv wine or 14 shots of a spirit. If you follow the safer drinking medical recommendations, you can still enjoy alcohol but without the risks associated with alcohol consumption being too high by drinking too much.
Try to incorporate alcohol-free days over the in the run-up to the new year period
Over Christmas and New year there always seems an ‘excuse’ or ‘reason’ to have a drink every day. It is important to have alcohol free days to give your liver a rest and allow your body to flush out alcohol’s toxins. Drinking daily, especially when more than a couple of units, causes your liver to work less efficiently. The more alcohol consumption you intake, the bigger the toll it will take on your body resulting in you feeling sluggish and suffering from low mood.
Be aware of the alcohol content in the foods you consume
Traditionally alcohol is added to many party foods such as chocolate, sauces, desserts and even gravy. Whilst the alcoholic content is usually quite low, combining these foods with alcoholic drinks soon makes the units stack up.
Avoid drinking on an empty stomach
Eating a decent meal before drinking will slow down the absorption of alcohol, you will also be inclined to drink less if your stomach is already full. Alcoholic drinks such as wine and spirits are very acidic and can cause harm to your stomach’s lining when consumed on an empty stomach or in large amounts.
Opt for low alcohol or alcohol-free drinks
Instead of automatically reaching for whatever alcoholic drink is available to feel part of the celebrations, try some mocktails (alcohol-free cocktails). There are many kits and recipes out there where you can experiment. Make it fun by challenging the whole family to produce the tastiest mocktail. This will take the focus off alcohol consumption and you may even find a drink that you prefer over alcoholic beverages.
If you are drinking – do not drive
Drink driving causes many fatal accidents every year. If you have consumed alcohol the night before, remember that it takes the liver on average 1 hour to process 1 unit of alcohol. When you binge drink it takes even longer as the liver struggles to cope with the backlog of alcoholic units. Driving the morning after and in some cases even the next day, you could still be over the drink driving limit. If you want an alcohol free day, volunteering to be the designated driver is the perfect excuse not to drink.
Take steps to ensure your safety whilst drinking
When we drink alcohol, our inhibitions and sense of judgement are impaired. This can easily lead to making spur of the moment decisions which are later regretted. If you are going out drinking, make sure that someone knows where you are, what time to expect you back and that you have pre-arranged a safe mode of transport home. This applies to both men and women, both sexes are very vulnerable whilst under the influence of alcohol.
BYOSD (Bring your own soft drink)
If you have an NYE family Zoom party lined up, bring your own soft drink. You can then either stick to drinking these or alternate between alcoholic drinks. Don’t rely on others to provide you with an alternative to alcohol, it is always best to be prepared and take your own. If you are worried family will pressurise you into drinking more than you would like, it is very unlikely that they will even notice or care if you are alternating or drinking a zero alcohol alternative.
Avoid stocking up on alcohol
Traditionally many people stock up on vast amounts of alcohol just before the festive period to have a selection of different alcoholic drinks to offer guests. The risk that comes with this is that there will be a constant supply of alcohol in your home that will be all too easy to drink. You are also much more likely to mix your drinks which can lead to losing control of the amount of alcohol consumption you intake. Instead have a selection of drinks that are of standard strength in units and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks that you can alternate with.
