Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Extension
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571
Healthy Heart Beats
October-December 2008
Vol 30, Issue 4
Dining a la Health
Avoid Risky Drinking During the Holidays
Many people choose to celebrate the holidays with alcohol. Certainly social occasions lend themselves to both serving and consuming alcohol. Some people drink during the holidays to relieve stress. Others select special drinks, such as hot buttered rum or eggnog, for the holidays and may drink little at other times of the year. In moderation, alcohol consumption is not a problem.
"The main problem with holiday drinking is that people are often drinking for longer periods of time than they normally do, and they're staying up later than they normally do. They may not have a good frame of reference for how the alcohol will affect them," says Dr. Dennis Twombly, a scientist at NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Low levels of alcohol can act as a stimulant. "At low doses, alcohol has effects that the brain perceives as positive and rewarding," Twombly explains. "It can cause euphoria and relieve anxiety and stress." At higher levels, alcohol's impact on the brain begins to take a downturn. It can act as a depressant and make you sleepy. Twombly says, "You start to see effects on other areas of the brain like the cerebellum, which causes people to lose their balance and coordination. Their reaction times may become slower. Their ability to speak may become somewhat impaired." Inhibition and judgment are also affected, and emotions can become unstable.
Alcohol quickly moves from your stomach into your bloodstream, where it travels to all your major organs and tissues. Eating before you drink helps slow down this process. When alcohol reaches your liver, it is converted to other substances. Liver enzymes, however, can only break down about half of an alcohol-containing beverage per hour.
If you drink alcohol faster than your liver can clear it, the alcohol levels in your blood will climb. Binge drinking in particular-for men, defined as 5 or more drinks over a 2-hour period; for women, 4 or more-can quickly raise your blood alcohol above the legal limit. This excess alcohol continues to circulate throughout the body long after your last drink, affecting your heart, brain and other organs. For those who overdo it the worst consequence is drunk driving-especially if it causes a deadly traffic accident.
If you choose to drink alcohol during a holiday celebration:
- Drink responsibly. Limit yourself to half of an alcohol-containing drink per hour.
- Eat something to avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
- Alternate alcohol-containing drinks with non-alcoholic ones such as water, soda or juice.
- Choose a designated driver to get everyone home safely after the celebration.
Source: NIH News in Health
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Updated Monday, August 29, 2011
