Top Tips for a Healthier Christmas
Health and fitness expert, Clare Stobart focuses on how to remain feeling good while partying over the Christmas period
As December rolls on, our social lives tend to increase, meaning we may well indulge more in both food and alcohol. There are plenty of ways to combat over indulgence and temptation, these pointers below will offer you an invaluable guide to getting the most out of the festive season, all whilst allowing you to enjoy the run up to Christmas.
Power Nap
“When you take a power nap, it energises you and makes you more alert for the next four to six hours,” Khan of UT Southwestern Medical Centre states. By keeping your nap under 30 minutes, you gain the benefit of extra energy without entering the “danger zone” that could negatively impact your regular sleep pattern. Increasing your energy will give you the stamina to enjoy celebrations from start to finish.
Food First
Aim to eat a well-balanced, healthy meal before you go out. Showing up to a party hungry can lead to picking at the buffet or eating crisps and nuts. Food high in protein and healthy fats, such as yogurt and salmon, can help slow down alcohol absorption. In doing so, you reduce the risk of getting too drunk or having a hangover.
The One For One Rule
For every alcoholic beverage you consume, make your next drink water. By getting into the habit of alternating your drinks, it naturally moderates your alcohol intake without thought.
Conscientious Consumption
Avoid drinking diet drinks. They pass quickly through your stomach, and as a result the alcohol gets into our bloodstream faster. Research suggests that the sugar in a “full fat” soft drink actually slows down the effects of alcohol, by decreasing the absorption from your stomach to your bloodstream. However, the trade off with this is the increase in sugar content, but as with many things in life, moderation is key.
Leave Mixing To The Bar Staff
By picking and sticking to your beverage of choice, you will help to combat the side effects that can occur when mixing drinks.
Calorie Calculator
Clear spirits, tequila and champagne, can save you up to 100 calories per drink! Cocktails, whilst scrumptious, on average contain more than 550 calories. That is the equivalent of over a quarter of a females recommended daily calorie intake.
Red Wine Wins
There are some amazing benefits to drinking red wine. (Yes, you read that right!) It is beneficial for your cardiovascular health and full of antioxidants. Red wine offers immune boosting and anti-aging properties. It is great for the digestive system and can even encourage weight loss by activating a gene with resveratrol that can be found in red wine.
Sober Curious?
With the growing availability of delicious alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits, it allows those of us who are alcohol free to enjoy many alternatives whilst celebrating Christmas.
Electrolyte Before You Switch Off The Light
Make your last drink of the evening fortified water. Electrolytes are full of minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium which help regulate fluid levels in your body. I recommend the Phizz Multivitamin Hydration tablets which rapidly hydrate you up to 3 times more than water alone.
Everything In Moderation
As with many things, these helpful pointers are only valid when utilised in the constraints of safe alcohol intake which is currently no more than 14 units a week. Whilst I love to indulge in a red wine or two, I believe in two concepts: everything in moderation and 20 minutes of physical activity every day.
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