With the holidays just around the corner, December is filled with opportunities to celebrate and indulge in some festive drinks – Christmas party at work, an apero with friends, a little Glühwein at the Christmas market, family dinner, and the list goes on until New Years Eve. ‘Tis the season to be merry! But the truth is that alcohol has an aging effect on the body and the toxins will make you feel less than fabulous the next day. That being said, we think we should enjoy the holiday celebrations without bringing any guilt to the party. Let yourself enjoy quality time with friends and family and let yourself enjoy those drinks! However, we can make better choices to prevent our bodies from having to work extra hard to process our indulgences the next day. Here are our top tips to avoid a hangover after some boozy holiday fun!

1 – Choose your poison: dark liquor contains more toxins than clear liquor, and thus delays how fast alcohol is removed from your body. Beer has the most toxins of any common alcoholic beverage. The best choice is distilled spirits like vodka or gin. But beware of mixing these with sugary mixers that increase the load on your liver. Alternatively, organic wine or champagne have less pesticides, meaning less chemicals for the liver to eliminate. Plus you’ll get antioxidants and flavonoids from the grapes which you wouldn’t get from other liquors.

2 – Hydrate: To eliminate the toxins found in alcohol, your body needs to dilute them in water so they don’t harm you on the way out. The water either comes from your tissues or the water you drink – so drink water! We suggest either drinking a glass of water between each alcoholic drink you have and drinking lots of water before going to bed. 

3 – Vitamin C: Taking a vitamin C capsule before a boozy evening will help block the conversion of alcohol into aldehyde, the most hangover-causing metabolite. Alternatively, drinking hot water and lemon before heading out checks boxes for both the vitamin C and water.

4 – Food: Hypoglycemia, inflammation and low electrolyte levels are all contributing factors to hangovers that can be tackled through nutrition. Eating a good breakfast the day after having a few drinks will restore your blood sugar levels. Try to include foods that reduce inflammation such as berries, leafy greens, tomatoes and olive oil. Reach for salty foods to replenish your sodium levels and eat a banana to get some potassium. To combat nausea, add some ginger to your meal or make some ginger tea.

At the end of the day, the best way to avoid a hangover is to drink less. We don’t want to be a party pooper, but excessive drinking won’t only have you feeling bad the next day, it also has long-term health repercussions. Keeping that in mind, we encourage you to have fun these holidays, but try to follow some of these tips so you can be on your best form!