This week ladies we are discussing ways to Drink Right at Night.
The end of the week is here and many of us will be celebrating the conclusion of our workweek and beginning of the weekend with an adult beverage 🙂  There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of wine, champagne, or even a screwdriver, but ladies please I caution you about throwing back that 4th, 5th or 6th drink at home or at the bar.
First: did you know that depending on if it’s that time of the month, you may actually get drunker faster? Yes it’s true! The fluctuating hormones in your body can affect how tipsy you feel after drinking.  So you may be able to handle that 2nd or 3rd vodka and soda easily when you aren’t on your period, but may not be quite as sober if Aunt Flo is visiting.
Second: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a new study showing that “23,000 women and girls die from alcohol-related deaths each year. Of those deaths, 12,000 are the result of binge drinking.” What do you ask is binge drinking? Great question, binge drinking for a woman is defined as having more than 4 drinks in 2 hours; for a man it is defined as 5 or more drinks in 2 hours. WHOA! Hold on now ladies, I know what you are thinking. Heck, I have 70 year old patients who have a glass or two or four of wine every night with dinner. Does that mean your granny is binge drinking too?? Well, NO, not necessarily. Our body size, genetics, and tolerance for alcohol dictates what our physical response may be towards alcohol. And many critics believe that the CDC’s report stating 14 million women binge drink (where they have an average of 6 alcoholic beverages at one sitting) about three times a month is a bit steep. You may feel the same way, but what the study does do is bring attention to the fact that many of us young ladies are consuming alcohol on a regular basis and sometimes in excess.
Most of us don’t go out every weekend and get fall down hold-my hair-while-I-pray to-the-porcelain-god drunk, but may have been in that place perhaps once in our lives. The unfortunate thing is that binge drinking can have serious health concerns in the immediate and long term ranging from drunk driving related injuries to memory loss, breast cancer, liver and heart disease.
Here are a couple safe drinking tips ladies:
Slow and steady wins the race. As I always say sloppy isn’t sexy. It applies to many things in our lives, and is absolutely applicable to our drinking practices. If you prefer to drink your calories versus eat them make sure to alternate your drinks with a glass of water. That liquor will sneak up on you faster than it will for the sexy many you are pounding shots with at the bar.
Second, eat a little something that will absorb alcohol in your system before you begin your night of drinking. Yes, 4th meal is popular and a burger and fries sounds yummy after drinking but it’s a bad option to try and chase the alcohol in your stomach with grease. Opt for something starchy (I recognize flour wheat carbs is a dirty four letter word) but starting your night with a high fiber low calorie English muffin is better than a salad in your stomach before a long night of drinking. You can save some of your calories by going light on the juice and mixers instead. Also, if you find that you babysit your drinks and they always end up watered-down try to go light on the ice, or instead of ice try soda water.
Finally, let’s talk about the morning after ladies: If you do happen to have one too many and your head is pounding in the AM, don’t reach for a grande latte or black coffee, that will simply dehydrate you and cause your headache to worsen. Opt instead to hydrate yourself with water or a Gatorade or even Pedialyte.
Have a fabulous weekend and live right tonight!
Dr. V