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| Follow these tips to survive the festivities with your health and wellbeing intact |
SURVIVE the festivities with your health and wellbeing intact.
Festive drinking
During the festive season, party-goers drink an average of 62 units of alcohol – about 30 glasses of wine or 22 pints of beer.
Damage limitation:
Don’t run on empty. According to nutritionist Linda Foster, drinking on an empty stomach makes a hangover 10 times worse. “Eat a poached egg on toast before you head out,” she advises. “Eggs are a good source of cysteine, an amino acid that breaks down toxins, and the bread lines your stomach.”
Planning ahead can help you to stay in control, says Jane Michell, nutritionist and weight-loss expert: “Order water between alcoholic drinks, try ‘mocktails’, opt for spritzers instead of large glasses of wine and jazz up sparkling water by adding fresh lime or lemon.”
Choose gin and vodka over whisky and brandy. “Darker alcoholic drinks often have congeners to enhance colour, smell and taste. Tests show these chemical enhancers cause worse hangover effects than clear/light alcoholic drinks,” explains Boots pharmacist Angela Chalmers.
Hosting a party? Provide interesting soft-drink options and, to encourage your guests to drink water, include ice cubes with festive berries frozen inside. Watch your measures when serving drinks – research shows we often serve ourselves triple measures of spirits at home.
Choose lower-percentage wines and don’t keep a glass in your hand all night.
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| Drinking on an empty stomach makes a hangover 10 times worse |
Down a big glass of water before going to bed and keep a bottle on your bedside table, suggests Professor Tom Sanders, adviser to the Natural Hydration Council.
“A glass of orange juice in the morning can pick up blood-sugar levels, which are often low after excess alcohol. Avoid greasy fry-ups in the morning as these can make you feel worse. Opt for carbohydrate-rich foods such as breakfast cereals or toast and continue to drink water throughout the day,” he says.
Suffering the day after? “Soluble paracetamol is gentle on the stomach and quickly absorbed, so is a good option for headaches, while an anti-sickness medicine containing domperidone will help with a queasy stomach,” suggests Angela Chalmers.
Really suffering? ORS Oral Reydration Salts (£6.99 for 24 from Boots) contain electrolytes, glucose and minerals to help replenish lost fluids and salts. Or try coconut water, which is naturally packed with electrolytes and minerals.
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| The average person puts on 4lbs between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day |
Dinners, buffets and mince pies…
The average person puts on 4lbs between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, and it can take till Easter to repair the damage!
The vast majority of people (94 per cent) take a break from their normal eating habits and those festive lunches/buffets/Quality Streets all add up…
Damage limitation:
Hang your little black dress on the back of your wardrobe so it’s the first thing you see in the morning – it’s a real visible motivator and will help you avoid overeating.
Try a festive fast: having the odd 500-calorie-only day can be a good strategy to ward off Christmas weight gain without spoiling the fun.
But don’t “save” calories before a party or Christmas dinner by starving yourself, warns Lucy Mecklenburgh of online fitness and nutrition website resultswithlucy.com. “You’ll only increase cravings for sugary snacks.
Eat wisely instead – protein makes you feel fuller for longer so include chicken, turkey, fish, quinoa, nuts, seeds and Greek yoghurt in meals and snacks,” she says. If you’re going out for dinner, have a light lunch, and vice versa.
Drink water before going out and when you first arrive at a party, advises nutritionist Zoë Harcombe (see zoeharcombe.com).
“It’s estimated that 75 per cent of people are dehydrated much of the time, so they’re ‘hungry’ for liquid, not food,” she says.
Party buffets signal diet danger because you’re more tempted to try a bit of everything. Focus only on the things you like rather than sampling everything.
Use a side plate instead of a full-size one – research shows this tricks the brain so we eat less. And steer clear of anything beige (quiches, pastries, vol-au-vents) and anything coated in batter or breadcrumbs. Opt for olives not peanuts and houmous or tomato salsa dips rather than creamy versions.
Focus on socialising rather than re-joining the buffet queue. “The more you talk, the less you eat!” says nutritionist and author Fiona Kirk (see fatbustforever.com). And get on the dance floor to burn off a few calories.
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| Plan New Year fireworks parties in advance and follow the Firework Safety Code |
Slips, trips and mishaps
An estimated 80,000 revellers need hospital treatment over the festive season. Falls, cuts and burns account for most injuries.
Damage limitation:
The festive period is the most likely time of year for house fires to be started by candles, as they’re often placed in unsuitable containers and left near decorations. And you’re nearly twice as likely to die in a house fire over Christmas than at any other time of the year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Turn off Christmas tree and fairy lights at night and when leaving the house.
Don’t leave things on the stairs. And, if you have guests staying over, leave a landing light on to prevent night-time trips in the dark.
Champagne corks are the most likely cause of seasonal eye injuries, says the American Academy of Ophthalmology (followed by bursting balloons and Christmas tree branches). Make sure champagne is properly chilled – the cork of a warm bottle is more likely to pop unexpectedly. Point the bottle away from you – and others – at a 45-degree angle and cover the cork with a napkin to ease it out.
Also trim protruding tree branches and don’t over-inflate balloons.
Plan New Year fireworks parties in advance and follow the Firework Safety Code.
For Christmas home safety tips, visit rospa.com/homesafety.
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