5 negative effects of alcohol consumption

Alcohol can immediately affect your health, and recovering from overindulging can steal valuable hours from your holiday/weekend.

Here’s what happens to your body when you drink alcohol

1. Dehydration: alcohol is a powerful diuretic. Your body needs plenty of water to replenish the water it has lost. Accompanying symptoms include dizziness, trembling and thirst.

2. Nausea and sweating: this is caused by acidosis, where your blood is more acidic than usual. Acid-producing foods (yip, processed, fast, party foods) and alcohol are the main causes of acidosis. This can take 24 hours to correct.

3. Tiredness and irritability: your body’s normal rhythm is out of whack, resulting in exhaustion, crabbiness and an increase in body temperature, which can make you feel flushed.

4. Headaches: alcohol has an inflammatory effect, making your blood vessels swell. Your headache may even start while you’re drinking, not just the morning after.

5. Disturbed sleep: if you’ve drunk too much, all you want to do is sleep it off, but for some people, overdoing it results in a terrible, interrupted night’s sleep.

Most appropriate: Why you wake up early after a night of drinking

Ways to cure your hangover:

1. First off, drink lots of water.
2. Eat something simple containing both carbs and protein, like a poached egg on toast.
3. A glass of tomato juice will help balance your blood sugar.
4. Stay in bed if you can.
5. Caffeine may make you feel better, but it promotes dehydration, so it’s best to avoid it.

Read also: Studies show ‘gateway drug’ isn’t marijuana, but alcohol 

How to prevent a hangover next time:

1. Only drink on a full stomach.
2. Alternate water with your drink of choice.
3. Don’t mix your drinks.
4. Mix alcohol with water rather than soda.
5. Sip slowly. Give your body time to process the alcohol.
6. Boost your vitamin C a few days before the party. It’ll help your body get rid of the alcohol more effectively.

Incase you missed this: Five tips to beat high prices at a bottle store

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