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As people think about plans for New Year’s Eve there are inevitably thoughts about drinking alcohol as part of the evening festivities. People like to drink and enjoy feeling the buzz or the happy giddy feeling that comes along with drinking alcohol but don’t like feeling poorly the day after. Do you ever wonder why that happens?
I know that I use to before I learned about how alcohol affects the body. Let me share what I learned in during my medical training that explain alcohol’s effect on the body. Alcohol causes the body to lose water. This is why when people drink they have to go to the bathroom more. Our kidney’s are responsible for the water balance in our bodies they monitor whether water stays in our system or goes to our bladder to be peed out. We have a hormone Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) that is produced in the brain and travels to the kidneys keep water in the bloodstream and prevents us from peeing it out. ADH is important to help keep our water in our blood and prevent dehydration in our bodies. It also helps to regulate our blood pressure.
Alcohol prevents the ADH from being released from the brain to the kidneys. Remember ADH is the hormone that causes us to keep water in the in body. When we drink alcohol ADH does not get released so we pee out all the water. If you are drinking alcohol and not drinking enough water to replenish all the water you are peeing out, when we wake up the next day, we wake up feeling dehydrated and many people call that a “hangover”.
So how do we enjoy a couple glasses of alcohol without the hangover? Make sure you have a cup of water for each glass of alcohol you drink. Before you go to bed have another 16 ounces of water and drink water as soon as you get up. This will reduce the dehydration many people experience.
A separate but good tip as well is to make sure you eat protein based foods before and as you drink, it helps the body absorb the alcohol so you don’t get drunk as quickly.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Dae's website: www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's book: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living can be purchased @ www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's Bio:
“Dr. Dae" (pronounced Dr. Day) Daemon Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who completed her training at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is certified as a General Practitioner by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE). Dr. Dae provides tailored treatment to meet the unique needs of every individual she sees in her practice. She also provides specialized support for persons challenged by nutritional deficiencies, weight problems, hormonal and reproductive system disorders, attention deficit disorder and those experiencing chronic diseases. Dr. Dae is an adjunct faculty member for Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts. She is the author of Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living. Dr. Dae is a featured chef with www.myfoodmyhealth.com. Dr. Dae is a regularly featured writer for the Elite GoogleNews Website empowher.com where she shares her personal and professional vision for living whole and living well. To learn more about Dr. Dae, her products and services, please visit her on the Web at www.Healthydaes.com.
Add a Comment4 Comments
ADH is responsible for making the distal tube and collecting ducts permeable to water reabsorbtion into the blood stream, so if you were to drink more water wouldn't that just result in a greater need to urinate since our nephrons are unable to as effictively replenish the water lost through urination?
January 31, 2010 - 1:24amThis Comment
Essentially, yes...if you drink more water, then that does result in a greater need to urinate.
However, the purpose of the article was to talk about "preventing" a hangover, which is essentially done in the ways that Dr. Dae suggested: Drink more water by alternating one alcoholic beverage with a glass of water. This does a few things:
January 31, 2010 - 7:48am1. Helps to prevent the dehydrating effects of alcohol on the system (usually what we feel when describing a "hangover" is "dehydration")
2. Helps to drink in moderation (slows down rate of consumption of alcohol, you feel fuller quicker with water), and drinking alcohol in moderation is the best way to prevent a hangover!
This Comment
Pat you are so welcome. I hope you had a safe and happy new year! I hope you are enjoying 2010. In Health, Dr. Dae
January 19, 2010 - 11:20amThis Comment
Great timing, Dr. Dae. Thanks for looking out for us, and Happy New Year to you! Pat
December 30, 2009 - 6:03pmThis Comment