By Michael Biamonte, C.C.N.
Have you ever felt the need to check into the health spa after the holidays to recuperate from wine, food and holiday cheer? Well this can be avoided if you understand a little about the biochemistry involved in alcohol and food consumption. As a holiday gift to you, readers, I would like to share with you some invaluable advice and protocols to avoid or reduce hangovers and the holiday blues.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol is detoxified by the body into harmless substances. The body needs nutrients in order to do this. If the body has the proper supply of these nutrients, it can detoxify alcohol fast enough so that its negative effects will be mild, if any. If alcohol is consumed faster than the body can mobilize the nutrients to break it down, free radicals are created. Free radicals are like little chemical buzz bombs that hit your cells and cause an explosion. This damages the cell and makes you, the cell owner, feel sick.
Here are some rules and guidelines to follow to help eliminate or prevent hangovers:
Never drink on an empty stomach. The alcohol will absorb directly into your blood stream and then have a head start on you. Always consume food high in proteins or fats while drinking. Pate’ or cold meats, cheese, nuts and olives are examples cocktail hour snacks that will slow down the absorption of alcohol.
Starchy or sweet items should be avoided while drinking. They can increase the potential and severity of a hangover. Drink water! The body requires water in order to break down alcohol. This is why we wake up with a dry mouth in the middle of the night after overindulging. While drinking try to make a practice to consume an eight ounce glass of water for every 2 glasses of alcohol beverage. If you can’t, try to load up on water before going to bed. Also, keep a large pitcher of water by your bedside. If you wake up with a dry mouth, drink lots of water. Do not just drink enough water to “wet your whistle”. Drink water whenever your mouth feels dry during the night. This alone can greatly reduce a hangover.
Eat eggs before and after drinking if you are going out for some serious celebrating. Eggs contain an amino acid called cysteine. Cysteine is necessary for the liver to break down alcohol. Garlic and onions also contain some cysteine.
VITAMINS & MINERALS
Vitamins are the key soldiers in the war against hangovers. They can work miracles during the holidays, but only if you take them at high enough doses. If you try to use food sources of these nutrients your results will be poor. Foods do not contain high enough doses to do the job. Here is a break down of the most important: Vitamin B1: This is the major B vitamin depleted by alcohol. Its loss is what causes poor recollection of the previous night’s festivities and confusion as to “where did I park my car?” RECOMMENDED DOSE WHILE DRINKING: 100 MG PER HOUR. MORNING AFTER DOSE: 500 MG.
Vitamin C: Another important nutrient in detoxing alcohol. Vitamin C helps neutralize the toxic byproducts of alcohol that are responsible for the ill effects. RECOMMENDED DOSE WHILE DRINKING: 1000 MG PER HOUR. MORNING AFTER DOSE: 3000 MG.
ZINC: this mineral helps form enzymes that remove alcohol from the blood stream and move it into the liver where it can be broken down. Take 25 mg before drinking, and then another 25 mg in the morning with breakfast.
CYSTEINE: This is the amino acid found in eggs. It can be purchased in 500 mg capsules from your health food store. RECOMMENDED DOSE WHILE DRINKING: 500 MG PER HOUR. MORNING AFTER DOSE: 1000 MG. MAGNESIUM: This mineral is depleted by alcohol. Its loss causes frequent waking during the night and the inability to tolerate noise the morning after. RECOMMENDED DOSE WHILE DRINKING: 500 MG BEFORE THE PARTY AND 500 MG BEFORE BED. MORNING AFTER DOSE: 500 MG AT BREAKFAST AND LUNCH. WARNING CHEAP MAGNESIUM PRODUCTS CAN CAUSE LOOSE STOOL OR DIARRHEA. B COMPLEX (OPTIONAL): If you are so inspired, you may want to take a 50mg B complex tablet before and during the party. All B vitamins are lost during alcohol consumption. It’s best to supplement them all for best results.
If you follow this to the letter and still get a hangover, just imagine how bad you would be feeling had you not taken all these vitamins!
A NEW MIRACLE FOOD TO STOP SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATE CRAVINGS SO YOU CAN STAY ON THE DIET!
Hemp Hearts (Shelled Hemp Seed) is a natural food that is concentrated with all of the required proteins, essential fats, and many vitamins and enzymes, and contains only insignificant quantities of saturated fats and carbohydrates.
Because Hemp Hearts provides people with an excellent balance of proteins and essential fats, they will have less difficulty avoiding the sugar and starchy carbohydrates that cause obesity and many other late onset health problems. Individuals who use Hemp Hearts as described above—eating them in the morning for their nutritional essentials, to increase their energy and reduce their dependence on sugar and carbohydrates, and having all day to burn off the calories—these individuals always experience profound health benefits.
Except for those with diabetes and other conditions which may seem to require individuals to eat more frequently, most people eat at least four, but usually five, measuring tablespoons of Hemp Hearts early each morning, preferably on fruit and yogurt (vegetables for diabetics), but also sometimes on cereal. They frequently report that they are not yet hungry at lunch time, and often only slightly hungry at three or four o’clock in the afternoon. Those who are overweight can quite easily limit themselves to a large salad in the afternoon. Because those who eat Hemp Hearts in quantity every morning are nutritionally satisfied, they have less difficulty avoiding foods made with sugar, flour, potatoes, pasta, and rice, and they are less inclined to regain lost weight.
THE NEW LOW CARB BOOM!
Since the popularity of the “Atkins Diet,” many companies have emerged that produce low carb versions of popular snack foods and baked goods. These companies are easily accessed on the internet. In most cases, these foods are perfect for the Candida diet.