The holiday season brings plenty of reasons to celebrate and with them the temptation to eat and, perhaps, drink a little more than is wise. As we all know but sometimes forget, drinking too much inevitably leads to headaches, loss of energy and generally feeling rotten. But there's only one sure way to avoid a hangover, says Tyler Cymet, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and an emergency room physician at Northwest Hospital. And we know what it is, don't we?
Is alcohol something that people should avoid?
Alcohol is a drug that has specific effects and side effects that are dose-dependent. Any time you take a drug, you should know why you are taking it, what the desired effect is, and weigh that against the side effects of the drug.
But some people can drink alcohol and not have any effects at all. That is because the dose was low and not sufficient to cause noticeable effects.
What are some of the first noticeable effects?
Certain people are more sensitive to alcohol, and to certain types of alcohol. If you drink and you feel sweaty or feel warm and flush right away, then your body is not getting rid of the alcohol in as efficient a manner as you might like, and the alcohol that does this to you is more likely to have a more serious side effect, specifically hangovers or intoxication.
We also know that alcohols - such as brandies, fortified wines, grain alcohol - that are over 15 percent will have greater effects on the stomach, like swelling and will lead to a quicker and more serious effect.
What kinds of effects does alcohol have?
Alcohol will have effects on your muscles, your stomach and on the brain. After taking a therapeutic dose of alcohol (usually considered the equivalent of one shot of hard alcohol an hour) a person's temperature drops, his heart speeds up a bit and he becomes less coordinated because of the brain fog and the changes in the muscles. People may feel warmer on the outside and colder on the inside as blood flow gets shunted to the superficial arteries and veins.
Why do people who drink typically get so clumsy?
Alcohol blocks the ability of the body to absorb calcium, magnesium and other minerals that muscles need to function. So muscle coordination already is off and, simultaneously, the brain is using alcohol instead of sugar as a fuel, which doesn't let the body run as smoothly as it does when it is running on the right type of fuel (sugars).
