how to holistically support the body & alcohol
In my personal opinion, part of drinking responsibly includes supporting the body while doing so. If you choose to drink alcohol, I believe that it can be welcomed into a balanced lifestyle moderately. When alcohol is present within the body, the liver becomes preoccupied by it in order to break it down. That said, normal liver function may slow down.
The body is pretty incredible when it comes to detoxification — including it’s responsibility in detoxifying alcohol! It is important to do your part in supporting the body’s hard work in alcohol metabolism and excretion.
When choosing an alcoholic beverage, I always suggest keeping it simple! Stay away from sugar-heavy mixers like juices, margarita mix, soda, and so on. These can wreak havoc on your blood sugar, your gut health, and more — making your recovery that much more challenging. Instead, choose your spirit of choice with club soda or water, add a spritz of fresh lime, lemon, or orange, or stick with a glass of wine. Gluten, commonly found in beer, can also increase intestinal permeability which can lead to inflammation — consider this when choosing your bev!
To optimize your body’s ability to recover from drinking, consider the following strategies to help amplify your detoxification pathways and show your body and the brain love while you drink and afterwards.
- Hydrate!
While this may be fairly obvious, general hydration before, during, and after is essential to supporting the body respond better to the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Instead of reaching for a Gatorade, try some of my favorite hacks to optimize your hydration:
-Pique Beauty Electrolytes or other electrolytes powders like LMNT are a great option. Use the link to try Pique for 15% off and free shipping!
-Add a pinch of Celtic salt and lemon to your water to help support hydration (do it first thing in the morning to jump start digestion and flush your liver)
-Add trace minerals to your water as an optimized route of hydration or reach for a coconut water instead
-Sip on bone broth! Bone broth is a wonderful source of nourishment of essential minerals and can help soothe an upset stomach.
Hydration is critical as a general health practice, but especially as it relates to alcohol consumption, one must be diligent in prioritizing it both before and after. Alcohol is a diuretic which causes the consumer to excrete important electrolytes — using the strategies above can help replace them.
The general suggestion is the ‘one for one’ rule — for every alcoholic beverage, choose a glass of water in between. According to Max Lugavere, alcohol irritates the gut lining, which makes it harder to re-hydrate once there exists damage.
-Sweat!
This one might not be for everyone, but my personal favorite remedy following a glass of wine or two is to move my body! Sweating is a form of detoxification as the skin is one of our primary detox organs. By working up a sweat, your body is able to eliminate toxins, like alcohol, more efficiently. It is imperative that as you sweat, you also re-hydrate alongside. If you’re not in the mood to move, consider hopping in an infrared sauna! Saunas are a great way to support your body’s innate detoxification pathways and can be powerful healers when hungover. To combat any hangover anxiety, I always suggest practicing breath work or meditation while in the sauna to optimize it’s benefits. In general, too, sweating and movement promotes the release of endorphins, which may help to manage any post-drinking anxiety that some experience. Get moving!
-Prioritize liver support
Drinking warm lemon water upon waking can help stimulate liver function and digestion. Add a pinch of salt to your water in order to optimize re-hydration. Incorporating liver supporting nutrients like B vitamins or N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and herbs like milk thistle (can relieve common digestive symptoms associated with hangovers and promote healthy liver function) and dandelion root can be helpful ways to offer the liver additional love as it takes on the task of metabolizing alcohol. B vitamins, especially B6, are necessary for detoxification so prioritizing them before and after drinking can help to facilitate this process. According to Dr. Josh Axe, “decades ago a study found that taking 1,200 milligrams of vitamin B6 before, during, and after drinking is associated with fewer hangover symptoms and today B6 is still associated with being an effective treatment.” Be sure to discuss supplementation with your healthcare professional.
B vitamins are also depleted by alcohol, which makes it even more important to consider them. Nutrients like NAC, helps to up-regulate glutathione, and glutathione, our body’s master antioxidant, can help support the liver in alcohol metabolism. Alcohol is broken down into acetaldehyde, and the liver can have difficulty keeping up with the influx of this compound in the blood. It has been found that elevated levels of acetaldehyde over the course of time can lead to oxidative stress, liver damage, and more. For me, because I have a specific genetic variation that impedes my detoxification process, this process is much slower than for others.
Add in bitter foods like arugula, broccoli rabe, radicchio, endive, chicory, dandelion greens, and more to help stimulate liver function. Cruciferous vegetables like kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, antioxidant rich foods like dark, leafy greens and colorful berries, and anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric can help support a healthy liver as well.
-Magnesium & other essential minerals
Post drinking HANGOVER anxiety is no joke. Not only is it sometimes a byproduct of having a hazy recollection of your evening (and your actions), it is also potentially a result of your body working overtime to regain homeostasis. Adding minerals to your day after can help support the body re-hydrate but also magnesium, known as an anxiolytic or the “anti-stress mineral,” will help to balance you out as you recover. Taking magnesium before bed after a night of drinking and the next morning will potentially help alleviate any symptoms related to alcohol consumption — it can also forego the need to take acetaminophen which can place additional burden on the liver. Eat a banana to ensure your body is replenished in potassium. Add in ginger or ginger tea to help settle nausea or stomach discomfort. Try incorporating calming herbs like chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, and passionflower to help ease any post-drinking anxiety.
-Be sure to eat!
Some research suggests that eating on an empty stomach may allow the liver to more effectively process alcohol without impeding digestive processes — so having your drinks before or after dinner may be a better option, according to Max Lugavere. I would suggest prioritizing a meal with protein and complex carbohydrates to refuel and support a stabilized blood sugar. Eating a meal that contains eggs, for example, contains protein, as well as the amino acid, L-cysteine, which helps break down toxins in the body — incorporate sulfur-rich foods like onion, garlic, leeks, and asparagus to optimize detoxification. It can be tempting to reach for the greasy foods after a night of drinking but this will likely make you feel worse and potentially perpetuate digestive distress. This can often be a sign that you’re dehydrated — consider the above suggestions to rehydrate. Even further, prioritize healthy fats, both before and after drinking, to help slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
-Rest
Alcohol consumption may inhibit REM sleep, resulting in difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and general sleep deprivation. It diminishes your sleep quality and impacts a variety of different hormones that are released while asleep. If possible, try and limit your alcohol consumption to earlier in the evening so as to maximize the amount of time between drinks and heading to sleep. This can help with the disruption that alcohol can cause on your quality of sleep. While recovering the following day, allow yourself rest! Your body, more specifically your liver, has worked hard to metabolize and excrete the alcohol — rest is imperative.
-Practice breath work
Taking care of your nervous system, especially if you’re someone who is prone to hangover anxiety, can be a powerful remedy to navigate your post-drinking feels. Consider adding this into your routine, or even throughout the course of the next day, in order to help regulate your body more effectively. My favorite techniques include box breathing (inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, rest for four, and repeat) or the 4,7,8 technique which entails inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight. Repeat as needed throughout the day.
Most importantly, be gentle with yourself! Allow yourself the time and space to recover and just know, balance is always welcomed on any wellness journey. If you’d like to learn more, let’s chat.
Always drink responsibly.
