Introduction: During holidays and family gatherings, alcohol is always the star of the show. The saying, "A deep bond means a bottom-up shot," forces shy people to drink glass after glass. On the other hand, alcohol can bind to a type of K+ ion channel protein called GIRK on neuronal cell membranes, opening the floodgates for the release of happiness-inducing chemicals like dopamine, norepinephrine, endorphins, and oxytocin. This allows people to experience the joy and euphoria of success without having to struggle for it, making it easy to become addicted to alcohol.
Very few people know the safe daily limit for healthy drinking.
In a health survey, only 24.5% of respondents knew that the "safe daily limit for healthy drinking" is no more than 25 grams of alcohol for adult men and no more than 15 grams for adult women per day.
Although some say that drinking small or moderate amounts can promote cardiovascular health, "blood pressure may drop in the short term, but long-term light drinking can cause a mild increase in blood pressure; excessive drinking significantly raises it. If you drink an average of more than 3 standard drinks per day (1 standard drink is equivalent to 12 grams of alcohol, about 360 grams of beer, or 100 grams of wine, or 30 grams of liquor), systolic and diastolic blood pressure will increase by an average of 3.5mmHg and 2.1mmHg, respectively, and the magnitude of the blood pressure rise increases with the amount of alcohol consumed," says nutritionist Gu Zhongyi.
It's impossible to completely sober up after getting drunk.
If you can't avoid drinking during the holidays and want to minimize the damage to your body, Yu Renwen, the chief nutritionist for the VIP ward at the General Hospital of the Beijing Military Command, says: don't drink, drink less, and drink better quality alcohol.
Yu Renwen explains that after drinking, most people feel their faces flush, their body heat up, their heart race, and sometimes even experience palpitations and headaches. This is because alcohol speeds up blood flow, dilates blood vessels, and increases heart rate. Once drunk, it's impossible to completely sober up, but choosing certain foods or drinks can help mitigate alcohol's damage and aid in recovery.
When drinking, eat more foods rich in B vitamins and vitamin C.
After entering the human body, alcohol is absorbed in the stomach and duodenum, then enters the bloodstream and is sent to the liver for detoxification and breakdown. In the liver, alcohol is first broken down by alcohol dehydrogenase and then by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, ultimately decomposing into carbon dioxide and water and producing a large amount of energy. In this process, the liver also consumes large amounts of B vitamins and vitamin C to break down the alcohol.
Therefore, Yu Renwen recommends that at holiday banquet feasts, it's best to eat more foods rich in these two vitamins, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and potatoes. It's best to cook these vitamin-rich foods using simple, low-oil methods. Some that can be eaten raw are best consumed that way, such as lettuce, watermelon radish, cherry radish, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce stalks. Besides being abundant in lean meat and animal organs, B vitamins are also found in grains and beans. The simplest way to prepare these foods is with mixed grain porridge or mixed bean rice.