Head off a Hangover

What if you could eat a fast food meal, go out drinking, and still feel great the next day? Let's face it hangovers suck! In fact, you can begin heading off a hangover before you even start drinking. Here are some Tips incase you over do it. First, have dinner-a big, greasy one. Fried and fatty foods stick to your stomach lining, slowing alcohol's absorption and giving you more time to process its byproducts. As you drink, remember this rule: Drink clear and you're in the clear! White wine and gin come with less "why me" effects than do their darker cousins red wine and bourbon. Try to alternate each drink with water! And have a glass of H20 when you get home. Let's face it, you may like your toilet, but that's no reason to spend hours bonding with it tomorrow!

Okay, you're never drinking again. But how can you fix that hellish hangover? First things first: You've got a hangover because your body has lost nutrients and electrolytes . To counteract the nauseous, headachy effects, you need to replace those lost nutrients. Start by re-hydrating. Guzzle sports drinks, which contain electrolytes, fruit juice, and, of course, lots of water. You'll want to steer clear of coffee, though, as it'll dehydrate you further. Now eat something light and nutritious, like a banana or yogurt. After you've had something to eat and something (non-alcoholic) to drink, get some gentle exercise. You may not feel like moving, but a brisk walk can be just the healing help you need. That's because exercise increases blood flow and helps rid you of toxins that are left from your body's attempt to metabolize that alcohol. These tips are less elaborate than your best friend's hangover cure (pickle juice and honey, yuck!), but they'll actually work-and that's worth a lot!

Think skipping dinner in favor of happy hour will save you calories? Not unless you do it right! So you want to savor a drink but don't want to pack on pounds? With these swaps, you can have your vodka and drink it too! Say your favorite cocktail is a rum and coke. Say hello to 189 calories-per drink! A better bet? Swap full-calorie mixers with diet soda or tonic. You'll save almost 100 calories a glass. So say you want two beers (it's happy hour!) You could have two regular drafts, and down 384 calories...or two light beers at 288 calories. As for a best everyday drink, stick to a 12 ounce bottle of light beer, or a 4 ounce glass of wine, both of which have 100 calories. But take note that standard wineglasses hold twice that amount. While these drink swaps will save you calories, we don't recommend skipping dinner in favor of happy hour-that's just a recipe for many UN-happy hours later!

From the first sip to the last slosh that misses your mouth, alcohol has many and varied effects on your brain! Once you consume even one drink, the alcohol is immediately absorbed in your blood stream through the stomach and the small intestine. Then, it circulates very quickly through your body- to your heart, your muscles, and, of course, your brain. The initial "drunken" effects you notice result from this brain/alcohol interaction. Brain scans of people on alcohol show immediate metabolic changes in three key areas: the occipital lobe, which is responsible for vision, ....the cerebellum, which deals with balance, attention, and movement... ...and the temporal lobe, which is responsible for hearing. No wonder those drinks leave you stumbling around with blurry vision! Knowing what happens to your brain on alcohol is the first step in making smart decisions about using the drug!

You savor the first sip-and the multiple sips after-but what does your body think of that alcohol fix? Your body reacts to alcohol as it would to a poison. In other words, it works as hard to get it out as you work to get it in! First, the liver changes alcohol into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance. This then turns into acetate, a harmless substance that is passed out of your body in your urine, and-more minutely-in your breath and sweat. This process is hard work, and it means that your liver can't focus on its other job, which is sending energizing glucose to other areas of your body. That's why you feel tired, weak, and disoriented following a booze binge. And take note: It takes the liver of a 150-pound person two hours to metabolize one beer! The bottom line is that alcohol does a number on your body. So drink smart!

Here's a sobering thought: In the USA, every thirty minutes someone is killed in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident. What's even more frightening is that the majority of those deaths occur when someone between 18- and 20-years-old is behind the wheel. So drinking and driving is clearly a terrible idea. But it's important to understand why. Alcohol is a depressant, and, as such, it can have a serious impact on your driving capabilities. For starters, alcohol causes your eye muscles to function more slowly. This means that it becomes difficult to track objects properly, and it impairs your night vision. Also, because alcohol is a depressant, it causes you to react more slowly, to say, a person in the middle of the road. In a similar vein, it causes your coordination to decrease, meaning that your brain may want to hit the brake, but your foot will be too slow to do so in time. And, as you may already know, alcohol can cause you to nod off and lose concentration. These are just a few of the reasons why you should not drink and drive.You might be surprised how quickly you will hit your BAL number. A 120-pound woman, for example, will have a BAL of .08 after just two drinks over the course of an hour. A 180-pound man will hit the same blood-alcohol level around his fourth drink during an hour. And remember that a "drink" equals one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or a single ounce of liquor-amounts much smaller than what you're probably used to consuming! With this information at your fingertips, it just makes sense to call a cab or hand over your keys to a truly sober friend.

You've probably seen an intervention in a film or television show. In real life, an intervention is a big step, and not one to be taken lightly. If someone you care about has a serious problem with drinking or drugs, you may feel that the only way to help is to stage an intervention. An intervention is when an addict's friends and family get together to confront a loved one about the seriousness of his or her addiction; while also communicating how much he or she means to them. The hoped-for outcome is that the addict will recognize the reality of his situation and get treatment. Some of these meetings end with acknowledgment of the problem by the addict. But, unfortunately, interventions can also be met with intense anger, denial, and disbelief. If unsuccessful, an intervention can create a large rift between the addict and family members and friends, possibly leading to problems that were not present before. For this reason, it's vital to go about an intervention with as much knowledge and preparation as possible. For starters, contact a trained professional to help stage an intervention. Try the National Intervention Referral's website as a resource. In the past, interventions were staged by a counselor and loved ones to take the addict completely by surprise. Today, however, many professionals recommend telling the addict in advance that you are speaking with a counselor about his or her problems with addiction. That way, when the intervention does occur, he's less likely to feel ambushed by the talk. Whichever way works best for you, try to pick a time when the person you're planning the intervention for will be sober and in a comfortable environment. Practice the intervention with the counselor, discussing what everyone will say, and rehearsing responses to potential reactions by the addict. An intervention is not the time to seek revenge for past transgressions. Instead confront your loved one as kindly and honestly as possible. Recognize that whether the person you care about gets help or not, you may need counseling after the fact, and that's OK. Ask your intervention counselor to make a recommendation, or contact your college's health center to find someone with whom you can talk.

Does the idea of an alcohol support group conjure up images of sad, over-caffeinated people sharing intimate details of their lives. If so, this video will help you learn the real deal about seeking support.Support groups for alcoholics come in many forms, but they all have one goal in common: helping the addict to get well and to stop or greatly reduce their drinking. Perhaps the most well-known sobriety group is Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA. AA is an international foundation that believes alcoholism is a disease. To beat the illness, the group recommends that alcoholics abstain from all alcohol for the rest of their lives. Alcoholics Anonymous uses twelve steps to help users quit their addiction and make amends with those they have hurt by drinking. AA incorporates prayer and references to a "higher power"as part of its healing process. Due to these religious undertones, a 1996 court order ruled it illegal for parole officers or other authorities to require AA attendance. If you're uncomfortable with spiritual references, Alcoholics Anonymous is not the only support group available to you! Some alcoholics prefer a group like SMART Recovery, an acronym for Self-Management And Recovery Training, which does not believe that alcoholism is a disease, and which keeps religion out of the healing process. Instead, SMART Recovery approaches alcohol abuse as a mental issue, and seeks to change a person's mindset about drinking. There are some recovery programs which are not designed for alcoholics, but rather, for people who have abused alcohol in the past - and who are now ready to commit to reducing their drinking. Moderation Management, or MM, is an example of this type of program, and has been helpful for many college aged people. The rundown of the different alcohol support groups could continue for many videos, which means there is bound to be a program out there that will work for you. Because there are many different types of alcohol support groups, you are certain to find one that will work for you. To find your best support, talk to your college's health center, or search "Self Help Group Locator" on the internet.

Here's a sobering fact: Each year, there are 85,000 alcohol-related deaths, and over 7,000 involve people who are not yet 21.Consumed in moderation, alcohol can act as a social lubricant. Unfortunately though, for many young people, drinking isn't always done in moderation. You're probably already familiar with some of the more immediate negative effects of drinking. Because alcohol depresses your central nervous system, it will sedate you. Though you may feel excited when drinking, in actuality alcohol is a CNS depressant. This means you'll experience reduced inhibitions, slurred speech, decreased muscle coordination, and impaired judgment. An incident of heavy drinking can result in alcohol poisoning, during which your body can fall into a life-threatening coma; or even in extreme circumstances, death.Alcohol consumption is a factor in nearly 50 percent of American car accidents, which is why many alcohol-related deaths - and injuries - occur in a motor vehicle crash. Over the long-term, continued alcohol consumption can lead to potentially life-threatening liver disorders, like hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the live...or cirrhosis, which is an irreversible and progressive scarring of liver tissue. Drinking can also lead to cancer. It's been directly linked to liver, rectum, breast, colon, throat and mouth cancerAnd if these life-threatening ailments don't give you pause, you should also know that excessive, habitual drinking can lead to permanent erectile dysfunction or loss of fertility for both sexes! Excessive consumption has also been linked to emotional and mental health issues. Studies have shown that heavy drinkers are more likely to be divorced, unemployed, and even suicidal than people who drink in moderation. Still, this doesn't mean you can't have a good time. What it does mean is that you need to smart about when, where, and how much you drink.

Nobody likes to wait, so why shouldn't you get your drink on faster with the aid of a funnel? Well...since you asked... When you're in college, it's no secret that there are tons of ways to drink great quantities of beer in a short amount of time. One of these is shotgunning, which involves puncturing a can of beer, opening the top, and then rapidly drinking the beverage through the puncture. Another popular method of rapid drinking is funneling. This entails consuming beer through a length of hose, which is attached to a funnel. Sometimes drinking takes the form of a game, as in beer pong. This team sport involves shooting ping pong balls into glasses of beer, which are then consumed. The problem with all of these drinking methods is the negative effect that they can have on the body. Here's why: After alcohol is consumed, it is metabolized, or broken down, by various enzymes in the body. But... the liver can only metabolize a set amount of alcohol per hour, no matter how much is consumed. This set amount varies depending on factors like gender and size, but is usually the equivalent of about one drink per hour. In the liver, an enzyme known as ADH facilitates the conversion of alcohol to acetate, a less harmful chemical. The problem with allowing a large amount of alcohol to accumulate in the body is that the hoped-for intoxication can rapidly progress to alcohol poisoning. If you experience alcohol poisoning, all of your body functions slow down-including your breathing and heart rate. This can lead to a coma or heart attack. In fact, 1,400 students die of alcohol related incidents each year, many of them after using a rapid delivery method, such as funneling or shotgunning. Although it's smarter to avoid these games, if you're going to play, make sure you eat before and during drinking, and get some water in your system as well. These measures will help your body to remain functional while your liver is busy metabolizing that excess alcohol in your system.

Your mouth is home to 500 bacterial strains. And guess what: That guy drinking the beer bong you're about to use next? His mouth has 500 bacterial strains, too. When you're out partying, the sanitation of your cup, tap or funnel, is probably not the first thing on your mind-but maybe it should be! Aside from those 500 strains of bacteria, the person you're sharing drinks with could have the Epson-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis, among other things. Although most people only get mono once, the virus-which affects 95-percent of people at some point-remains in the body for life. And while hooking up is the most common way to spread mono, this "kissing disease" can also come from sharing drinks. Obviously, the best way to keep yourself sanitary is to not share your drinking equipment. But if you're doing keg stands, or drinking straight from a beer tap, you're exposing yourself to even more germs than you would by just sharing a glass. There can be upwards of 500,000 different strains of bacteria on the spigot! So if the idea of drinking germs grosses you out, keep to your own cup, and keep your lips off the beer tap.

As a college student, you know everything there is to know about drinking, right?...wrong! A commonly held belief about alcohol, is that drinking it, kills brain cells. The good news? Studies have actually shown that the opposite is true. Moderate amounts of alcohol are actually associated with improved cognitive functioning. This is because alcohol may inhibit hardening of the arteries, a condition which can lessen blood flow to the brain. But don't take this as an excuse to binge drink, as excess alcohol consumption has its own consequences. Another misguided belief is that liquor contains more alcohol than beer. In reality though, a 12-ounce beer, a one-ounce shot and a five-ounce glass of wine all have the same amount of alcohol, as each is considered a "single drink." Another commonly held myth about drinking? That black coffee, exercise, or a cold shower will sober you up.While black coffee might keep you awake, and exercise may make you sweaty, and a cold shower will make you, well, cold and wet, none of this will make you ANY less drunk. Fact is, it takes the average body about two hours to process alcohol and turn it into acetate, and no amount of outside "help" will speed up that process. A fourth myth is the most important to dispel-that drinking alcohol is legal, and therefore always safe.Sadly, one-third of college-aged students end up in the hospital for drinking-related incidents each year, which is proof that even legal drugs need to be consumed in moderation. The good news is that knowing the facts about alcohol will help ensure you stay safe when you do drink!