Top 5 Tips To Avoid Holiday Binge Drinking

By David Sack, M.D. Dec 8, 2011, 2:11 GMT

Any notion of drinking beyond these limits in order “to loosen up” or to “have a good time” is sheer pretense. The drinker is consuming alcohol just to get drunk.

As the song goes, the holidays can be “the most wonderful time of the year.” However, it’s also a time when the “good cheer” of the season – lots of parties, people and alcohol - encourages binge drinking.

Let’s keep it simple about what defines binge drinking: For men binge drinking is anytime when five drinks within a two-hour period and for women it would be four drinks within a two hour period.

Any notion of drinking beyond these limits in order “to loosen up” or to “have a good time” is sheer pretense. The drinker is consuming alcohol just to get drunk.

Here, then, are five tips to avoid binge drinking during the holidays: 

Don’t Do Shots

There’s only one thing consuming multiple shots of liquor leads to – competitive drinking, which is a recipe for disaster. Never, ever, indulge in drinking games. You may think you’re in control but scientific studies show that by the third round most people loose any sense of their alcoholic in-take. By the fifth round, you could find yourself in a serious health problem, namely alcohol poisoning. By round seven, you’re likely either on your way to the hospital or the morgue.

Mix It Up

Rather than jumping right into drinking a cocktail or beer, consider starting out first with a soda, sparking water or mineral water.  Then, if you’re planning to have more than one alcoholic drink, intersperse it with another soda or water. One drink – a beer, glass of wine or a cocktail – per hour is the tried-and-true rule of thumb (but never more than four!). Never mix an energy drink with alcohol because the former will mask temporarily the effects of the latter. By pacing your alcoholic consumption, you can enjoy a long evening without getting drunk.

Eat Before And During

It’s not an urban myth: Eating a starchy meal (like pasta) before you arrive at a party will help absorb the effects of alcohol. The same is true while you’re drinking. Avoid the salty snacks (pretzels, nuts, chips) in favor of starchy appetizers (pizza, won tons, tamales). The whole idea with eating while drinking is not to encourage you to drink more but rather, to be more aware of how much you are drinking.

Consider The Consequences

If you binge drink, the best you can hope for is looking and feeling terrible the next day. Large quantities of alcohol consumed in a short period of time dehydrates the body, causing headache, bloodshot eyes, body aches and a sickly complexion. Each time you come off a drinking binge it causes damage to the memory centers in your brain.  The worse includes a DUI charge (that will likely cost $5,000 or more out-of-pocket to resolve ) and a never pleasant evening in jail.

Avoid Binge Drinking Situations

If you know there likely will be binge drinking at a party, don’t go. Instead, spend the time either doing another holiday activity or with a group of friends that also want to limit their alcohol content. If you feel you’re obliged to go to a holiday celebration where alcohol will flow freely, such as an office party, have the obligatory cocktail and then be on your way.

The holidays are a time for families to get together, share a meal, a few laughs and ring in the New Year.  But if you don’t live in a Norman Rockwell painting, this time of year is actually a time of stress and mental strain that can lead a person with addiction issues to the brink of disaster.  So, instead of ignoring this problems or sugar coating the addiction, this might be the best time of year, or even the only time of the year, to help a family member face their addiction issues.

M&C Guest contributor Dr. Sack currently serves as CEO, at Promises Treatment Centers. He has been interviewed on addiction issues for both celebrity and non-celebrity topics by Monsters and Critics, CNN, MSNBC, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Sirius Radio,  Dateline, NPR Radio, Early Show, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Extra, E Entertainment News, BBC, Sky News London.