To drink or not to drink (alcohol + your health)

Many diets, meal plans and regimes might tell you to cut out alcohol altogether. But here at CHEFGOOD, we like to enjoy the good things in life, and a cheeky glass of red wine at dinner is one of those things.

DrinkWise Australia tells us that, “When enjoyed in moderation, alcohol can form part of a healthy lifestyle that includes good diet and exercise.”

And we tend to agree.

We know, and you know, that overdoing it on the booze is bad for our health. So in today’s post, we’re sharing some tips on enjoying your tipple of choice in moderation.

Don’t drink after a bad night’s sleep or demanding physical activity. Alcohol can play havoc on our blood sugar levels so downing a few beverages when you’re tired, can make things worse.

Try less alcoholic drinks on for size. Try a low alcohol wine (there are more making it onto the shelves each day) or if you’re adding a mixer decrease the amount of alcohol in your ratio. If you’re ready to get creative, try some of these amusing options.

Set yourself a limit and stick to it! Use tools like the standard drinks calculator to determine your alcohol intake and make sure it’s within a healthy range. Try not to go over one standard drink an hour and have no more than four drinks in a sitting for women and no more than five in a sitting for men.

Stay hydrated by sipping on water. Drinking one glass of water to each glass of your alcoholic drink is a general rule that will help you to stay hydrated. It will also slow down your alcohol intake and hopefully support you in sticking to your limit. Also, take into account if you’re out in hot weather where you will need to include more water to make up for sweating.

Eat plenty before you begin drinking. Whether you are at home or out and about, make sure you eat a good quality, healthy and balanced meal before you start drinking or while you’re at it. Include a source of protein, carbohydrates and fats in your meal of choice and make sure you eat enough.

We’re here to make sure you’ve got plenty of delicious food at hand when you wind down with beer on Friday evening (or whenever really!). Order your meals today.