3 principles of eating to cure alcohol and protect the liver during Tet and festival seasons
Dr. Truong Hong Son, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine, said that alcohol is unavoidable during Tet days. Therefore, to limit the harmful effects of alcohol on the liver, people should drink as little as possible.
Accordingly, the amount of alcohol absorbed into the body that the liver can eliminate for women is only 1 unit of alcohol/day and for men is 2 units of alcohol/day. 1 unit of alcohol is equivalent to a 355ml can of beer, 1 glass of wine 148ml, 1 glass of spirits (40% alcohol) 44ml.
Doctors warn that drinking too much alcohol during Tet and the festive season not only affects the liver but also affects many other organs in the body. Illustration photo: HK
Heavy drinking is defined as more than 3 units of alcohol per day. Drinking too much alcohol will cause many health consequences. The immediate consequence is intoxication (poisoning). People who drink alcohol will feel tired, have headaches… Drinking alcohol affects the nervous system, so accidents can occur if participating in traffic.
“Drinking alcohol on Tet or at any time can cause stomach ulcers and cirrhosis. This also affects behavior and cognition. Therefore, you need to limit alcohol use, do not abuse, drinking continuously for many days. In case you have to drink alcohol, it is best not to use more than two units of alcohol per day for men, one unit of alcohol for women and do not drink more than 5 days per week.” Mr. Son informed.
According to experts, a cup of wine on a spring day can easily make the drinker drunk, so everyone should prepare a way to cure the hangover. In particular, drinking filtered water will help compensate for lost water, while diluting the alcohol concentration in the blood to help make you more drunk.
Drinking plenty of water also helps dilute alcohol and helps eliminate some of the alcohol through urine. Illustration photo: AF
Associate Professor, PhD. Dr. Lam Vinh Nien, Head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital. HCM said that drinking less alcohol to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol is a way to protect liver function. In addition, it can be combined with diet to reduce toxins in alcohol with the following principles:
– Drink lots of water: When drinking alcohol, your body will become dehydrated. Therefore, you should drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids. Drinking plenty of water also helps dilute alcohol and helps eliminate some of the alcohol through urine.
– Eat lots of fruits and vegetables: Green vegetables and fruits contain many trace elements and antioxidants that are good for health. Especially on Tet, vegetables and fruits are often forgotten, so eating these foods following drinking alcohol is very necessary. Green vegetables and fruits provide water-soluble vitamins, which are easily lost during dehydration due to alcohol. Vitamins and minerals in green vegetables and fruits help restore health and are necessary for the body’s alcohol metabolism activities.
Protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk help support alcohol metabolism in the body. Therefore, when drinking alcohol, remember to supplement these foods to quickly eliminate toxins from the liver. Illustration photo: AF
– Eat protein-rich foods: Protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk help support the metabolism of alcohol in the body. Therefore, when drinking alcohol, remember to supplement these foods to quickly eliminate toxins from the liver.
Associate Professor Niem also noted that to avoid burdening the liver during Tet, people should limit eating processed foods, canned foods, and sweets. You should have a balanced diet of nutrients, drink enough water and exercise properly. Besides, you also need to pay attention to a reasonable rest time frame, avoid staying up too late.
Many people need to be absolutely “contraindicated” with alcohol
Dr. Le Quang Thuan, Deputy Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, affirmed that drinking beer and alcohol is very harmful to health, so before drinking alcohol, everyone needs to look at the harmful effects of alcohol. Drink this to moderate and minimize alcohol intake into the body.
According to Dr. Thuan, if you use too much or abuse alcohol, the risk of disease will increase, leading to harm to your health. Alcohol inhibits the central nervous system, causes loss of control over thoughts and behavior, disorders of consciousness and coma to varying degrees. Drinking alcohol can lead to hypertension, hypotension, arrhythmia, and circulatory arrest; weak breathing, stopped breathing; vomiting, gastroesophageal ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, electrolyte disorders, fibrosing pancreatitis; Renal failure, rhabdomyolysis; Hypothermia; low blood sugar…
Pregnant and breastfeeding women absolutely do not use alcohol or beer. Illustration photo: AF
“Long-term drinking can also lead to addiction; alcoholic encephalopathy, alcoholic peripheral neuropathy; heart failure, decreased immunity; necrosis of the femoral head; dementia; diabetes…; cancer digestive tract; fibrosis, liver cancer… In reality, alcohol containing toxins and methanol is widely circulated on the market. If you drink these types of alcohol, the impact will be much more severe, causing damage. brain damage, blindness, acidosis, multiple organ failure, and can lead to rapid death.
Or the use of alcohol of unknown origin and soaked alcohol (poppy, plants of unknown origin, water chestnut roots, mixed with drugs; soaked viscera, animal blood bile…) have ingredients that can be toxic. dangerous to human health. For example, opioids lead to coma, respiratory arrest, and small pupils; aconitin causes arrhythmia and death…”, Dr. Thuan emphasized.
Dr. Le Quang Thuan recommends that pregnant and breastfeeding women absolutely do not use alcohol or beer; Absolutely do not use alcohol with aspirin; Do not drink alcohol or beer while taking any medication.
Relatively contraindicated for people with liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes… Do not drink alcohol/beer with caffeine; Do not drink alcohol with carbonated drinks; Do not abuse “hangover medicine”. In addition, drinking alcohol and beer is contraindicated for traffic participants and people under 18 years old.
“During holidays and Tet, being invited to drink alcohol is difficult to avoid, but we also need to determine that “we don’t have to drink everything to be affectionate”, but instead we need to determine to help each other be healthy, happy, and happy. truly brings good values. And most importantly, to make Xuan happy everywhere, we need to absolutely comply with the Law on Prevention of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer, and Tobacco and the Law on Traffic Safety. Drinked Don’t drive if you drink alcohol or beer!”, Deputy Director of the Poison Control Center said.