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Drinking on an empty stomach
This question pertains to the affects of alcohol on the human body. If you have no experience drinking, or you're 15 and you only think you have it, please move on. This question is not for you.
Ok, so I hosted a going away party for a coworker last Saturday, which is odd since I knew that particular coworker couldn't make it. Basically, me and a bunch of guys from work got drunk and played Guitar Hero. About halfway through my third drink, typically close to my personal safety cut-off point, I noticed I was getting far too drunk. Normally at this time I'd barely be buzzed, but I remembered I hadn't eaten anything in anticipation of us all ordering pizza, which never happened. Not to mention, I'd made my drinks stronger than usual for no discernable reason.
About a half hour after I'd stopped myself, I knew I was past the point of no return and spent the night worshipping the porcelain god. Kinda killed the vibe and most everyone left. When I realized I hadn't eaten, I was left with two choices.
1. Quickly eat something in an effort to absorb some of the alcohol and avoid yelling at the toilet, while risking a much more painful vomiting session if it fails.
2. Stop drinking, resort to water, and hope for the best. If I vomit, it will be liquid and will hurt less. This is the option I chose.
My question is, would I have been wiser to quickly down some food to try and bring myself back from the brink? Or would it have been futile and made my unintentional all-nighter that much worse? I'll be much more careful to eat before drinking from this point on, but I'd like to know if the whole experience could have been avoided.
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If you don't eat before you drink, its pointless.
When you drink on an empty stomach, your body is going to absorb more of the alcohol faster than usual (becuase its in digestive mode) and your body has less food to work off of. Less food = less energy = less ability for the brain to cope with and concentrate through being drunk.
More total alcohol absorbed from each drink, absorbed faster, no concentration, plus having nothing but mixers and alcohol can upset a stomach all by itself. If you aren't irish, its a formula that will lead to feeling like crap.
Eat a small, light meal a few hours before you start drinking, or at worst start eating before you've finished your first drink halfway. Otherwise, don't eat and let come what may, eating when you're already drunk just means you're likely to have more ammo to unload later in the night.
Had you eaten a few hours before, you might not have gotten as drunk, then again you might have.
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Actually I've always found that the best thing to do in order to sober up quite quickly is to watch a part of a film or some good tv which will make your brain start to focus a bit more and bring a sense of normality about.I always do this for about an hour when i come in after having too much and i always feel better for it. It doesn't necessarily have to be watching something, as long as its something you can become engaged with for a short period of time and which will make you think just a little bit
Also i think everyone is different in terms of the eating/drinking water to sober up, but i would say from my experiences eating bread on its own is the best, as like you say it absorbs the alcohol and is uncomplicated so is unlikely to encourage sickness even if it dones't prevent it. As for drinking I would say anything would usually be fine but avoid caffeine, as it combined with alcohol seems be twice as effective meaning you can't sleep that horribble drunken feeling away and despite what other people are saying water isn't a bad idea because when drinking you become dehydrated and obviously water would be the primary cure for that.
So, overall I would personally recommend bread, water and something you can focus on for an hour or so. The thing is, if your gonna be sick, it usually doesn't make too much of a difference what else you eat or drink , your still gonna be sick (or at least feelin sick) even if you don't feel it till the morning. The effects however can be dramtically lessened, in my opinion, by following my suggestions :)
water - rehdrates you
bread - absorbs alcohol
something to focus on - returns you to a more stable familiar state of mind and a more normal environment
Happy Drinking!
Mike
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From what I've heard, sometimes eating when drunk on the verge of throwing up could make you even sicker. I think that going with the water was a wise decision, but if you decide that you'd like to eat next time, choose bread or crackers because it'll absorb the alcohol. :)
I'm not sure it'd have been wiser, but next time just be sure to eat something before you drink.
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If you really hate coffee, you can always try peppermint tea or green tea brewed really strong! :)
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