5 Things You Should Never Eat Before A Night Of Drinking (2024)

FAQs

What foods should you avoid before a night of drinking? ›

Offering a good balance of protein, fat, and carbs, unsweetened Greek yogurt is one of the best foods you can eat before a night of drinking ( 16 ). Protein is especially key, as it's digested slowly and can minimize the effects of alcohol on your body by slowing its absorption ( 2 ).

Carbs. Carb-heavy foods like bread, crackers, sandwiches, and pasta are typically easy to digest, which is what your body needs at this point. The myth that eating tacos, pizza, and burgers will help "soak up" the alcohol is just wrong. "Greasy food doesn't soak up anything, it's not soluble in water," White said.

Load up on (healthy) fats

Foods with a higher fat content remain in the stomach for longer – so the longer the belly is 'lined', the slower the alcohol will be absorbed into your blood (and hopefully the less likely you are to feel like death the next morning). Salmon, avocado and nuts are all great options.

Our bodies tend to lose potassium when we drink alcohol (especially when drinking excessive amounts),2 so eating potassium-rich foods prior to drinking can help boost the amount in your body. Spinach, avocado, potatoes, lentils, milk, and yogurt are also high in potassium and great to snack on before drinking.

Food and water. Having a meal or snack before you drink may help slow the rate your body absorbs the alcohol, so if you do choose to drink, it's a good idea to eat beforehand. Drinking water (or soft drinks) can also help, as long as it means you drink less alcohol.

Choosing types of alcohol with fewer congeners—like beer, vodka and wine—might reduce your hangover symptoms compared to alcohols with higher congeners—like brandy, whiskey and rum.

How to stop heart racing after drinking alcohol? ›

Moving around will only prompt your heart to beat faster as it tries to make your body send more oxygen to your muscles. Practice deep breathing to flood your body with oxygen. This will help slow your heart rate, as it makes each pump more efficient at moving oxygenated blood throughout your body.

"The combination of sugar, caffeine, fluid, fizz and cold gives people the impression that their hangover is better," she explains. "It is a fluid so will solve your thirst to a certain extent, but it does not contain much in the way of electrolytes; minerals that aid rehydration.

Carbonation – Carbonated alcoholic drinks increase the rate of alcohol absorption. This is because the pressure inside the stomach and small intestine force the alcohol to be absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream. Sugars and juices mixed with alcohol also speed up the absorption rate.

Wait to have your first sip of booze at least 15 minutes after you begin your meal, Hunnes says. If you drink right at the start of a meal or on an empty stomach before the meal, the alcohol will immediately be absorbed into the stomach since there's nothing else in there to slow the absorption rate.

Eating a hearty, protein-rich meal before a night of drinking can greatly reduce the chance of a hangover. "A fatty meal slows the absorption of alcohol into your system," Burke told INSIDER. "If you drink two or three shots on an empty stomach, the alcohol is going to be in your system in 10 minutes.

Drink on a full stomach

Eating a little before you start drinking can reduce your hangover symptoms, experts say. Forget a late-night meal after a night of drinking — that's much too late, experts say. Instead, eat before your first drink and keep noshing as the night goes on.