Alcohol drinking tips
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Take it easy and don’t get too excited: This is not a collection of tips on how to get waisted, it’s just the opposite:
If you’re young and don’t have a personal or religious problem with alcohol, then the truth is that you’ll eventually drink some. Depending on your entourage, even a lot of: You’ll go to parties where people drink beer, whiskey, wine or others. You’ll end up seeing guys running naked in the backyard, girls throwing their drunken guts out, or even - God forbid - teenagers falling into alcoholic coma. You DON’T want to be one of them. Being dead drunk may seem exciting for an US 21 year old going in a bar with his first REAL ID card, but it’s NOT.
Like most guys around, I occasionally get to a bar with a bunch of friends, talking, joking, and drinking beers. I’ve even had my 18′th birthday in a bar(yes, it’s legal in most countries but the US), my college graduation and most special events. In my entire life, I only got sick two times because of drinking too much beer. I’ve never fallen unconscious, I was always able to walk back home, most frequently soberer than my friends.
The following tips come from my feeble experience, some of them were taught to me by my father when I first went to a party, some of them by my friends, some of them it’s just stuff I learned around. So… how can you survive an alcohol drinking party with just enough soberness not to feel bad, sick, or fall prey to embarrassing events?
- Tip 1. Never go drink on an empty stomach
I told you I got sick twice from too much drinking. To be honest, though, I didn’t drink that much. Both times, the real reason was that I hadn’t eaten anything before getting to the party. No, chips, peanuts and other tiny snacks are not FOOD. Alcohol absorption is increased by hunger, you get more dizzy from one beer on an empty stomach feels than from two on a full one. - Tip 2. You decide how much you drink, not your friends
It’s not a contest. You DON’T need to drink all the beers your friends give you. Not all men/women are born equal. Some hold their liquor better than others. If you start feeling bad, but your friends insist to keep drinking, just STOP. Go drink some juice or water instead. This applies especially to skinny people - alcohol absorption is dependent on the body structure/weight, which also means generally girls are less alcohol resistant than boys. (though I’ve met plenty of exceptions as well) - Tip 3. Make it last longer
Nobody likes it short. If you finish your beer in a minute you’ll be the one not drinking while the others do, and you’ll feel compelled to get a new one. So, instead, make it last longer. Talk, take a sip, talk some more, eat some chips, talk some more. A cool tip one Englishman taught me was to mix beer and sprite - one bottle of beer, one of sprite, mixed 50/50 in one glass. It obviously lasts twice as long, yet you drink the same amount of alcohol. Your friends will not even notice.
- Tip 4. Don’t mix the drinks and always eat between them
This is also well known - don’t drink strong liquor(whiskey) followed by beer, by champagne, by strong liquor, by beer, etc. You’ll get drunk, faster and uglier. You’ll get sick. So, don’t: never alternate drinks. At parties around here, for instance, we’d drink the stronger liquors(martini, whiskey and such) as an appetizer, then we’d eat the hors-d’oeuvres, followed by wine with the main course. If it takes longer, it would be followed by snacks and beer. In the end, if the case, the sweet wine/sparkling goes with the cake. Notice the rule? Don’t go back, and always eat between different drinks. - Tip 5. Oily food - less alcohol absorption
An oily esophagus/stomach absorbs less alcohol. This is a tip for the hard-core drunkards, but they probably know it already. - Tip 6. When dizzy, take a break
After three-four half-a-litter pints and not enough snacks in between I’d get dizzy and start having problems with equilibrium. It’s time for a break - walk out in fresh air, get some water on my face, stay a while in a quieter place. There’s no harm in it - just tell your buds you went to the loo. - Tip 7. When feeling sick, go throw up
If you didn’t follow through the previous tips, you may eventually feel really bad. The room is spinning, you feel a bit like wanting to throw up, only not quite so. The first time it happened it ruined the party for me. I would just sit in a corner, trying to clear my head and feel better. No success. Luckily, someone with more experience helped me - I went to the toilet and forced myself to throw up(one finger down the throat). After rejecting the alcohol in excess, and after freshing up, you’ll feel a lot better.
These are some of the tips I’d give to my boy(if I ever have one) when he’d go to his first parties. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, knowing this kind of stuff is what growing up is all about. If you have other tips you want to share with us, just go ahead and comment below. As always, your input is welcome.
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34 comments
On that last point, it helps to drink a few pints of water before you make yourself throw up. Often this helps to quell the stomach, and even if you do end up getting sick, it makes the experience a hell of a lot better, as the stomach acid is more dilute and it’s less uncomfortable coming up.
Tips that certainly kicked in once I reached that certain age (about 30) when my liver and kidneys stopped taking the punishment without complaining:
1) Don’t mix grape and grain. Wine and beer do not mix. Don’t know why but they don’t. Wouldn’t agree about whiskey and beer, though. The only problem there is it makes it easy not to notice how much whiskey you’re actually drinking!
2) The Bad News: hangover cures don’t work. None of them. Once you’ve got one you’re stuck with it, in my case for about two days.
3) The Good News: you can almost invariably prevent a serious hangover if you take two paracetamol (acetaminophen?) with a large glass of water BEFORE you go to bed. This is necessary any time you’ve drunk enough to feel a bit dizzy when you get home.
[...] Per i tanti alcolizzati che mi seguono… ora c’è qualche rimedio! [...]
I’ll show this to my friends… Some of them are already heavy drinker…
A doctor told me that acetaminophen cannot be found in the US
acetaminophen = Tylenol. It is available *everywhere* in the US.
actually the important thing is to drink a lot of liquids before you go to bed
the alcohol dehidrates the body and that’s why you get the hangover. so drink a lot of water (2 liters better) and the headaches will be much more bearable
You are right Derek. The doctor actually told me about Metamizole sodium (Algocalmin, a common pain killer in Romania)
Nice ones, dude! My friends all smoke, so I do also. I’m up to 1ppd. Do you have some tips for efficient smoking also?
Smoker, coming soon there’s gonna be an article on how I gave up smoking. 5 months already since my last cig. But, man, it’s getting tough…
Alex, I agree with most of your points but No.3: beer + sprite ? WTF ??!?
Alex, i would add something, just in case. A very common thing that happens in the US (i’ve heard of at least 5 girls this happened to) is the “date rape pill”. A guy offers to get the girl a drink, goes to the bar, gets the drink and puts the pill in the drink. The substances in the pill makes the girl basically faint or fall into a very deep sleep. The guy has to carry her somewhere, were he rapes her. The pill makes her forget everything, so the can’t remember who did it and what happened, she just feels something is wrong. The pill is illegal but very easy to get. I heard of cases where people were friends for a long time and when they would all go out in a group, the guy would do that to one of his friends. So maybe it would be good to just get your own drink or something. Maybe it’s not a big problem in Europe, but i know it is in the US..
Drinking water justs before sleep don’t help. You need to drink that water during time you drink alcohol, because alcohol dehydrates you. Body can only take in so much water, so drinking like camel won’t help before sleep.
Tip 7. is nothing but crap. Learn your limit so you don’t have to waste drinking with puking it out.
Beer mixed with sprite is called a shandy. A very tasty drink, also as said really good if you don’t want to get blotto!
ok the beer and sprite sounds SICK!! ugh… but the only thing that has ever helped me with not getting a hangover is to just eat some food before i go to sleep… and really that doesn’t even help most the time!! i pretty much get hangovers a lot!!! so i will find a cure and post some useful info as soon as i do lol
If your not prepared start “having problems with equilibrium” after a few drinks then go home and eat pie or watch will and grace or friends or some other rubbish like that. its a tough enough world without being allowed to have a blowout now and then. my advice…. drink as much as you feel like but always get up in the morning.
For me, i find that drinking water in between every few beers works quite well. Go for a 3-1 ratio, or something similar. Its easy, if you’re at a bar, ask the bartender for a glass of water, or grab some from the sink. Also, the Tylenol before bed is key, has saved me a few times, especially when i have class the next day!
Here’s a tip that really works for me: before, during and after drinking I always take some vitamin C. The regular doses are about 250-2000 miligrams. I take 2000 before bed and always wake up with no hangover at all.
Just a note that has always been true for me, if you DO wind up with a hangover, don’t drink water right away. I always end up puking it up. Try just waiting awhile, taking a good long shower, and as soon as you feel able, down some food, after that you should start feeling better, but if you do it too soon, you’ll just end up putting it back in the toilet. Listen to your body, don’t try to force it.
Also, I’ve found that my hangovers are relative to my sleep. The more I sleep after getting wasted, the easier it is when I wake up. I actually only got about 5 hours of sleep after being absolutely trashed til I couldn’t stand one night, and I woke up feeling drunker than I went to sleep. So try to do it when you know for sure you can get a good amount of rest, like weekends with no plans.
If you get sick on something, the best idea is to take a break from it. Otherwise you’ll end up sick again. I got sick on bourbon about a month ago, and still can’t hold down more than a shot or two without getting sick, but as time goes on, I’ve found that I can usually take increased amounts of the same drink, but until then, if you really want to drink, experiment with some other types of alcohol, or try mixed drinks where you can’t taste/smell what you were drinking..
hay the tips help but i have another question ….. about a month or so back i got REALLY sick off of captain morgan…and now it seems that any drinks like captain, gray goose, vodkas, and drinks like that make me sick just from the smell and i throw up as soon as i drink it….now i know captain is completely different from those other drinks but how can i get over that???????
DO NOT TAKE ACETAMINOPHIN IF YOU HAVE BEEN DRINKING, BEFORE YOU DRINK, AND ESPECIALLY AFTER DRINKING, BEFORE BED.
Whoever said to do this does not know what they are talking about. I just randomly came across this article and saw that someone posted that… Just don’t do it. Mixing acetaminophin (Tylenol) with alcohol can seriously damage and poison your liver, make it bleed, and when overly consumed with high amounts of alcohol can prove fatal. So don’t listen to Stephan. Ibuprofen (Advil) is safe to mix with alcohol as it does not react with alcohol the same way in your liver. I still don’t recommend it. Just drink lots of water before bed and hope for the best.
I actaulay started mixing ber and sprite at a aprty unce but i put a shot of vodka in it too..lol..
i agree with you mike.
Stefan - that advice of yours: to take paracetamol/tylenol before or after getting wasted is WRONG. Can be very dangerous, even fatal in certain circumstances!!!!
DON’T EVER MIX DRUGS WITH ALCOHOL!!!!!!!
REALLY!! DON’T!!!
Ive never been drunk before, im 15, is it worth it? Is it really all that fun?
It’s not something you should try at 15. Actually, the point of drinking is not to get drunk, but to have a good time with your friends.
I never got drunk, for some reason the little guy in my head watching for my reason was always on duty and warned me when I started to get dizzy enough. That’s when I’d switch to soda
The first time I got sick from drinking was at 18, the second time was at 20, and the third time was at 27. That’s about it. I do drink alcohol, quite a lot, only that I’m being careful not to cross the line between enjoying myself and feeling bad.
I think this is the way people should drink - social drinking, feeling-good drinking, but never “getting wasted” drinking.
my boiling point is usually 1/2 a glass of atleast 40% alcohol maybe with a chaser..
thats is all it takes to get me feeling-good and not waking up with a hangover in the mourning..(haha)
a big problem with hangovers is that people dont moderate their drinking and start drinking all crazy, swig after swig..
rule number 1 is PAY ATTENTION!!! Learn to judge and see first how many swigs does it take for you to feel tipsy?..
“Sometimes Less Is More”.. in the long run Haha..
CHEERS AWAY =)
yo Aaron don’t listen to alex, he is a vagina. just take like 10 shots of gin, then down a waterbottle of vadka, before you go to homecoming or whatever, then drink some beer while your there.i do it all the time before i go to my highschool football games, and to parties and stuff, and i never get a hangover, its all good. u don’t need these tips just be a man and drink, u don’t need to overthink on this, the whole point is to have fun and get cronk. and don’t mix your beer with sprite, thats like the gayest thing u could do. best of luck man.
Aaron, #25
Yes…FUN! just dont mix drinks or ull get sick trust me i had alcy poisoning after mixing hard liqours so stick to just one and know your limits…also remember…u wont feel the alcohol right away…it’ll hit you later on so just be careful
ok
lots of misinformation here, so lets start with the worst case and then talk about what is better.
If you have a hangover:
- Make sure you got your normal 8 hours of sleep. If you normally sleep 10, make sure you get 10, if you normally sleep 6, drink some water and go give yourself 2 more hours to make 8, (getting trashed messes up your circadian rythms)
-Eat a LIGHT meal when you get up( NO GREASE, Think 1 bowl of cereal, or some fruit, your body needs some easy carbs to break the fast and fuel your liver to process the toxins, grease will plug up your lower intestines ability to take in water, and heavy foods require more digestion, which means more blood in your gut, instead of going through your liver and bringing water back to your brain cells
- Take a shower, your body expels blood toxins to your skin. Clean the crap off so that your skin can breathe and have an easier time pushing the crap out ( Dont believe me ? Take a big whiff of a drunk person the next morning and tell me they smell good )
- Take lots of water, 2-6 pints. Alcohol physically dries you out. Your Brain, liver and blood and body are dehydrated, you need H20 to regain your equilibrium and also to let your body
- Take some LIGHT exercise. This will increase oxygen and blood flow through your body to help you process the toxins. Do NOT overexercise, you are already dehydrated
- Eat 1 or two ibuprofen IF you are still hurting 1-2 hours after waking up. NEVER eat tylenol b4, during or 48 hours after drinking, it is toxic to your liver and WILL shorten the number of years you can enjoy drinking.
Ok to make it better:
-Drink on a full stomache. Also, go to bed on a full stomache. Carbs are good here. You are not thinking about your waistline, you are thinking about no hangovers.
- Drink one water drink to one alchohol drink. 1:2 is really good, just do it through out the night. IF you do this, i will be suprised if you EVER get a hang over.
- if you never drink water all night ( cuz i always just chug liters of beer, then for the last hour before bedtime, or worst case scenario, minutes before bed, DRINK AS MUCH WATER AS YOU CAN with out getting sick
- If during your session, at bedtime, during the night or the next morning you feel like puking, GO PUKE and follow it with water or better, water and some light carbs ( soda, dry toast, cereal )
Puking purges the body of toxins in the stomach AND it releases gobs of endorphins ( natural opiates, yes like codeine and morphine ) in the brain. If you puke, you will feel better and get back to sleep or your test with more ease than if you are holding back your icky feeling.
Do not mix drugs with alchohol. You probably will, but you should know not too. The safest and easily the most fun has got to be pot and alchohol. If you really want to be more fucked up than pot and alchohol, then you are past a rational point and you have to trust in mother nature to either keep you or kill you.
this being said: DO NOT MIX DOWNERS (ludes, ghb, opiates) WITH Alchohol. DO NO MIX AMPHETIMINES (x, glass, coke or speed ) WITH BOOZE. Do not mix pharmacueticals of any kind with booze.
Synergy is a powerful natural force that humans can not measure or understand. To get an idea of what the synergistic affects of mixing drugs can do, smoke a cig when you are tipsy sometime and see if the nic buzz or the alch buzz are “normal” when combined.
my recommended synergistic experiment is enjoy all things in moderation and once you are buzzed, go try to have consensual safe sex with someone. that is really a good night to remember, even if you wake up with a hang over.
stay safe and party hard. This information is tried and true. Intelligent, relevant comments are encouraged in the discussion below and Nike, post number 28, you are a fucking idiot.
if you are going to mix drinks in one night
liquor -> wine -> beer -> water, water, water.
this is the smoothest thing to do to your gut, you risk pukey, headache sickness otherwise.
you only live once. be open.
lets see, we left out eating activated charcoal tablets, a very euro thing to do, ( used in finishing distallates, pot growing, fish tank filtering and chem labs ) Eat some of these to help clean the toxins out of the booze in your stomache ( proponol, ewey flavinoids and ugly tannins that will tax your liver, just let the charcoal suck em up and then you can pass them easy )
and i forgot to make my disclaimer
DO NOT BREAK THE LAW IN YOUR COUNTRY.
There actually is a cure for hangovers, it’s marijuana. I get the worst hangovers of anyone I’ve ever heard of. They consist of throwing up the next day once an hour all day long, it’s like clockwork. But as soon as I take a hit of reefer I feel instant relief… no more nausia. I’ve heard several others agree with me on this. So if you’re really sick from drinking, water and weed should do the trick.
I have had past experiences where I have gotten sick from only 5 beers. I know that is a low tolerance but I was just wondering if my tolerance will get higher as I get older.
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