Along with rich foods and a second helping of dessert, you are probably also enjoying a few more drinks during the holiday season. Wine, eggnog and other alcoholic beverages make frequent appearances at holiday parties. Combine a few too many drinks with a heavy meal and you have a recipe for digestive disaster. Luckily, there is some good news when it comes to drinking alcohol.
Not so fast …
Before we get to the benefits of drinking certain alcohols in moderation, here is a friendly warning of the harmful side effects of drinking. Gas and bloating may be the least of your problems if you have been drinking more often than usual. Alcohol can actually interrupt the absorption of key nutrients. Even if you do skip dessert and stick to healthy meal choices, you may be sabotaging your diet by drinking alcohol. All those vitamins and nutrient are being discarded as waste before your body even has a chance to put them to work.
If you find yourself feeling particularly sluggish after a long weekend of ugly holiday sweater parties, it may be due, in part, to poor nutrition. The first step is to lay off the alcohol, but you may also want to consider taking a multivitamin, especially one that offers a large does of B vitamins, which are usually the first to get tossed out of your digestive system when alcohol enters the picture.
The Good News
There is still some debate about the benefits of drinking alcohol, and recent studies have linked alcohol consumption and increased risk of cancer and heart disease. If you and your doctor agree that the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption outweigh the risk, you may decide to follow the recommendation of researchers who tout alcohol’s benefits. Studies have found that drinking a glass of wine with a meal may actually help prevent gas and bloating and give your digestive system a boost. Drinking a moderate amount of wine can increase the production of certain acids and enzymes that work to break down food and help it move along through your system. Researchers have even found that wine can lower levels of harmful oxidized fats known as malonaldehydes “or MDA — released when meat is digested.”
If wine didn’t do the trick or you went a little overboard with how many glasses you drank, symptoms of gas and bloating can also be managed with OTC products such as CharcoCaps. This all-natural supplement can help you fight embarrassing gas and enjoy the holiday season. Taking just two capsules after a meal can provide the perfect boost to your digestive system and eliminate symptoms. Visit your local grocery or drugstore to arm yourself with CharcoCaps.