I’ll explain the lovely lady whose picture accompanies this post at the bottom of the article. But first ……
I reckon alcohol gets a bad press, and perhaps unfairly. I appreciate that is perhaps a controversial statement. Sure it possesses the destructive powers of any addictive drug. It’s important to be conscious of our intake. We must control it, not allow it to control us. It’s also true that with the fashionable tendency to binge drink, some people demonstrate that they can’t handle alcohol. This becomes all of society’s problem unfortunately. However the vast majority of people enjoy alcohol, drink responsibly and allow it to add a little joy and exuberance to their lives.
Often legislation and social norms and our modern Health and Safety focussed society persuade us that alcohol is intrinsically bad. It isn’t, and the majority shouldn’t be looked down on because of the behaviour of the few. I wrote a separate post back in 2017 about monitoring units and how to both measure and monitor them. The post on measuring units is here.
When drinking is taken responsibly, it can oil the wheels of social intercourse and help to make you relaxed. And perhaps happier too. For those of us who enjoy drinking whatever it is, it can make life more pleasurable. Many social occasions feature alcohol for a reason. It often helps people interact better and have a good time. I acknowledge that there is a dark side though, such as allowing routines into our lives based around alcohol. Having that “glass or 3 after work when I get home to help me unwind from the stresses of my workday” isn’t a habit any of us should get into. There are many ways of stopping it taking hold and then it comes down to us personally and the decisions we make daily.
Top tips
Some top tips to avoid the worst effects of alcoholic drinks. The first one is to drink water during the evening or drinking session. This helps keep you hydrated and far less likely to have a hangover in the morning. I’m amazed how well this works. It can also stop you feeling so lethargic the following day. The second tip is that drink has far less effect on your body, brain and blood stream when you eat either before or while drinking. I’ve always felt that drinking should be a social activity so organise your cocktails or mixed drinks around spending time with friends. And food with drink is a great way of doing this. Also it can make the flavours come alive.
When drinking at home, I find it useful to delay my first cocktail if I can for a bit. Making the decision not to have that first one is always easier than the second and third. If I start early, the chances are that I will drink more.
The current government advice is to limit our weekly intake to 14 units – regardless of whether you’re male or female. This figure is fairly arbitrary as I’ve written in my other post on measuring units. There is no safe limit of drinking and clearly the more alcohol you consume, the more the risk increases. There is also a lesser known figure on binge drinking. It’s 6 units for a woman and 8 units for a man in one session. I suspect many people reading this will be surprised how low that figure is.
Enough said, I’ll get off my soap box now. Now to lighten the mood a little. Elsewhere on this blog you’ll find some great cocktail recipes. How about a Smoky French Martini? I think this twist what makes a frankly odd cocktail into a hit. Or an Apricot Martini ? This is a short, strong cocktail as a Martini should be but with a rich fruity accent. Or possibly even the old classic Tequila Sunrise ? I consider this to be a bit boring TBH so I’ve pimped it up with a little heat from the chilli and a shot of pineapple gives it a frothy top. Much more interesting than simply tequila and orange juice and a splash of red.
Happy imbibing. Controlling it now means we can do more of it for longer! Cheers!
Incidentally the remarkable lady pictured accompanying this blog article is Nanna Dot. We met her at a 21st party that we ran. She is I’m pretty sure, the oldest person we’ve ever served a cocktail to at 102 years old! Well done Nanna Dot!