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Food Really Helps.

For as long as I can remember, there have been suggestions people can use to help them safely deal with alcohol impairment. Other than not consuming alcohol at all, there are other ways to reduce the amount of alcohol entering your bloodstream. One such way is eating food before drinking. Now, it doesn’t stop the alcohol from entering the bloodstream, but it does benefit you in more ways than you may imagine.

If you know you’re going to be consuming alcohol, eating a meal before heading out is a good idea. Food does help to keep the alcohol in your stomach a little longer, which slows the rate at which the alcohol is absorbed into the body. This slows down your rate of intoxication, so you don’t feel impaired as quickly. Protein, fat, and carbohydrates are helpful, as these ingredients will help to fill you up and get absorbed more slowly. Here are some of the best foods to eat if you’re going to be consuming alcohol.

Bananas are good foods to eat before drinking as they are high in potassium, which is an electrolyte. This is important in muscle function, blood pressure, nerve function, and fluid regulation. We lose potassium when we drink alcohol, so eating bananas prior to drinking can help boost the amount in your body. If you’re not a fan of bananas, try spinach, avocado, potatoes, lentils, milk, and yogurt as they are also high in potassium and great to snack on before drinking.

Greek yogurt is a good pre-drinking snack as it is high in protein, which is digested slowly and slows the absorption of alcohol into your body. In addition to protein, yogurt also contains fats and carbohydrates, which make it a nutritious food that’s filling, can provide a lot of energy, and doesn’t cause blood sugar instabilities.

Since protein, along with fat and fiber, can take longer to digest, it can help slow how quickly your blood alcohol levels increase. Other proteins to consider before drinking are eggs. Not only do eggs have protein, but eggs are also high in an amino acid called cysteine, which helps in alcohol metabolism.

Okay, so you now know which foods to eat before drinking to help slow down alcohol moving into your bloodstream, but how do you know if you’re safe and legal to drive? This alcohol you’ve consumed may be getting into your bloodstream just as you feel you want to head home. People become impaired because they consume alcohol faster than the body can metabolize it. The liver can only process a small amount of alcohol at once, and since alcohol can’t be stored, it will circulate in the bloodstream continuously until the liver has time to process it all.

One of the best ways to know if you are safe and legal to drive home is to use an individual or single-use breathalyzer from Not Your Child Corp. They are easy to use and can let you know if you should be getting behind the wheel or not. Although you may feel fine, the alcohol you’ve consumed is now at a dangerous level. Let Not Your Child Corp help you make it home safely.