The Christmas party season is upon us and most of us will be eagerly anticipating a few nights out, but not the hangovers and food regret afterwards! Luckily, Louise O’Driscoll, Xen-Do’s affiliated Holistic Health Coach, is here to advise on how to enjoy the celebrations but minimise the suffering the next day and avoid hangovers interfering with your kickboxing training. Today, some top tips for drinking and eating through the evening.

The best choice of alcoholic drinks for avoiding a hangover are clear spirits and white wine. These have less impurities and toxins that place extra strain on your liver and kidneys. Also avoid fizzy mixers that increase the rate of absorption of alcohol into your blood and aim to alternate every alcoholic drink with water or at least a soft drink. This will minimise the dehydrating effect of the booze and increase your staying power through the evening.

When it comes to food, try and choose simpler canapés such as smoked salmon, olives, prawns, chicken skewers, raw nuts, melon wrapped in Parma ham or sushi. Avoid the heavier, more processed options such as deep fried food, vol-au-vents, cheese straws, honey roast or salted nuts or sausages in sweet sauces. Pick crudités with dips such as houmous, guacamole or salsa rather than tortilla chips with sour cream or blue cheese dips. This will ensure you get much more ‘bang for your buck’ nutritionally but still enjoy the snacks on offer, without any heavy, bloated feeling afterwards.

If you have the munchies on the way home, give the burger or fish and chips a miss and plump for a much healthier chicken shish kebab with salad from the kebab shop.

Alcohol has a diuretic effect on our body, meaning lots of trips to the loo and a depletion of the level of salt in our bodies. When our salt levels get low, we can get headaches and feel weak and tired. Not ideal if you are aiming to get to the Xen-Do kickboxing and martial arts dojo the next day! Before bed, down a pint of water with a pinch of salt (to replace what has been lost) and 50ml of milk thistle extract in it. Also keep a bottle of water next to the bed in case you wake up with a raging thirst!

Are you or a friend looking to improve your fitness? Will you be looking to take up a new activity in 2015? Xen-Do kickboxing and martial arts clubs in London offer a free trial lesson where you can experience our unique ‘hybrid’ training system that delivers chart topping exercise, progress in martial arts and a great feeling of self confidence in a one hour lesson, book your free trial now and take advantage of special membership offers available now.

This article is based on opinion:
– the author is not a qualified doctor or anyone who can dispense medical advice.
– any opinions stated are just that and people should consult a doctor before making any dietary changes or changes of any nature prompted by the articles published by or on behalf of Xen-Do.
– under 16’s please obtain parental permission before posting anything online.
– any opinions stated are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of Xen-Do.