Doctor reveals what to eat before drinking alcohol to not have a hangover

A British doctor has revealed what to eat before drinking alcohol to avoid getting too drunk too quickly, which could even help you to dodge a hangover.

'Tis the season for merriment as the festive season is now in full swing, but is there a way to avoid getting too merry and dampening spirits the next day with a killer hangover?

Well, NHS GP Dr. Karan Rajan, who has more than five million followers on his TikTok page where he talks all things health, has shared his top tips and put one popular trope about lining our stomachs before a heavy night to bed.

Advice from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states a more moderate approach to drinking is the best way to ward off any negative health effects, but if you are enjoying the festivities responsibly, there are some ways you can avoid getting drunk too quickly and reduce the harsh side effects of the subsequent hangover, according to the doctor.

The advice came as another TikTok user said in a video that cheese could be the secret hack to mitigate the risk of having a hangover.

The woman said: "If you are going for a night out on the town and you are going to drink alcohol, eating cheese before drinking alcohol can decrease your risk of having a hangover.

"This is because cheese has a lot of protein fat and complex carbs that can coat the stomach."

However, Dr Raj disagreed and said it's impossible to completely avoid the negative side effects of drinking.

The GP said: "Here's a life lesson from a doctor: you can't line your stomach or form a physical barrier before drinking alcohol to get less drunk."

He then added that this is because most alcohol 'is absorbed in your small intestine'.

But not all hope is lost, as the doc said you can slow down the digestion process more generally and the 'GI transit time'.

To do so, he said eating meals high in fat, protein and fibre can slow down the rate of alcohol absorption.

Using a makeshift pipe and balloon to illustrate his point, with the balloon acting as the 'stomach' and the pipe as the small intestine, Dr Raj demonstrated how these nutrients prompt the stomach to release food more slowly.

He explained: "This delays alcohol's entry into the small intestine which means it's absorbed more gradually in the bloodstream so you get less spikes in the blood alcohol concentration and you get drunk much slower."

The GP said the process isn't restricted to any particular type of food as it all comes down to consuming calories, either before drinking alcohol or with it, 'delays gastric emptying and digestion overall'.

Dr Raj also said this explains why drinking alcohol with zero calorie mixes gets us drunk faster than their full-fat, full-sugar counterparts.

He added: "The sugar and calories stimulate the release of digestive hormones like gastrin which slow down digestion and the absorption of alcohol."

In its advice on moderate alcohol use, the CDC recommends two alcoholic drinks or fewer per day for men and one drink or less for women.