Pre-party Plan

Over-indulgence in alcohol can cause serious damage to the body, but in the real world most people enjoy a drink. This plan is therefore not going to tell you how to give up alcohol completely; instead it's going to show you how to protect your body against the damage that alcohol can cause.

About alcohol

Traditional detox books would probably say that all alcohol is evil and that it must never pass your lips again. But that's simply not true. A small amount of alcohol is positively good for you. Studies of 19,500 Spanish adults found that people who drank moderate amounts of alcohol had less incidence of sickness than teetotallers, and felt healthier and happier about their bodies. Wine has been shown to help reduce arthritis symptoms, and may also help ward off cancer because of antioxidants found in the grapes.

The highest protective effect, however, is in the cardiovascular system, because alcohol helps thin the blood, reducing the risk of clotting and arterial furring; it also increases levels of a protective form of cholesterol called high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). So people who have one or two drinks a day live longer than those who don't.

Alcohol backlog

However, if those one or two drinks turn into three or more, the protective effects stop and alcohol starts to attack. It triggers a rise in levels of fats called triglycerides (which promote arterial furring) in the blood. On top of this, the body's blood vessels dilate, so the heart has to pump faster to circulate blood around the body, putting pressure on it.

Instead of the antioxidants in alcohol fighting cancer, high levels can actually cause mutations in cells that may trigger disease (see the box opposite). In fact, excess alcohol has a detrimental effect on just about all the body's systems. When alcohol enters, the body turns all its resources into getting rid of it. Unfortunately, it can only handle one drink an hour. More than this and a backlog builds up, stressing and damaging the liver and resulting in a hangover. The Pre-party Plan works by strengthening your body against the effects alcohol has, reducing those unpleasant feelings the next day.

Too much of a good thing

Occasionally indulging in a couple of drinks poses no problem to your body. The alcohol will pass through your system leaving it unscathed. If you imbibe more than three drinks in a night, however, the body goes into minor panic.

  • This starts in the stomach, where it triggers an immune response designed to attack the 'poison'. Part of this is the release of histamine, which can actually irritate the stomach lining - leading to pain and nausea.
  • The stomach stops absorbing substances from food (probably to try to slow alcohol absorption). This prevents the absorption of vital vitamins and nutrients needed to fight the alcohol and keep you well. In fact, one US study showed that heavy drinkers needed to take six times more vitamin C than non-drinkers to end up with the same amounts in their body.
  • In the liver, alcohol is broken down into a substance called acetaldehyde. This attacks the fibres that hold your skin together and leads to wrinkles. It also alters the shape of red blood cells, causing lower blood oxygen levels, and attacks normal cells, creating mutations that may become cancerous.
  • Alcohol switches off the hormone that helps the body retain water, leading to dehydration and headaches.
The Solution
Whole Day Plan
Living the Detox Life