ALCOHOL AND THE HOLIDAYS: HOW TO DRINK SAFELY

Rum-spiked eggnog. Port in front of a fire. A bubbly toast on New Year's
Eve. Sometimes, alcohol seems to be synonymous with holiday festivities. Yet
alcohol is a potent drug with possibly devastating health effects. Can you
mix alcohol and the holidays safely? It depends on who you are and how you
do it. Here is a primer of alcohol do's and don'ts for the holidays:

Don't ever drink if you are an alcoholic. There is absolutely no degree of
alcohol that you can safely drink. Ever.

Don't drink and drive. Even one glass of wine can impair your visual acuity,
coordination and judgment. Guesses about how much alcohol is "safe" for each
individual are too uncertain and the stakes are too high to take chances.
Pick a designated driver instead.

Do make sure you eat before you go to a party. Rest, too. The better
physical shape you are in before you drink, the more effectively your body
will metabolize and handle the alcohol. Do eat while you drink. Nibble on
hors d'oeuvres or take the time to sit down to a proper meal. Head for the
buffet before you head for the bar.

Do pace your drinking. Cultivate the fine art of drinking and dawdling. Talk
to a few people before you get your first drink. Sip the drink, don't gulp
it. Have a dance before you have another drink.

Alternate your alcohol choices with nonalcohol ones. Do pour yourself a
light one, or ask the bartender to be extra light on the alcohol in mixed
drinks. For instance, rather than making a spritzer half seltzer, half wine,
try only a quarter of wine instead. Do choose fruit juices over carbonated
mixers. Carbonation speeds up the rate at which liquor enters the blood
stream. Don't choose cocktails that are a mix of two alcohols, such as a
martini or a Manhattan. Do serve and choose appetizing nonalcoholic
beverages as tempting alternatives. Try exotic tropical juices,
fresh-squeezed lemonade, sparkling mineral waters with sliced fruit.

When possible, always offer traditional liquor-spiked beverages with the
liquor on the side. For instance, serve or choose mulled cider with the rum
as an extra, the punch without the champagne pre-mixed in, or the Bloody
Mary mix with vodka as an option. Don't make drinking the centerpiece of
your holiday social life. Instead of a bar, go out dancing or to the
theater. When you entertain at home, plan on some party games or
conversational ice-breakers.

Don't ever give alcohol to children or have it within their reach. Children
and young teen-agers have immature livers, which cannot safely process
alcohol. It's also unwise to get kids used to the taste and the very idea of
drinking at too early an age. After a party, throw away leftover drinks
before you go to sleep so that curious children don't help themselves the
next morning.

Don't ever let a friend or guest drive while drunk. In fact, in many states,
as a host you are legally responsible for that guest's alcoholic
consumption. Don't think that coffee can sober up an intoxicated person; it
just makes for a stimulated drunk.

Do stop drinking one hour before you plan to go home or to sleep to allow
your body time to metabolize the alcohol. Don't mix alcohol with medications
without checking with your physician or pharmacist first. Don't treat a
hangover with another alcoholic drink. Remember, prevention is the best
hangover medicine. That being said, if you did indulge, treat your symptoms
with rest, coated aspirin, water (to fight alcohol's dehydrating qualities)
and milk (to soothe the irritated stomach lining). Alcohol also leaches
potassium from your body, so drink fruit or tomato juice or eat a banana.

Dr. Nicholas Pace is Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at New York
University School of Medicine.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst