How to build up alcohol tolerance

As with any party, especially during the holiday season, there's usually a lot of alcohol going around. If you can hold your liquor, great for you! Unfortunately for me, I have an embarrassingly low alcohol tolerance. Apparently, I'm lacking an enzyme that breaks down alcohol so I blush easily, but its common amongst East Asians, so I don't feel so bad.

One way to deal with that is to avoid drinking, and that's par for the course on game nights. On other nights, or at social events, sometimes drinking is inevitable. So here are some ways of building up alcohol tolerance:

1. Start drinking more. I found that as I attended more parties my alcohol tolerance did increase over time. In fact, I started to like the taste of alcohol. But after abstaining from parties and clubs for a while my tolerance went back down. The trick is to take in a drink once in a while.
2. Build Mass. The research shows that "Direct alcohol tolerance is largely dependent on body size". Therefore, a larger person has a larger alcoholic tolerance than a small person. This explains why Caucasians in general can drink more than Asians, although there are cultural exceptions to that rule. Therefore, to drink more, exercise and build muscle mass. Or you could get fat. That works too.
3. Keep to the same drink. This helps your body adapt to its alcoholic content faster. The converse is true: mixing drinks or drinking different liquors in the same night will get you drunk faster because they work at different rates. So stick to the same drink. This also means that you should avoid cocktails like Long Island Tea, which is a mixture of vodka, gin, tequila and rum. You can view their individual alcohol percentages here.

Short term tips:

1. Eat a full meal before drinking. Carbs and oily food seems to delay the effects of alcohol. Don't drink on an empty stomach
2. Drink lots of water after. Alcohol is dehydrating and water helps to prevent a really bad hangover. 
3. Don't drink all at once. Sip if possible. The faster you drink it in, the faster the alcohol works on you.
4. Alternate between an alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink. Unless they serve the non-alcoholic beverage in a non-alcoholic glass type, no one will be able to tell the difference. Take out any large straws since that generally indicates a non-alcoholic drink.
5. Don't drink carbonated alcoholic drinks, they get you drunk faster. This also means that if you are choosing a mixer for your drinks, something non-fizzy is better (like green tea) compared to a gassy drink like 7-up.

If you live in Singapore, and you don't want to break the legal drinking limit (for drivers), calculate the alcohol in your bloodstream here.


Happy partying and Merry Xmas!:)
Echelon


Singapore Dating Academy: AURA