The finest accompaniments are chilled alcoholic beverages and high-calorie items like potato chips, pizza, and burgers. But have you ever thought about why? Inebriated, many of us go toward the most harmful and calorie-dense options, and ideas like 'healthy eating' and 'portion control' go out the window. Drunchies is a name coined by science to describe these post-drinks desires (drunken munchies). The relationship between alcohol and food desires was explored in a study conducted at the University of Buffalo and published in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion.
Why You Shouldn’t Surrender To Your Food Cravings When Drunk?
According to the study, one beer comprises 150 calories. If we end up drinking five beers in a drinking session, we have already consumed approximately 750 calories. When we give in to unhealthy food cravings after consuming so many calories, we are setting ourselves up for weight gain. Two slices of pizza or a double-decker chicken burger will suffice. On its own, alcohol dehydrates you. Consuming salty and oily foods will simply increase the number of fluids in your body.
Influence Of Alcohol On Dietary Routine And Habits
The researchers discovered that after a night of binge drinking, people are more likely to eat pizza, french fries, and burgers, while demand for green and healthful foods declines. They do not feel the need to consume additional non-alcoholic beverages or enough water before going to bed, which exacerbates dehydration and the desire for unhealthy foods. It arises when people are inebriated and mistakes their thirst for hunger, looking for good and quick solutions to quench it.
Binge Eating On Junk Follows You The Next Day
That eating pattern does not end with the night of drinking. It sticks with you the next morning while you're hungover. People are less inclined to forgo breakfast the next day than they would on any other morning. Some hangover remedy myths claim that eating calorie-laden and salty foods will 'absorb the alcohol' from the body and relieve the headache. However, the underlying reason is that alcohol use frequently affects our blood sugar levels, making us feel hungry more frequently.
According to the study, the desire to consume calorific foods after excessive alcohol consumption derives from our pre-civilisation inclinations. All animals were drawn to calorie and fat-rich foods in our caveman days since they gave the most energy and kept us fuller for longer. While we can effectively manage such tendencies when we are sober, when we are drunk, we forget our acquired behaviours of healthy and portion-controlled eating.
How To Handle The Urge To Binge On Unhealthy Foods?
If you have the 'drunchies,' there are a few simple actions you may take to decrease the cravings that result from binge drinking. Drink plenty of water in between beverages and combine them with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and boiling chickpeas instead of potato chips and fried chicken. When you're hungover, resist the urge to consume junk food and instead create a wonderful mixed-veg omelette.
