Hangover Horrors: Keto And Alcohol's Dark Side

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that promotes sustainable weight loss. While on keto, your body reaches a state of ketosis, where it burns fat stores instead of glucose. This shift in metabolism can have some less desirable side effects when it comes to drinking alcohol.

Firstly, keto lowers your alcohol tolerance. Since your body isn't holding on to carbohydrates, alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream more quickly, and you'll get drunk faster. This also means that you need to be mindful of pacing yourself when drinking, as it's easier to lose track and end up with a killer hangover the next day.

Secondly, keto is a natural diuretic, which means you'll become dehydrated more easily. Alcohol is also a diuretic, so combining the two without proper hydration can result in extreme dehydration and a worse hangover.

To minimize the risk of a severe hangover while on keto, it's important to stay hydrated, drink in moderation, and eat a keto-friendly meal before and after drinking.

Dehydration

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that promotes weight loss. While it has many benefits, it can also lead to some undesirable side effects, such as hangovers. Hangovers on keto tend to be worse than usual due to a combination of factors, and dehydration is a major one.

Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes you urinate more often, leading to dehydration. Dehydration is linked to excessive thirst, headaches, and vertigo during hangovers. The keto diet is also a natural diuretic, as it causes the body to get rid of excess stored water. When you combine alcohol with a keto diet, you can become extremely dehydrated, resulting in a worse hangover.

Preventing Dehydration

To prevent dehydration when drinking on keto, it is crucial to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after consuming alcohol. It is also beneficial to replenish electrolytes, as they help maintain the body's fluid balance. You can do this by consuming electrolyte-rich drinks like sports drinks, coconut water, or broth, or by taking electrolyte supplements.

Additionally, eating a keto-friendly meal before drinking can help slow down alcohol absorption into the bloodstream. Eating high-fat proteins and nutrient-dense foods is recommended, as they can provide your body with the energy and nutrients it needs to cope with the diuretic effects of both alcohol and keto.

Other Hangover Causes

Apart from dehydration, there are several other factors that contribute to hangovers, and these are exacerbated by the keto diet. These include electrolyte depletion, neurological withdrawal, acetaldehyde exposure, sleep disruption, and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Electrolyte depletion, caused by increased urination and sweating, can lead to symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue. Neurological withdrawal from alcohol can cause anxiety and restlessness, while acetaldehyde exposure, a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism, contributes to internal organ inflammation. Sleep disruption due to alcohol's impact on deep sleep can leave you feeling sore and tired. Lastly, gastrointestinal disturbances can irritate the stomach lining, causing nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.

In summary, when drinking on keto, it is essential to prioritize hydration and electrolyte balance to minimize the risk of a severe hangover. Combining alcohol with the natural diuretic effects of keto can easily lead to dehydration, exacerbating the unpleasant symptoms of a hangover. By staying hydrated, replenishing electrolytes, and ensuring proper nutrition, you can help reduce the intensity of keto hangovers.

Electrolyte depletion

Electrolytes are essential minerals that help keep the body's fluids in balance. When they're depleted, it can lead to a range of unpleasant symptoms, including headache, nausea, fatigue, irritability, and heart palpitations.

Alcohol consumption can cause electrolyte depletion because it increases the body's urination and sweat production. This is further exacerbated by the keto diet, which is also a diuretic. Therefore, combining keto with alcohol without proper hydration can result in a severe hangover the next day.

To prevent electrolyte depletion while drinking on keto, it is important to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day and ensure adequate electrolyte intake. This can include drinking sports drinks or coconut water, as well as eating foods high in electrolytes, such as high-potassium foods or salty broths.

Additionally, drinking in moderation, pacing oneself, and eating before and after drinking can also help reduce the risk of a severe hangover.

Sleep disruption

Alcohol also relaxes your muscles while you sleep, which can lead to soreness. This is another factor that can contribute to a bad hangover, especially when combined with the lack of deep sleep.

Additionally, the diuretic effect of alcohol can cause dehydration, further disrupting sleep. Dehydration is linked to excessive thirst, headaches, and vertigo, all of which can worsen the hangover experience.

To minimize sleep disruption when drinking on keto, it is important to stay hydrated and ensure adequate fluid intake. This can help counteract the diuretic effects of both alcohol and the keto diet, reducing the risk of dehydration and its associated sleep disruption.

Gastrointestinal disturbances

These effects are largely due to the toxic effects of alcohol on the gastrointestinal mucosa and the fact that alcohol is a diuretic. Alcohol increases urine production, which can lead to dehydration and an increased risk of renal failure.

Additionally, alcohol can irritate the stomach lining and cause vomiting, which also contributes to dehydration. This irritation to the stomach lining can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

To avoid gastrointestinal disturbances when drinking on a keto diet, it is important to drink plenty of water before and after consuming alcohol. Eating before drinking can also help slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.

Lower alcohol tolerance

The keto diet involves depriving your body of carbohydrates for weight loss. Once your body reaches a state of ketosis, you need to maintain it to see progress. Many who have been on this diet have said that it makes their hangovers worse. While there’s little research to back these claims, there are potential reasons why this is happening.

When you eat carbs, your body won't absorb alcohol as fast. On keto, you're not eating carbs. So, alcohol is going to get into your bloodstream quickly. That means you'll get drunk off of way less than you usually would. If you don't account for this, you'll probably end up blacked out with a killer hangover the next day.

Your alcohol tolerance will be much lower than usual when drinking on keto. This is due to the fact that your body does not metabolize alcohol the same way it used to. Your body shifts from burning fat to burning the alcohol. Ketones can still be created from alcohol, but not as many as when it's burning the fat you're eating. It may also slow down the entire weight loss process.

Your tolerance is low. You're not able to metabolize alcohol the same way as before. If you used to drink your boyfriend under the table, you're going to be tipsy after two drinks. If you are one of those people who have a tendency to drink a lot when you're partying and celebrating, I would suggest playing it cool. See how you feel after one or two drinks. Don't go hard. Like, don't do that to yourself. Just take it one drink at a time.

The keto diet is a natural diuretic. So, you're getting rid of a lot of the excess retained stored water in your body. When you eliminate carbs from your diet, the same thing happens when you drink alcohol. You start urinating all the time. So, when you combine these two things—drinking while doing keto—you can become really dehydrated.

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