Body and Brain
How to Survive the Christmas Party Season, or any Party Season for that Matter.
Avoid the Hangover
'Tis the season and with it comes lots of running around, parties, late nights, hosting, banquets, curating joy for the world and his wife and sometimes, sometimes (whisper it ... ) a dreaded hangover!
When the whole shebang is over, you're often left feeling run down, rubbish about the nutrition decisions you’ve made and, consequently, you’re suffering from low mood. At WillPowders, we are firm believers you should never have to miss out just because you’re working on your wellness. But, it’s easy to fall into bad habits of over-indulgence come this time of year. However, with a little self-awareness and planning, it is possible to continue with the good habits you’ve been forming during the year, as well as adopting some other well-being saving behaviour. In this way, you can guiltlessly enjoy yourself, without doing untold harm to your body and setting yourself back on your journey to good health.
What’s life if you can’t celebrate and socialise with friends and family every now and again?
It's time to say goodbye to the food and beer fear, to take control and still have an absolute blast. Here are some of our favourite biohacks to help you thrive, rather than just white knuckle survive, at Christmas, or any holiday season you care to partake in.
The Day of the Party:
Keep your calm whilst the chaos ensues. No doubt, you will have a million plates to spin, family and friends to charm, supermarket sweeps to win, menus to plan, parties to attend, all while you're pulling off your best Santa impersonation. You don't have to juggle this alone and there are hacks to keep you cool and collected and able to manage the bonkers!
WillPowders Calm contains the amino acid Theanine which calms the mind and soothes the nerves. Presented in capsule form, they are convenient to take with water and you can take two capsules daily. Each capsule contains 204 mg of Theanine.
Taking between 200-400 mg of Theanine daily can have an anxiolytic effect, meaning that it treats the symptoms of anxiety and has stress reducing effects [Pharmacological Research Journal 147].
Compellingly, the Theanine in CALM, when studied in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial 'confirmed the safety and benefits of the longer-term use of l-theanine for self-reported stress mitigation, improvement of sleep quality and cognitive attention [*]'.
If you find that, after the party, your brain is whirring with all the excitement and possibly even from the caffeine from those ubiquitous Espresso Martinis, then you can start to worry that you are falling behind on sleep. While Theanine doesn’t make you drowsy, it has been called 'a natural sleep aid' [*]. A soothed mind and calm nerves are surely more conducive to sleep than a mind that is still whizzing about like Tinkerbell at the Party?
Racking up sleep is important during party season
Disco naps are your friend at this time of year because they help to mitigate sleep that is lost from dancing the night away. Sleep is integral to our overall sense of health and well-being, so prioritise it, and make sure you clock up the zeds. During sleep, your body takes the chance to heal and repair. It’s during the course of sleep that our energy replenishes and when brains can do their all important uploading and sifting through all the things that you don’t need to carry forward - like having seen Roger from Accounts photocopying his derriere!
WillPowders Calm will support your mind to calm itself. Wisdom and experience tells us that a calmed mind is probably better than a whirring mind when it comes to taking those pre-party nanna naps.
If you’re feeling particularly decadent after a party, head off to bed with a cosy cup of hot chocolate - you can find our recipe here. Or have one on the nights in between social engagements. Afterall, who needs Prince Charming keeping you up all night when you've got a delicious cup of hot chocolate to look forward to?
Help reduce tiredness whilst you partay!
If you plan to spend the party season with your favourite boozy tipple in your hand, or you just need a little Dutch courage to help you survive the social overload onslaught, it's important to stay in control of your energy levels.
Watermelon Electrotide Sachets have electrolytes, vitamins and essential minerals and they contribute to normal energy metabolism. They aid the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
No one wants to be the Cinders that has to send the Fairy Godmother away during ball season because they're desperate for a snooze by the fireplace!
Get yourself 300 ml of water, sparkling if you like the celebratory joie de vivre of bubbles, pop in an ElectroTide and get stirring. At the party, you can always sub one of these in if you are designated driver to help you stay clear of sugary drinks or drinks with artificial sweeteners.
We've mixed a few mocktail recipes up for you, if you're looking for soft drinks that have more credentials when it comes to being mindful of what you're putting in your body rather than the ubiquitous party cola here.
Avoid Bad Fats
Limit vegetable oils and omega 6s. This can be a little tricky when you are faced with a host's party food, of course. As a general rule, these types of fats often appear in processed foods. Selecting the food from the buffet that is as close to nature as can be will help.
Altering the proportions of Omega 3 and Omega 6 that you consume can help. Modern diets tend to amplify the amounts of Omega 6 that we eat so that we end up eating too many. As a general rule, we need to shift our proportions, 'This is generally recognised as being between 1:1 and 1:4-6 in favour of omega-6 i.e. equal amounts of the two fats, or 4-6 times as much omega-6 as omega-3' according to Dr. Zoe Harcombe. Modern diets can often have us eating 20 times more omega 6 than omega 3 so we do need to remain on our toes with which fats we consume.
You can load up on Omega 3s from fatty fish.
If you're hosting a party of your own, firstly, we salute you, hosting goddess that you surely are, our MCT Oil or MCT Powder can both be used as ingredients in recipes. For a general discussion on intake of MCT Oil, have a little look at Dose Me, WillPowders!
If MCT oil is the new kid on the block in your arsenal of fats, you can always use your newfound knowledge about its ketogenic, brain activating properties as a conversation starter!
Our MCT Oil makes the most delicious salad dressing; the perfect accompaniment for your salad starters.
You can also simply chug it down in a fatty coffee before you head on out or great your guests.
Double Your Defences for Your Liver
Before you go out out, chow down on some eggs or a serving of pate: your liver will be burning through its choline stores to counteract any alcohol, so loading up on choline rich foods could support your liver.
If eggs and pate don't float your boat, our Rise and Shine can protect your liver.
It takes the liver an hour to process a unit of alcohol, which is why, when we drink faster, alcohol spills into the blood stream and we start to get tipsy. That's our cue to slow it back down if we are drinking, or stop for the evening.
With Rise & Shine in your back pocket, you can protect your liver.
Simply take 3 before you head out or greet your guests and 3 the morning after. It's time to say "see ya" to your bog standard formulations of milk thistle tablets and "hello" to WillPowders Rise & Shine .
Cysteine HCL Monohydrate, one of the ingredients we curated for inclusion in our product, is an amino acid.
Cysteine HCL Monohydrate supports the synthesis of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps to fight the good fight against free radicals (*)
Check our Love Your Liver blog to learn why taking care of your liver is the key to feeling your best.
Make a Plan and Set Good Intentions
Setting yourself some ground rules before the event can increase your chances of staying in control. Plan to not overindulge and you won’t. Pre-book yourself a cab for a specific time, plan an early-morning workout or brunch with a friend for the following day to give yourself an out and a target to meet. Or volunteer as a Designated Driver. When we commit ourselves to something, we’re more likely to remain on guard and aware of what we’re submitting our body to.
An Hour Before its Go Time
Eat a light meal: having a light meal before the party will stop you from overindulging once you’re there. It will also slow the absorption of alcohol, preventing it from flooding your body with too much ethanol which causes a sharp inflammatory response. Go for a light salad topped with fatty fish, eggs, nuts and other polyphenol-rich plants. Have some berries and a bit of dark chocolate as a desert to increase your antioxidant capacity.
If you're looking for something on the go, our Protein Powder is packed full of amino acid magic, and you may find yourself able to say no to the pre-dinner bread basket whilst protecting your gut from the effects of the merlot.
Rev Up with Some Amino Magic
Throw back some collagen: mix some Collagen Peptides and juice from one lemon into a drink of your choice. The glycine in collagen could help reduce antioxidant depletion in the liver (*) and alleviate the damage that the Christmas/ party fare can wreak on your gut. (*)
We suggest a daily intake of 1-15g of our collagen peptides.
At the Party
Be mindful: bring your attention to the here and now and enjoy the moment. Being mindful can prevent you from getting over-excited and overindulging. Eat your food and drink slowly, really savour every bite and sip. If you are aware of when you feel satisfied, you are less likely to keep consuming unnecessarily.
Eat protein: opt for protein over carbs and sugar. If you can’t resist the carbs and cake, eat the protein on your plate first; this will reduce the dreaded blood-glucose spike and the likelihood of you reaching for more and feeling dreadful the next day. Save the pud until your body has recognised that it’s already been fed - this way, you might end up opting out. However, if you don’t, don’t give yourself a hard time; enjoy the cake, you’re only human.
Choose quality over quantity: opt for clear drinks and try to drink only the highest-quality alcohol available. Avoid cocktails, high-fructose corn syrup and added sugars. Find an alcoholic drink that you really like and don’t be afraid to spend a little more on a gorgeous, biodynamic white wine that you can really savour. Vodka or gin mixed with sparkling water, a hint of lemon or a splash of juice are also better options. If you fancy a fruity option, add an ElectroTide sachet to support your 'morning after' self. Stay clear of the shots because you will kiss any kind of self restraint goodbye!
Hydrate
Drink water: keep hydrated throughout the night. A dose of ElectroTide will ensure that your body continues to get all the essential salts and nutrients it needs whilst you’re drinking. Our handy sachets are the perfect addition to your ‘out out’ handbag.
Before Bed
Before bedtime: dissolve another ElectroTide in water to replenish lost minerals.
Protect your liver: take our Rise & Shine supplement with its added Nicotinamide and Sodium Molybdate. Nicotinamide and Sodium Molybdate could potentially help you to avoid that sluggish morning after feeling and aid your recovery. (*)
Take magnesium glycinate: alcohol can really mess with your sleep; however, taking some magnesium can help you get a restful night’s kip, avoiding that dreaded early morning awakening.
The Day After
Eat a hearty breakfast: a greasy fry up might be hard to resist, but we would recommend some eggs, avocado or omega 3 rich fatty fish to help your body recover. These good fats will ensure that you don’t spend the day grazing and on the hunt for nutritionless foods.
Go for a walk: move your body, get some fresh air and sunlight on your face to balance out your circadian rhythm and make you feel more awake. The sun’s energy will boost yours and make it less likely that you submit yourself to a sofa day whilst drowning in beer fear and self pity.
Take your time to build new habits: Now, whilst we don’t endorse getting drunk or overindulging as a matter of habit, we also know that every once in a while, it can feel so good to let your hair down and to paint the town red with your family and friends. This is why we have developed a range of products and researched a number of hacks to help you thrive and not just survive a party and life in general. Long term negative behaviours won’t resolve themselves overnight, but small changes and mindful behaviour can have a profound long-term, positive impact on the rest of your life..
Further Product Information
Take up to two capsules daily with water.
Keep out of reach of children. Adult use only. Not recommended for use by pregnant and lactating women.
Swallow up to three capsules daily with water when needed.
Keep out of reach of children. Contains Tartrazine as a colour.
Add one sachet to 300ml of still or sparkling water, stir and drink.
Not suitable for children under 15 years of age and pregnant women. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication under medical supervision consult a healthcare professional or dietitian before using. This product is not a sole source of nutrition and should be consumed in conjunction with a nutritious diet and an appropriate physical exercise program. Consume no more than 1 serving sachet per day.
Hydrolysed Bovine Collagen Peptides
Use daily. Add to any hot or cold liquid or baked goods. Suggested daily consumption 1-15g. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication, please consult a health practitioner. Not suitable for children under 5. Not suitable for vegetarians or vegans.
This is a food and should be used as part of a varied diet. If you are under medical supervision, breastfeeding or pregnant, please consult a health professional before taking.
Disclaimer
Our blogs are written with love in the hope that they go some way in helping you feel like the rockstar you are, and whilst we do our due diligence, research like maniacs and fact check our stuff, we know everyone’s journey is different. They are intended to educate and empower you, not usurp medical advice. We would never advise you to stop, adjust, or modify any prescription medication without the direct supervision of your healthcare practitioner, but don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about your new found knowledge, brought to you by the marvels of nature because they don't know everything! Blogs are always informed by Davinia but often written by a member of the team. Not all blogs reflect Davinia's experiences and sometimes provide alternative perspectives