Holiday Countdowns

It is sometimes difficult to decide what to write in this blog. When people are doing personal blogs, they give you pictures of their children or themselves. They talk about recent vacations or troubles. I followed one of my childhood friends through his final year as he battled cancer - what a gift he gave to all of us by sharing himself with us in that way!

But this blog is different. I am never sure what to write about. Each time I blog, I look back over what I've already written. Recently, I have talked about healthcare reform, leadership, unintended consequences, and good site visits. I looked back further. A year ago, I started blogging by talking about healthy holidays. So what, I ask myself, do I talk about now? I have decided to provide an annual blog on keeping the holidays healthy.

During the holiday season, we count everything - presents we have to buy, cards we mail, packages under the tree, the days until Christmas, the days of Hanukkah, the days of Kwanza. We also count things--or should count things-- related to our health: the calories in that piece of pie, the carbs in our daily diet, the number of repetitions we need of a particular exercise to combat that piece of pie.

I want to remind you to also count your drinks if you choose to drink alcohol. By limiting the number of drinks you have in an evening and the alcohol content of those drinks, you can decrease your risk of alcohol-related problems.

So what is the limit? Well, our body can only process a single standard drink in an hour. A standard drink contains 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirits. (This means that one Long Island Iced Tea is really at least 4 standard drinks!) If you are getting drinks poured by a professional bartender, you will be safe within these limits, but drinks poured by your neighbor at the annual party may be more generous.

If you are a woman, the low-risk drinking guidelines suggest no more than 1-3 drinks on any given day and never more than 7 drinks in a week. If you are a man, the guidelines suggest no more than 2-4 drinks on any given day and never more than 14 drinks in a week. There are certain situations in which you should never drink alcohol: if you are under 21 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding, driving, or taking certain medications.

So, have a healthy and safe holiday season and keep on counting!