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Where Do You Stand? Drinking With Your Significant Other's Parents

DearSugar — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

So maybe you're not too keen about drinking on your first date, but after you've been seeing someone for a while, you've probably shared a few drinks together. You can have a great time letting loose with your significant other over a bottle of wine or six pack of beer, but what happens when you get together with his parents? Alcohol can definitely ease tension and make you feel more comfortable, but too much could prove to be disastrous. So where do you stand when it comes to drinking alcohol with his parents?

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Do You Know the World's Best Hangover Cures?

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:00:03 -0800

If you woke up this morning feeling a little under the weather, know that you're not alone: All around the world, revelers are rising with a pounding headache, waves of nausea, and, after a night of wearing some serious beer goggles, 20/20 vision that's clear as day. Hangovers may be a universal experience, but each culture boasts its own cures, from simple solutions to seemingly bizarre behaviors. Can you match the cure to the country? Take this quiz to find out!

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The Anatomy of a Hangover

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0800

It happens to all of us at some time or another but maybe to more of us on New Year's Eve. We drink too much and then we pay for it the next day. Are you hung up by your hangover?

Let me take a moment to explain what that excess of alcohol does to your body once the party is over:

Your throat and mouth are dry due to dehydration, which is caused by the diuretic properties of alcohol. The dehydration also affects your muscles, making them feel weak. So drink up! And I don't mean booze. Keep yourself well hydrated today to fight last night's excesses.
The excessive alcohol also irritates the lining of the stomach, causing nausea and sour stomach. The inflammation delays digestion, which in turn contributes to the feelings of nausea.
Your liver gets backed up trying to metabolize all the alcohol, so you might be experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia, meaning you are highly irritable and moody. Some folks end up feeling ravenously hungry after a night of partying due to whacked out blood sugar levels too. If you can eat, you should eat.

Unfortunately, there are a few more symptoms of a hangover. To learn those, if you are not already experiencing them,

Ring in the New Year With These Low-Cal Drinks

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

We're all looking forward to de-stressing from the holidays by kicking back with some friends this New Year's Eve. For many, that also means wining and dining. Those liquid calories from specialty drinks such as chocolate martinis and fruity cocktails can do some serious damage to all the hard work you've been doing to eat right and exercise, so here's a list of low-calorie beverages to choose.

Drink	Calories
Dry Champagne (4.1 oz.)	65
Champagne (4.1 oz.)	91
Gin and Tonic (5 oz.)	121
Vodka Tonic (5 oz.)	101
White wine (such as Reisling or Chardonnay (5 oz.) )	120
Red wine (such as Merlot) (5 oz.)	119
Red wine spritzer (5 oz.)	100
Mimosa (4 oz.)	100
Beck's Premier Light beer (12 oz.)	64
Mike's Hard Lemonade (11 oz.)	98

For a list of high-calorie drinks you want to avoid,

Experiment Shows Spiked Eggnog Might Be Safer

YumSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:30:14 -0800

A recent experiment suggests spiked eggnog may be safer to drink than its PG counterpart. NPR attempted to solve the age-old mystery of whether adding alcohol to eggnog, which contains raw eggs, eliminates risk of food poisoning. To answer the question, NPR sought the help of Rockefeller University microbiologist Vince Fischetti.

Fischetti compared bacteria levels in store-bought, alcohol-free eggnog to a recipe his lab makes every year. The science team's heavily spiked version requires the mixture to sit in the refrigerator for weeks before drinking. The results? His eggnog's alcohol eliminated all bacteria. In contrast, the commercial eggnog was teeming with bacteria strains commonly found in dairy.

The microbiology lab conducted a separate experiment to see whether its alcoholic eggnog was strong enough to kill off salmonella strains. The results proved inconclusive.

Are you intrigued or disgusted by Vischetti's recipe for eggnog? Will these findings have you adding more alcohol to your eggnog this year?

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12 Days of Edible Gifts: Homemade Kahlua

partysugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:20:43 -0800

While it might be too late for you to make Kahlua and gift it next week on Christmas — it takes three weeks for the coffee beans to infuse the vodka and rum mixture — I highly recommend you make this and give it to someone as a hostess gift in early January.

People are always surprised that liquors can be homemade, so it makes for an unexpected gift. What most don't realize is that the best bartenders are busy mixing up everything from homemade Baileys to fresh grenadine. The techniques they use to make these superior mixers are easily adaptable for the home.

A few weeks ago when I decided to make this, I spoke with friend and master mixologist Scott Baird of 15 Romolo in San Francisco. Although most recipes call for simply a clear spirit like vodka or light rum, Baird insists on a mixture of vodka and dark rum for a rich flavor and thick syrup-like liquid. To look at his recipe,

Do You Judge Pregnant Women Who Drink?

lilsugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:00:08 -0800

I've been at a few festivities lately where I've noticed very visibly pregnant women imbibing in a festive drink or two. While sixty percent of lilsugar readers said you wouldn't take a chance by drinking while expecting, do you judge mamas-to-be who do?Source

Do You Judge Pregnant Women Who Drink?

Yes — I question their judgment.

No — It is their choice.

Other — I'll tell you in the comments.

Top 10 Highest-Calorie Beers (and the 10 Lowest!)

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:30:20 -0800

You've got one holiday party after another, so chances are, you're probably kicking back a few brewskies. I'm all for celebrating, but liquid calories can make you gain pounds fast. If beer is your go-to beverage, you may want to skip out on these brands, since they contain the most calories per 12-ounce bottle.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot: 330 calories
Samuel Adams Boston Lager: 180 calories
Guinness Extra Stout: 176 calories
Pete's Wicked Ale: 174 calories
Harpoon IPA: 170 calories
Heineken: 166 calories
Killian's Irish Red: 163 calories
Long Trail: 163 calories
Molson Ice: 160 calories
Anheuser Busch Natural Ice: 157 calories

Which beers contain the fewest calories? If you're curious

Where Do You Stand? Drinking on a First Date

DearSugar — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:00:00 -0800

First dates are exciting, especially if you really like the guy, but they can also be incredibly nerve-wracking! Having a glass of wine is a great way to loosen up, but knowing when to call it quits is essential — you don't want to be that drunk girl (like this gal below)!

Is there a happy medium when it comes to drinking on the first date, or is alcohol better left for after you get to know each other a little better?

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Too Fat to Fight? German Troops Overweight, Filled With Beer

LibertySugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:30:37 -0800

The extra calories from beer are weighing down German troops fighting in Afghanistan. American and British troops have strict orders to stay sober in that country, but the Germans get to drink two pints a day.

Germany's parliament has looked into how a lack-of-alcohol ban has impacted the mission. The Times of London reports that the investigation revealed that in 2007 the 3,500 troops in Afghanistan drank 1.7 million pints of beer and 90,000 bottles of wine. These new findings help explain an earlier report that showed 40 percent of German soldiers were overweight, a significantly higher figure than the general German population rate.

Government restrictions mean German soldiers participate in passive operations in Afghanistan, and apparently the government will not use the word for "war" in press statements about the effort there. Do you think Germany's cautious war policy has made the troops more passive? Either way, I'm sure life in Afghanistan isn't one big happy hour.

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