Alcohol isn't evil--it just does some really interesting things to your body. (Anyone who's had a bad hangover knows what I mean.) Realistically, you're not going to go from being a moderate or heavy drinker to cutting it out completely just because you're on a diet. So, what do nutrition experts say are the one or two areas you should focus on to minimize the negative effects of alcohol? Click through the slideshow to find out.
Answer: Drink triple-distilled liquor.
According to author and nutrition expert Thomas DeLauer, "The number one alcohol that you should drink is distilled vodka. You want to get it as distilled as possible--triple distilled, quadruple distilled. When it goes through a distillation process, it cleans out the congeners but it also cleans up the alcohol so it has less acetaldehyde when it hits your body, therefore the liver can process it a lot easier." DeLauer explains that when your body has to prioritize metabolizing acetaldehyde, food is more likely to sit in your stomach for longer and convert to fat.
He also recommends a triple distilled vodka or a gin and tonic (the tonic dillutes the gin more and makes it easier for the body to process it!).
Answer: Drink the same thing all night.
"The other thing you can do is stick to one type of alcohol," DeLauer explains. "If you stick to one alcohol, then the liver doesn't have to tap in to different enzymatic properties to break down different alcohols. It just has to focus on one and it can expedite the process, get it done, so you're body can focus on metabolizing food again."
Answer: Drinking lighter liquors and wines.
"The other thing you want to look out for with the alcohol are congeners. Congeners are additives to alcohol that either help in the fermentation process or they're additives or flavors of some kind. Those will generally give you a more severe hangover, they're also going to tax the liver more which means that you're not able to digest and break down your nutrients as well."
This means avoiding dark liquors, such as brandy, whiskey, darker beer and red wine.