Lets just all admit it. There is always that one friday or saturday (or both, in my case) after a long night of drinking that you and the roommates come home claiming you’re “starving”. You stumble home covered in frat juice and regrets, and as soon as you walk in the door that canyon menu is staring you right in the face. So naturally the first thing to do is call one of the late night food chains that State College has to offer. Whether it is Gumbys, College Pizza or Canyon you always wake up the next morning with the box on your kitchen table regretting every bite of pizza you ate the night before. Some of you may argue, that drunk eating is not considered “science.” Well here is my argument to why drunk eating is, in fact science.
Here are two reasons as to why you drunk eat.
1. You feel less full. According to a study done by Mens Health, “
Alcohol calories aren’t recognized by the body, write the researchers. One theory: Since alcohol is a toxin, your body wants to metabolize it as quickly as possible, which is why you don’t feel full from alcohol calories, according to other research.” (mens health ) Even if you’re not actually hungry, you always come home and convince yourself that hey, maybe we should order a pizza! And now you know that if you actually are hungry when you come home it is because alcohol calories aren’t fully recognized by your body.
2. Alcohol makes junk food taste amazing. We can all agree that canyon is not good pizza. Ever. But how come when you are intoxicated it tastes like a gift from the heavens? Mens Health explains that “A study conducted by Purdue University found that moderate consumption of alcohol enhances the taste of salt and fat.” That could explain why those cheesy pokey sticks or the extra large pizza from canyon is extra tasty at 3am.
Most of us though wake up in the morning completely regretting eating all that disgusting food the night before. So I decided to google the healthiest things you could eat when you are intoxicated. First, maybe make some mac and cheese, that way you can get the cheese you are craving without the side of grease you would get with a pizza. Second, go to the food store, when you’re there think about purchasing some fruits and veggies. We all know how good carrots and hummis can be!
According to Sierra Tishgart of Grub street, cereal is another great thing to eat late at night. “What You’re Craving: Cereal. What You Should Really Eat: Cereal! Cereal is actually one of the best choices for a late-night-snack-meets-early-breakfast, so go ahead and pour a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. “A light bowl of cereal with milk has fluids,” says Krieger, who also suggests adding nuts if you’re feeling ravenous.” (Sierra Tishgart )
Here is some more advice, come home and instead of eating that pizza. Drink water, and lots of it!
sources:
http://news.menshealth.com/why-you-drunk-dial-domino’s/2011/08/15/
collegecandy.com/tag/drunk–eating/
http://www.grubstreet.com/2012/12/what-you-should-be-binge-eating-while-drunk.html
This is so interesting! I love the idea that there is a logical explanation as to why we crave food when were intoxicated! I never knew that alcohol calories didn’t make you full, but it all makes sense now! Thanks so much for doing research that will help all of us make smart choices while eating intoxicated.
This article is so great! It’s totally relatable. It’s also really true that none of these foods taste good when you’re sober, and they definitely don’t make you feel good. It’s really interesting to read that alcohol calories aren’t really recognized by our bodies. It does make sense however because terms like “beer bellies” and “freshman 15” have come about because of the ignorance of how bad alcohol is for your body.