What Not To Eat During Your New Year’s Celebrations

You want New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to be full of fun and excitement so that you can begin the year on a high note. However, some bad dietary decisions can derail your plans and ruin your festive mood. You want to start off on the right foot in 2023, so check out this guide on what foods to avoid during your New Year’s celebrations.

Salty Snacks

Chips, popcorn, pretzels, and other salty treats might be tasty, but they’re also very dehydrating. Good hydration is especially important if you’re drinking. However, even if you plan to stay sober on New Year’s Eve, you don’t want to feel parched or overheat while attending a crowded holiday event. Salty food will also give you a headache and make you very groggy by the time the clocks strikes midnight. If you really have a hankering for something salty, then you should drink extra water and opt for a lower-sodium alternative.

Bananas

Because bananas are rich in magnesium, they often make people feel sleepy. However, bananas also contain potassium and other vital electrolytes, and your body needs these nutrients to function properly. Without sufficient electrolytes, you will get a headache and muscle cramps as the day drags on, and you’ll be more likely to overheat at a crowded bar or party. Unlike bananas, spinach and unsalted sunflower seeds are full of electrolytes but won’t make you sleepy as long as you drink a small glass of water with them.

A Big Breakfast

While a hearty breakfast can be a nice treat now and then, it can cause a huge blood sugar spike that will make you feel very tired before noon. For this reason, you shouldn’t have a large breakfast if you’re trying to stay up to watch the ball drop. You will likely be hungry as midnight approaches, so instead of having a massive meal right when you wake up, you should eat a piece of fruit or another small item for breakfast and have your other meals a few hours later than usual.

Poultry

Turkey, chicken, duck, and other poultry items contain tryptophan, which causes your body to produce melatonin. Melatonin is the body’s primary sleep hormone, so you’ll have a hard time staying up until midnight if you have any poultry-based dishes early in the day. Your New Year’s Eve celebrations won’t be fun if you’re fighting the urge to sleep. Thus, if you’ve already planned on eating poultry for dinner on New Year’s Eve, then you may want to have dinner closer to midnight and eat a smaller portion.

Caffeinated Beverages

Caffeine wears off after about six hours, so you will experience a caffeine crash well before midnight if you have coffee or tea in the morning. On top of that, caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that you will have to pee more frequently after drinking caffeine, and this can be very inconvenient if you’re driving around all day or celebrating in a crowded place. Caffeine is also extremely dangerous to mix with alcohol, so you absolutely should not drink coffee, tea, or energy drinks if you plan to have any alcohol on New Year’s Eve.

Carbonated Mixers

A study from the University of Manchester found that carbonated beverages can accelerate the stomach’s absorption of alcohol. This means that you will become intoxicated more quickly if you mix your alcohol with tonic, soda, or another carbonated beverage. However, drinking hard alcohol without any mixer can also be dangerous. You don’t want to get too intoxicated on New Year’s Eve, so you should mix your liquor with zero-sugar juice or another noncarbonated beverage to have a safe night.

Food That Has Been Out for a While

Food poisoning will put a real damper on your New Year’s festivities, so you should be cognizant of how long a dish has been sitting out if you attend a party with snacks or buffet dishes. While a dish may be safe to eat right when it’s taken out of the fridge at 7 p.m., it will likely be in the danger zone by midnight. Meat, dairy items, egg-based dishes, and foods with mayonnaise are highly perishable and can easily give you salmonella if they’ve been sitting out for more than two hours.

For optimal safety, you should always wash your before and after handling any food items. Common signs of food poisoning include diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, and fever. According to the CDC, you must see a doctor immediately if you’re experiencing bloody diarrhea, a high fever, frequent vomiting, or dehydration.

Stay Safe as You Enter the New Year

You deserve to have a great time with your loved ones on New Year’s Eve, you don’t want a few bad dietary choices to ruin your festivities. While a nice cup of coffee or a tasty buffet item may be tempting on New Year’s Eve, you shouldn’t risk alcohol poisoning, dehydration, or food poisoning. Therefore, you must make sure to follow the suggestions in this guide and use your best judgment while you’re out and about during the holiday.

Categories

---

• 4th of July
• Daily Dishes
• Healthy Recipes
• Holidays & Events
• Juneteenth
• Recipes
• Seafood Recipes
• Seasonal
• Shopping
• Uncategorized
• World Cuisine Recipes