Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Food and Drink, Life, Health
Hannah Smith
Whether it's a pint in the departure lounge, Spoons or a G&T served in a tiny plastic cup, drinking while flying is a quintessential part of the British holiday experience.
So needless to say, most of probably aren't too keen to hear that consuming alcohol before and during a flight is actually not a particularly good idea.
Unfortunately, according to health experts, frequent flyers are best off sticking to soft drinks, with nutritionists labelling alcoholic drinks a big no-no when you're up in the air.
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Apparently, this is all to do with the unique conditions within an airplane cabin. During the course of a flight, the cabin is pressurised, reducing the body's ability to process oxygen. What's more, humidity levels on flights are generally also lower than we're used to, which explains why we often find ourselves getting more thirsty than usual while on board.
Combine those two factors with the already-dehydrating effects of alcohol, and the impact a drink or two has on your body is magnified when you're on a plane.
"An adult human being can lose up to two litres of water on a ten-hour flight. If you are drinking and flying at the same time, the combined effect can be quite severe," Nutritionist and Physiologist Ritesh Bawri told NDTV Food.
In addition the low oxygen levels on board a flight concentrates the levels of alcohol in your bloodstream, meaning you're also going to feel drunk more easily in the air than you ordinarily would after a pint or two on the ground.
And while you might think you're safe popping in for a quick drink once you've got through security, experts warn that it takes between 30-60 minutes for alcohol to take effect, meaning you'll probably end up getting hit with the consequences right as the seatbelts signs go off.
No one wants to be the person going viral for their embarrassing drunken antics in mid-air, so perhaps it's best to just stick to the waters until you land.
And if you're still not willing to give up those pre-flight pub visits, nutritionists recommend that you at least steer clear of salty foods, which only make you more dehydrated. So if that pint really can't wait, to avoid ruining your holiday before its even started, the advice is to drink plenty of water, and avoid the in-flight crisps and peanuts.
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