We all know it’s hard to say no to red wine, especially in the winter months.
But the secret is to drink less alcohol It can lie on a trip down memory lane, according to research.
Experts have found that knowing how many calories have been consumed during your drinking session can reduce your cravings for a tipple.
But so far the results have been documented only in women.
Previous research has found that people eat less when they are reminded of the previous meal.
A team from the University of Portsmouth wanted to further investigate the relationship between memory and drinking, but with alcohol instead.
Their study involved 50 women between the ages of 18 and 46 who were randomly divided into two groups.
The first group was asked remember recent alcohol consumption in detail, including estimating the number of calories consumed.
We all know it’s hard to say no to red wine, especially in the winter months. But the secret to drinking less alcohol may be a trip down memory lane, according to research (stock photo)
For example, three medium glasses of red wine can add up to about 400 calories, while three pints of pale ale can add up to 540 calories.
The second group, the controls, were only asked to recall the car journey.
The participants were asked to drink vodka, at a level that was comfortable for them, while watching a neutral TV program to eliminate any suspicion that their drinking levels were being recorded.
The analysis showed that people who were asked to remember a time when they drank alcohol in the past took longer to drink.
This, the researchers said, indicates a decrease in alcohol consumption.
Dr Lorenzo Stafford, one of the authors of the study, said: “Following our previous work, we think that an important part of what was seen is that people with memory problems need to estimate the number of calories they drink.
“Our hypothesis is that women may have had a lower desire for alcohol because they wanted to avoid excess calories, which can be linked to work showing that women are more likely to change their drinking habits because they are more accepting of the dangers of alcohol. health and weight.’
It is estimated that more than half of all drinkers drink more than the recommended 14 units a week in England.
The paper, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, recommends more research to help understand how alcohol affects men, especially because they drink more alcohol than women.
In two related studies, the same group found that stronger warning labels on alcoholic beverages also reduced alcohol cravings and reduced alcohol consumption.
