‘Tis the season for the never-ending holiday soirée… well, that is if your office still has the funds to have a holiday party. Economic crisis or not, this is the time of year we tend to overindulge in alcohol. In fact, this troubled economy is probably causing you to drink even more! Argh!

Being a proponent of the Chill Out and Get Healthy lifestyle, I'll tell you straight up: EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. By that I mean, when you're out for a night on the town this season, have a drink or two, OK maybe three…but, definitely not seven!

And when it comes to drinking, some alcoholic beverages are better for us than others. I recommend vodka over wine.

“But, I thought wine was good for my heart?” I hear you say.

Yes, it's true, wine does contain certain phyto-chemicals (naturally occurring plant-derived compounds)that have been shown to be healthy for your heart. However, those health benefits are lost (and negative ones are gained) once you have more than a “healthy” share of wine (one 5-ounce glass for a woman and two for a man).

You see in addition to those plant compounds, wine has a good amount of sugar and yeast. Darlin', sugar is evil (check out the 146 ways sugar is ruining your health) and together with yeast it can wreak havoc on your precious body and cause you to look older than you are ! Oh dear!

Not to burst your bubble, but the bad-for-your-health-sugar and yeast components found in wine are also present in so many other libations… like champagne, beer, egg-nog, mojitos and that delish mulled hot cider your favorite bistro is serving up. Yup, sugar-y alcoholic concoctions are everywhere… beware!

Vodka, on the other hand is sugar free and yeast free (unless it has added sugar). Through the distilling process used to make vodka all sugars are left behind making it quite a pure substance. In fact it's so pure, that if consumed in moderation– meaning one or two cocktails one to two, maybe three, nights per week– it will leave you feeling perfectly fine in the morning. Of course, that does depend on your tolerance and how much vodka you drink.

My recommendation this holiday season: if you need to have a drink, skip the wine and have yourself a vodka cocktail (there's even some organic vodka's out there). Yipee! Mix it with sugar-less sparkling water and some fresh squeezed lime or lemon. If you need to mix it with a juice, have just a splash as juice is loaded with sugar too!

Cheers!