Headache. Nausea. Cottonmouth. An achy, uncomfortable and just yucky sensation. What are these symptoms of? If you have to ask, then you’ve never had the dreaded hangover before.
It can be difficult to avoid a hangover after a long night of drinking once your head has already hit the pillow for the night. But can you prevent a hangover before it happens? And can you remedy it once you’ve woken up the next day? Fortunately I have a few tips that work for both. They may not be scientifically proven, but they have worked wonders on many a hungover person, and I hope they do the same for you.
The first fact to know before getting into detail about how to deal with a hangover is to know exactly what causes one. According to the Mayo Clinic, a hangover is the body’s reaction to alcohol, shown in several different ways. Alcohol causes your blood vessels to expand, which can cause that pounding headache. Alcohol also causes your body to produce more urine, which causes you to urinate more than usual, which can lead to dehydration, nausea, lightheadedness and dizziness. Alcohol also makes you sleepy, but will not necessarily lead to a good night sleep, leaving you feeling groggy and fatigued in the morning.
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Here are my quick and simple tips to not only kicking that hangover, but preventing it from even happening:
Eat - Make sure to eat something substantial before going out drinking. Carbs and protein are important--something that will “stick to your ribs,” so to speak. Don’t stuff your face, but make sure you are satisfied with your meal before you start to drink. This will help to soak up that alcohol so your empty stomach doesn’t suffer.
Hydrate - Throughout the night, it is incredibly important to stay hydrated. Alcohol will dehydrate you by making you have to urinate a lot and very often. That water needs to be replenished. After every one or two drinks, drink a glass of water. This will take the place of any water you are losing while drinking. This will also be effective if you are drinking a lot of sweet drinks; that sugar will go straight to your head. The best way neutralize and water down that sugar is to go heavy on the H20 throughout the night.
Medicate - Before I go to sleep after I’ve been drinking, I make sure to ingest two things before I fall asleep: two chewable vitamins and an entire bottle of Gatorade. The chewable vitamins work as a way to introduce some nutrients back into my body and the Gatorade replenishes my body of all the electrolytes that have been drained as I’ve consumed far too much alcohol throughout the night. When I remember to do this, I don’t wake up with even the slightest headache, let alone any other hangover symptoms.
Satiate - If you are unlucky enough to wake up in the morning after a night of drinking and you are cursed with the classic hangover symptoms, it’s important to get some food into your body as soon as possible to soak up all that booze that is just sitting in your stomach. Breakfast or brunch, depending on when you wake up the next day, is essential. I automatically go for an egg dish that includes one fatty meat, i.e., bacon or sausage, and a starch, such as home fries, potato hash, fries, etc. These three elements mixed together are the ultimate hangover remedy for me.
Bonus: Hair of the Dog - This may or may not be a myth, but for me it works like a charm. The school of thought for this remedy is that the only way to conquer that hangover is to indulge in the hair of the dog that bit you, aka, have another drink! My favorite hair of the dog beverage is a bloody mary, mostly because the spicy flavors and the thickness of the tomato juice always wake me up and soak up all that alcohol from the night before. Plus, they’re absolutely delicious! It really doesn’t take more than one drink to start to get your body back in motion. The point of hair of the dog isn’t to get drunk again but to introduce some new alcohol into your body so it ignores the alcohol from before.
Have any hangover remedies that work for you? Let us know in the comments!
Comments
I'm going to try the vitamins/Gatorade this weekend----thanks!
Jul 26, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Take the culture Bifidus while drinking. It negates and/or inhibits the formation of acetaldehydes, the compound that give you that hangover. Bifidus is available in vitamin stores, usually with acidophilus, as in yoghurt. Bifidus must be kept refrigerated. It is in capsule form so wash down a couple before, during and after indulging. This works miracles.
Jul 26, 2012 at 4:13 PM
Vitamin B complex - time release capsules , take 2 before drinking and 2 more when going to bed. You'll wake up bright-eyed and bushy taled, guarenteed.
Jul 26, 2012 at 5:10 PM
What, no mention of L-Cysteine? L-Cysteine is an amino acid available in any health food store (like Whole Foods and the like) and it is a wonder drug when it comes to hangovers - sometimes it feels like I didn't even drink. It is supposed to support liver function. I take L-Cysteine, a B-vitamin specifically, and, yes, Gatorade, and the hangover is incidental to non-existent.
Jul 26, 2012 at 5:11 PM
Coconut water. Drink a couple of pints before going to bed. You'll feel GREAT in the morning
Jul 26, 2012 at 6:17 PM
I used to take L-Cysteine before I found Bifidus. If you take L-Cysteine, do so in a one-to-two ratio with vitamin C. That is, one 500 mg of the amino acid with 1 gram of Vitamin C. Also, before I took L-cysteine, I took powdered charcoal capsules. However, the charcoal takes out everything it absorbs i.e. vitamins and other supplement.
Jul 26, 2012 at 6:26 PM
Also try Bull Shot. Preparation is similar to Bloody Mary, lime, Worcestershire or Maggi Sauce, white pepper, coriander salt, Campbell's Beef Broth and vodka.
I recommend no more than two. You feel that the soul backs to your body, if you know what I mean!
JGJ
Jul 26, 2012 at 6:54 PM
Hair of the Dog leads to a circular reference of sorts ;) may find yourself need a remedy from your remedy! Bottom's up :)
Jul 27, 2012 at 4:39 AM
I have had great experience with NOHO drink. (It says it stands for NO HangOver) You drink one before going out and one before bed and you wake up feeling great. I like that it's not a stimulant drink like Red Bull (although I do like Red Bull & vodka when I am out)
Aug 01, 2012 at 7:07 PM
Alka Seltzer (Aspirine). Drug of the century.
Aug 06, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Guzman
+1 on Coconut water.
Aug 09, 2012 at 12:54 AM
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