Hangovers: A How Not To

Picture this, (I know that for some of you it won’t be that hard since we just got back from Spring Break), but you wake up looking up at the ceiling, you hope that you are in your own bed but somehow you know that its not true since there is a toilet in close proximity to your head. Speaking of your head, it feels like it has been run over by the Budweiser Clydesdale horses. You try to remember what has brought you here but all you can think of is how you feel like hell. This brings on the famous “I’ll never drink again” B.S. Now you feel like an even bigger idiot. If only you could think of something that you could have done or can do to make this feeling go away. Well I have spent a couple of years doing research on hangover cures, not by choice of course, and I have found 3 really good ones, so take notes you only have 350 days until the next Spring Break.

First, you have to eat a good meal before you go out and drink. If you drink on an empty stomach, alcohol gets processed into the blood stream quicker and drinking alcohol destroys your body’s storage of vitamins and nutrients that naturally stimulate your body’s defense systems. You need food that will act like a sponge to protect your stomach and that are full of vitamins. Pasta with a good tomato sauce and a couple of slices of toast are excellent. You should also drink plenty of water before you go out so that your body will not dehydrate as rapidly.

Many experts recommend that you take a good B-Complex vitamin or a good multi-vitamin with vitamin C before and after you drink alcohol. The deficiency of Thiamine or as it is more commonly called vitamin B1, makes it harder for your body to break down alcohol. Which is kind of weird that beer contains a large amount of B1. Do not however take aspirin before you drink. It actually increases blood alcohol levels by 26% and the alcohol actually remains in your body longer because your metabolism is slowed down.

Number Two. Once you are out you should stick to drinking liquors that are clear since they have less congeners, these are the toxic byproducts of distillation and fermentation. They do not cause you to get drunk but they are a major help in causing hangovers. Don’t see how many different types of alcoholic beverages you can drink in one night because they all have different kinds of chemical makeup and amounts of congeners that make it harder for your liver to process them. This will make you even sicker, so try to stick with well-filtered Vodkas because they have less congeners, while wines, brandies, rums and whiskies have the highest amount of these toxins. Fruity drinks have complex sugars in them and make it harder for your liver to process.

Always remember the cheaper the liquor is that you buy the bigger the hangover will be tomorrow and a lot of the regular mixed drinks at the bars are made with cheap liquor.

The saying “Beer before liquor, never sicker. Liquor before beer, never fear” is actually true. Drinking beer before liquor will cause your body to absorb the alcohol quicker and speed you right along to a hangover. But beer contains a lot of yeast that is especially harmful to your liver.

While you are drinking try to drink a glass of water every now and then. This will help to flush the toxins out of your body quicker and keep you hydrated. A huge glass of water or Gatorade before you go to sleep will work wonders. Gatorade restores a lot of the nutrients and electrolytes that the alcohol has