Hangover Secrets You Need to Know
How do you prevent or cure a hangover?
What causes hangovers? What are the best cures? Why do we do it to ourselves, swear we'll never do it again the next day, only to turn around and repeat the cycle a week later?
What is your best hangover cure? Let us know in the comments.
“The best way to avoid a hangover is to stay drunk.”
Yes, we know the cause of hangovers is drinking too much alcohol… that’s a given. But what things affect whether you get a hangover and how severe it is?
The most common cause that people quote is dehydration, but that’s only part of it. While putting a glass of water by the bed may decrease the effect of the hangover, it’s more likely to just make you want to go to the toilet through the night.
Dehydration may be a contributing factor, but it’s only one factor.
People are complex, and so are hangovers.
Body build definitely comes into it. Males have more muscle mass and they generally have more total mass. The ratio of fat to muscle and total blood volume can be a factor too.
Another important consideration is metabolism - how quickly can you process the alcohol?
A big factor is going to be liver health. How effectively can your liver filter out the toxins from drinking - and let’s be clear here, ethanol is a poison.
Sleep is another element to take into account. Alcohol disrupts your sleep - even though you may get to sleep faster than when you are sober (and some may even pass out), you aren’t getting quality sleep. Snoring interrupts your sleep and your breathing, neither of which is good for you. Sleeping in an uncomfortable position can affect your sleep.
Genetics and genetic pre-disposition could also play a part.
What you eat can also contribute. You are more likely to go for the 1am Kebab rather than eat a healthy meal at the proper meal time. And some people don’t eat at all when they drink.
What you drink and the order you drink it in can contribute. For example, if you sit on beer all night you might be fine, but if you add a few whiskeys or vodkas at the end of the night that can affect you.
Preservatives used in alcohol, particularly red wine, can definitely have an impact - there are a lot of people who’ve a reaction to the preservatives. A lot of craft breweries don’t use preservatives or pasteurise their beer, which in my opinion is a positive.
Beers and other fermented bevies still contain methanol and other fusel oils that definitely contribute to hangovers. Distilled spirits on the other hand remove the foreshots, heads and tails, leaving you with mostly ethanol. Drinking large amounts of beer does ingest large amounts of methanol and that is definitely a contributor.
Things that Help with a Hangover
According to a Harvard University Study:
A hair of the dog. It helps to buffer your system and gives you a bit of a jump start while your body deals with the effects of the hangover. Part of the hangover is withdrawal from alcohol. So don’t go cold turkey, help your system get through it with a breakfast beer.
Drink fluids. Water, Gatorade, Hydralite, whatever you prefer but get some fluids into you before you go to bed.
Carb it up. Carbohydrates can help to buffer your system.
Avoid dark coloured alcoholic beverages. Dark spirits like whiskey and rum can affect hangovers more than vodka and gin. I can’t say that I’ll be following this tip - but it’s only #4.
Pain relief - preferably aspirin or ibuprofen.
Drink coffee. It is a stimulant and improves blood flow to the brain and can help relieve a hangover.
Vitamin B - Berocca or Vegemite on toast.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/7-steps-to-cure-your-hangover-and-ginkgo-biloba-whats-the-verdict