Hangover Cures

Many of us have experienced our fair share of hangovers.  There are a number of reasons why hangovers occur. Firstly, ethanol has a dehydrating effect on the body. It is a diuretic & causes you to urinate more often, which leads to dehydration.

Congeners are impurities that are created during the fermenting process. Dark drinks such as brandy, whiskey and cheap wine have higher levels of congeners. Cheap drinks can also have higher levels of congeners.

It has also been suggested that a hangover is caused by alcohol withdrawal.

Hangover symptoms:

The most common symptoms of hangovers are a headache, tiredness and a dry mouth. Other symptoms include;

• Nausea.
• Tremors.
• Moodiness.
• Poor concentration.
• Depression.

Prevent a hangover:

Obviously the best way to avoid a hangover is to limit the amount of alcohol you consume. Not only does this reduce your chances of developing a hangover the next morning, but binge drinking has a great number of other negative effects on the body.

Don't drink on an empty stomach. Make sure you have a decent meal before you begin drinking.

Drink plenty of water before you consume alcohol to ensure you are adequately hydrated.

During:

Try to avoid mixing drinks as this can make hangovers worse. Remember the saying "don't mix the grape and the grain". Stick to one type of drink.

Stick to clear drinks such as vodka or gin. Dark drinks have higher levels of cogeners.

Try to alternate alcoholic drinks with water or juice.

Hangover cures:

There is no magic cure for a hangover, but there are ways to help your body recover and to ease the discomfort of a hangover, including;

Rehydration - drink lots of fluids. Your hangover will be greatly reduced by drinking one or two glasses of water prior to going to bed. Drinks containing electrolytes will help replace lost minerals.

Sleep - Get plenty of sleep to allow your body to recover. It can take several days to fully recover from a hangover.

Vitamins - Vitamins B & C are depleted during drinking. Take a good quality vitamin prior to going to bed & follow up with a Berocca first thing in the morning.

Eggs - contain large amounts of an amino acid called cysteine. This is known to counteract the effects of acetaldehyde, which is a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism.

Exercise - this increases oxygen intake, which in turn speeds up metabolism.

Avoid coffee - Not only is this dehydrating but it will also irritate the stomach more.

Painkillers - Take some over the counter painkillers to ease that throbbing head.