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.