Hangover Cures

We all know how to get a hangover, but how do you get rid of one.   Unfortunately, that is the multi-trillion dollar question that every college student and aging adult is dying to discover.  There are a ton of different cures that your buddy down the street swears by, but doctors admit that they aren’t entirely sure what a hangover is, let alone how to cure it.

So what works best?  Let’s first start off with what alcohol does to your body to better understand how to minimize the hangover symptoms.  The key word here is “minimize.”  The only known way to be completely hangover free is to not drink.  If that isn’t an option, the only thing that completely gets rid of a hangover is time.

• Booze dehydrates.  Alcohol blocks hormones in your kidneys that normally would keep you from going to the bathroom. With each drink, you effectively lose more water than you take in which leads to problems like that pounding morning headache.
• Too much alcohol irritates your gastrointestinal tract.  So, eating just about anything while you drink eases the pain because the food coats the lining of your intestines.  It also absorbs some of the alcohol, so never go for a night on the town on an empty stomach.
• Your body pumps out lactic acid and other byproducts to breakdown alcohol.  This impedes the production of glucose (sugar) and electrolytes (salts and other minerals that keep your body functioning properly).

Here’s what we recommend:

WATER - drink one glass for every alcoholic drink. Not only will that keep you hydrated, but you’re more likely to drink less. Since you probably won’t follow this advice, drink a tall glass of water before crashing. The trick is to leave a full glass by the side of your bed before you go out because your lazy butt will probably forget otherwise.

SPORTS DRINKS - Gatorade helps replenish the electrolytes and sugars that you lose as a result of your body fighting the alcohol. Make sure to add this to your list throughout the night or before you pass out sleep.

PAIN RELIEVERS - Everyone has their favorite, be it Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin, etc. While this helps with the body aches and headaches, be careful because they also affect your liver when mixed with alcohol. Everything in moderation.

B6 & B12 - Lower levels of vitamins B6 and B12 can intensify a hangover and alcohol inhibits absorption of these compounds. Supplements taken the next day can speed your recovery–but don’t take them all the time, as excessive amounts have been linked to long-term nerve damage. Our take: look for energy drinks with obscene amounts of B12. A group of us drank one glass containing 41,667% of your daily value before a late night in Vegas and to our surprise the next morning was not half bad.

SPICY SOUP - People down in Mexico swear by tripe soup, made from the lining of a cow’s stomach and spiced with chilies, garlic and other seasonings.

BANANAS - Rich in electrolytes, magnesium and potassium, which are severely depleted during heavy drinking.

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS - A recent study by researchers at Tulane University found that extract from prickly pears improves a few hangover symptoms such as nausea, dry mouth and loss of appetite. Researchers found that C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation, was 40% higher in the group that took a placebo. The extract was taken five hours before alcohol consumption. Check out vitamin companies online for supplements. Note: Prickly pear extract doesn’t work on headaches, so you might still need to reach for the aspirin.

URBAN DETOX - Made by Function Beverage Co., sold at Whole Foods, Amazon or at the Function Beverage website. Formulated by physicians using proprietary ingredients, including the super-antioxidant NAC and anti-inflammatory prickly pear extract.

HAVE ANOTHER DRINK - Bloody Mary’s, Mimosas or half a beer.  While this sounds counter-intuitive, it does usually help.  Just be careful of the shampoo effect.

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