Hangover
With Christmas and New Year revelry looming, a hangover is most certainly on the cards for many of us.
But is there anything we can do to help prevent a pounding head and what are the do’s and don’ts when it comes to the demon drink.
Dr. Sebastian Winckler from www.thehealthcounter.com shares his advice:
How to avoid a hangover:
- Make sure you eat before you start drinking - food in your stomach slows down the absorption of alcohol into your system. Before you hit the party, eat a bowl of pasta as this is carb rich and some high starch fruits like bananas as they help absorb alcohol
- Don’t drink dark drinks such as brandy, whisky and dark liquors
- Mixing your drinks is a recipe for disaster
- After every drink, have a glass of water
- Get some fresh air – walk home with a friend as the exercise will help increase the metabolism of alcohol
- You might want to avoid spicy foods as they are more likely to upset your stomach - so think twice about following your drinks with a curry
- It's obvious, but avoid drinking too much. As a general rule men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day and women more than 2-3 units. If you overindulge at a party, I recommend avoiding drinking alcohol for 48 hours
- Drink plenty of water before you go to bed
Hangover myths:
Drinking alcohol causes your blood sugar to fall, which tricks your body into thinking it, needs to fill up with calories. We crave fatty foods, as they are the most concentrated form of energy however, it’s important to pick the right foods to help ease the hangover
- A fry up sadly is not going to help. Try a friendly bacteria packed probiotic drink as this is going to be gentle on the stomach
- Vitamin B is your friend. Eat a bowl of cereal and milk which contains high levels of this vitamin as it gives a long energy boost and if you can face it, top with sliced banana as this replenishes the lost potassium
- Hair of the dog may reduce the short-term symptoms but its only delaying the inevitable!
- Eating before bedtime will not absorb all the booze. The food has to be in your stomach first
- Taking an Asprin or ibuprofen while you drink will help lessen the headache is not true. Take one the next day, about an hour before you need to be functional should help
- Drinking water the morning after will not help flush out the alcohol. It will of course help however, it’s much more important to drink water whilst you actually drinking alcohol
Tagged in Health Hangover cures