DIY Hangover Cures

Photo via Column five via Flickr

The countdown to 2015’s worst hangover starts now. While a memorable New Year’s Eve is just a couple of days away, it’s often New Year’s Day that’s unforgettable. Raise your hand if you’ve spent many a January 1st nursing a memorably, wicked hangover.

And wouldn’t you know it, the number one drink of choice on New Year’s Eve, Champagne, also tops the list of alcoholic beverages most responsible for that killer hangover.

We’re rounding up our favorite DIY hangover remedies to put into your pregame-party-tool kit to assure you top-notch preparedness!

Why hangovers happen.

Alcohol is a toxin and too much of it causes low blood sugar, dehydration and fatigue. Simply put, alcohol stresses out our livers. After heavy alcohol consumption, the liver goes into overdrive to rid the body of toxic impurities and chemicals. Obviously the best way to avoid a hangover is to avoid alcohol altogether. If you simply cannot resist indulging (or over-indulging) there are a few simple ways to potentially minimize the morning after.

Choose wisely.

Champagne goes through a double fermentation process which creates acetaldehyde, the leading cause of the hangover symptoms we’re familiar with, as perfectly listed by the Mayo Clinic:

• Fatigue and weakness

• Thirst

• Headaches and muscle aches

• Nausea, vomiting or stomach pain

• Poor or decreased sleep

• Increased sensitivity to light and sound

• Dizziness or a sense of the room spinning

• Shakiness

• Decreased ability to concentrate

• Mood disturbances, such as depression, anxiety and irritability

• Rapid heartbeat

After Champagne on the list of nasty culprits comes the dark, impurity-laden liquors. Whiskey and bourbon are likely to make your hangover world class. Your best bet alcohol to avoid headaches, dehydration, stomach irritation and exhaustion? Moderate intake of clear liquors such as vodka and gin. These are put through a distillation process and charcoal-filtered. They have no caffeine and therefore are less dehydrating, too.

Dr. Jason Burke, a hangover specialist says, gin is “basically just vodka with juniper berry extract,”so it at least has some antioxidants from the get-go.”

Photo via FitLife.tv/Trusper

1. Consider Advil,  Aleve, and Multivitamins.

Pre-treating a potential hangover is much easier than trying to chase one the day of. Even popping anti-inflammation pills such as Advil or Aleve, the night of drinking can be helpful, Dr. Burke says. Taking a multivitamin can also “restore the nutrients your body may have lost during a binge.”

Dr. Gabrielle Francis, author of The Rockstar Remedy: A Rock & Roll Doctor’s Prescription for Living a Long, Healthy Life (HarperWave) offers easy, DIY-doable, New Year’s Eve hangover helper tips. 

The only shooters Dr. Francis suggests after a bender should be B-complex, Emergen-C (one to two packets daily), vitamin C (1,000 mg) and herbal remedies that support your worn-out liver, like dandelion tea (1 to 2 cups) or milk thistle (follow the bottle instructions).

2. Restock your body with lost nutrients and get  hydrated. The more you get hydrated, the more your symptoms will ease.  Replenish with electrolyte replacements like coconut water and vegetable bouillon along with 8 to 10 glasses of water to flush toxins.

3. Go for easy-to-digest foods. Oatmeal, rice, and soup are less exciting than leftover pizza, but they’re more gentle on your body.

4. Don’t believe that hair of the dog myth. There’s no evidence you can chase away a hangover with a Bloody Mary, an ice cold beer or a shot of tequila.

Photo via Food 52

4. Treat yourself to some TLC. Francis advises to get  at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

Alcohol disrupts the natural sleep cycle and the less sleep you have the more miserable you will feel. If you can sleep in on January 1st, go for it.

5. Food for thought

Photo via Yahoo Food/Gabriella Vigoreaux

Yahoo Food has recommendations fro Epicurious on the best foods to eat your way out of a hangover.  They say, ”while there is no real cure for a hangover, certain foods are better at making you feel better than others. Eggs, for example, are loaded with amino acids that boost liver function, so you might want to consider breakfast for lunch.”

This glorious grilled cheese and fried egg sandwich (above) just might be the winning ticket, but if you’re too hung to hang upright, cooking in the kitchen, then Epicurious suggests adding these easy foods into the mix.

- Bananas, or kiwi, or any potassium-rich food. Due to alcohol’s diuretic effect, we lose a lot of this electrolyte when we drink too much.

- Gherkin pickles are rich in vitamin A, vitamin K, iron, calcium, manganese, and potassium, all of which can help reduce hangover symptoms.

- Tomatoes are full of lycopene, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. So, it’s not that Bloody Mary that’s making you feel better, it’s the tomato juice.

- Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, so it’s great for battling nausea.

- Nuts, especially salted ones, will help balance your blood sugar levels, which are probably soaring right about now.

- Water and lots of it! This is a no brainer. Alcohol dehyrates the body, so be sure to replenish often.

When it comes to food,  Dr. Burke says, “our natural inclination to dive headfirst into a cheeseburger, although unhealthy, is actually right on.” 

Dr. Burke has two specific hangover foods favorites:

• Bacon: Meat in general has a lot of B vitamins, which “act as a catalyst to help get alcohol on the breakdown.”

• Eggs and cheese: A quick omelette with some mayonnaise is a great fix for protein and fat.

• Smoothies: For a mega-blend of health, nothing beats a smoothie. While not as intense as greasy food, it’s a smart way to inhale a lot of necessary nutrients. Dr. Burke recommends blending almond milk, pomegranate, acai berries, spinach and a vitamin powder. You’ll get a burst of necessary nutrients and antioxidants.

To Exercise or not to exercise?

What about the sweating it out with exercise?

CNN Health spoke to Charles Cutler, M.D., an internist in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the chair of the American College of Physician’s board of governor says, "Exercise is always the right thing to do, but I don’t think [on] the morning you wake up with a hangover, exercise is what you need.

"Remember," he says. "If you’ve been drinking heavily, you could be a little dehydrated, you could be metabolically behind on your nutrition, and exercise is going to require hydration and nutrition."