How to get rid of hangover

Drinking water helps to alleviate
dehydration caused by the alcohol.
“I WILL never drink again!” is a common
phrase heard after someone wakes up after
a night of drinking with a hammering
headache and a stomach rolling around like
sneaker in a washing machine
Hangovers actually have a more formal
name-Veisalgia-or Norwegian for
“uneasiness following debauchery”.
Consuming alcohol is said to block the
bodies production of Vasopressin. Without
Vasopressin, experts said that the kidneys
send water directly to the bladder
eliminating the bodies absorption of that
water.
In fact, the body tends to eliminate more
than taking, thereby dehydrating.
Once dehydrated the body will try to
hydrate tissue by pulling water from places
like the brain essentially decreasing the size,
pulling on the membrane making the head
hurt.
Obviously, dehydration comes with all kinds
of other maladies, including electrolyte
displacement or imbalance, therefore
creating even more issues.
Congeners are by-products that comes with
the fermentation of Alcohol. Different drinks
have different stuff in them, thus why
some are worse than others. For instance,
dry reds have less sugar, yet more
Congeners.
So less sugar, more toxin. Whereas Bourbon,
and dark ’s may be a little worse, Vodka and
Gins may be a little more acceptable.
The body gets rid of alcohol and its toxic
by-products four ways: breathing, via the
liver or kidney and from sweating, said
Aaron Michelfelder, a physician from Loyola
University Health System in Maywood,
Illinois.
Exercise speeds breathing, increases sweat,
and moves alcohol-laden blood to the liver
and kidneys more quickly.
“That’s why you should stay hydrated as
well,” Michelfelder said in a telephone
interview. “It takes a lot of water to process
alcohol in your body.”
Drinking plenty of water, especially
between every glass of wine, whiskey or
beer, has another benefit — it can reduce
the amount of alcohol consumed, he said.
Michelfelder has a list of recommendations
that New Year ’s Eve partygoers should heed
to help the body grapple with the tsunami
of alcohol ahead. The first is, avoid a
hangover altogether, he said.
“A hangover is brain damage,” he said.
“Some of it is going to heal, and some will
be permanent. Prevention is the best
medicine, particularly with hangovers.”
The most important is to drink moderately
and slowly, at most five drinks for men and
three for women over a three-hour period.
Other measures include taking an anti-
inflammatory pill such as ibuprofen and
eating before any drinking occurs. The
medicine may help avoid nerve damage
from the alcohol, while the food may slow
the absorption of alcohol. B vitamins may
also help, he said
Michelfelder’s most surprising advice
involves what to do after the hangover has
set in. Coffee is unlikely to ease the nausea,
dizziness, cotton candy head and general
malaise that stems from over-imbibing,
though it may lift some symptoms of
depression that can set in after the warm
and pleasant effects of the alcohol wear off,
he said.
“A hangover is similar to taking a
sledgehammer and hitting your head,” he
said. “Do what you need to do not get a
hangover. It’s unpleasant and it’s hard on
your body.”
Other remedies recommended by experts
include:
• Activated charcoal: take one tablet of
activated charcoal per drink while you are
drinking. The charcoal absorbs the
impurities in the alcohol, which are the
cause of the hangover. The charcoal also
absorbs important nutrients so if you are a
heavy drinker, don ’t use this remedy daily
as you will end up with nutritional
deficiencies.
•Apples eaten on an empty stomach the
day after drinking is an effective remedy.
•Bananas, one of the quickest ways to cure
a hangover is to make a banana milkshake
sweetened with honey. The banana helps
calm the stomach, and with the honey,
builds up the depleted blood sugar levels.
The milk soothes the stomach and
rehydrates your system. Bananas are also
rich in the important electrolytes,
magnesium and potassium, which are
severely depleted during heavy drinking.
•B-vitamins, take the vitamins before you
go to bed and let them work their magic
while you sleep. If you forget, take them
immediately upon arising. B-Vitamins are
important in aiding the carbohydrate
(alcohol) metabolizing process and in
dilating blood vessels. B-vitamins will help
restore your energy level. You will need to
take a high-potency B-complex supplement
for this remedy to work (50-75 mg of B-
complex twice a day, hopefully once before
bed after indulging).
•Ginger Take 500 mg of ginger capsules
every few hours, or make a ginger tea. This
will help soothe your stomach.
•Honey Take 2-6 teaspoonfuls of honey
every twenty minutes upon awaking,
depending on the severity of the hangover.
Continue with the honey until you start to
feel better, then take four teaspoonsful with
your first meal. The potassium in the honey
helps counteract the effects of the alcohol
and will decrease the cravings for it.
Alcoholic drinks are acidic in reaction and
satisfy your natural desire for an acid, the
same as coffee and tea do. If you have an
alcohol problem, check your body chemistry
and make appropriate changes in diet and
supplementation. In addition, honey
contains fructose, a type of sugar that helps
your body metabolize alcohol more quickly.
•Lemon Add the juice of one lemon to a cup
of black coffee and drink it unsweetened
and without milk.
Lime As soon as you wake up on the
“ morning after” add two teaspoons of
fresh lime juice and a teaspoon of sugar to
8 ounces of water. Drink it slowly. This
concoction will help stabilize your blood
sugar, which will be low after imbibing.
•Peppermint The herb peppermint, either in
tea form or chewing the leaves, will relax
the intestines. Peppermint is a carminative,
which is a substance that removes
accumulated gas from the stomach and
intestines. Make a tea by pouring one cup of
boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of the
dried herb; cover; steep for fifteen minutes;
strain. Drink 1-2 cups as soon as you can.
•Persimmon Eat a raw persimmon for a
headache.
•Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica)
extract has been found to relieve hangover
nausea and dry mouth according to
researchers at Tulane University and the
University of California, San Francisco.
Prickly pear is known to reduce
inflammation, and hangover symptoms are
due to an increase in inflammation.
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.
•Raw cabbage Eat raw cabbage to dissipate
a headache.
•Tomato juice In addition to being a
prevention remedy, tomato juice contains
fructose, a type of sugar that helps your
body metabolize alcohol more quickly. This
is probably why the morning-after Bloody
Mary seems to work.
Vitamin C stimulates the liver to break down
the alcohol. Take 2-10 gm per day in
divided doses. Start at 1,000 mg an hour
and built up to bowel tolerance. An excess
of vitamin C can cause diarrhea, and since
you probably have stomach distress
already too much C may cause a problem.