They say, prevention is better than cure. Curing a hangover (pain that a person experiences after drinking alcohol) is indeed a good and good course of action, but isn't it better to take precautions first? There are several things you can do to prepare yourself for a drinking party and prevent you from throwing up on the toilet the next day. Unfortunately, the only surefire way to prevent a hangover is to not drink at all, but where's the fun in not drinking?
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Method 1 of 3: Before Drinking
Step 1. Eat something
Commonly known as "soakage," eating something moderate to heavy before a binge can really help reduce the hangover effect. In fact, the more you eat, the longer it will take for alcohol to affect you. This is because food helps reduce the formation of acetaldehyde in your stomach, and it is a substance thought to be a major cause of hangovers.
- Fatty, carbohydrate-rich foods, such as pizza and pasta, are the best foods to prevent hangovers, because fat slows your body's absorption of alcohol.
- However, if you're trying to eat healthy, choose oily fish that contain healthy fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and mackerel.
Step 2. Take vitamins
Your body uses many vitamins and nutrients when it processes alcohol, whereas alcohol itself destroys essential B vitamins. Depleted of this vitamin, it takes your body a long time to get back in shape, causing the hangover you dread. You can help your liver by taking a vitamin supplement before going to a drinking party. For the most effective results, choose a vitamin B complex, B6 or B12.
Vitamin B supplements can be purchased at most drug stores and supermarkets, or you can increase your intake of B vitamins naturally by eating liver, meat and other animal products, such as milk and cheese
Step 3. Drink a spoonful of olive oil
This may sound a little gross, but many Mediterranean cultures believe strongly in this hangover prevention technique. Basically, it's the same principle as eating a fatty meal before drinking - the fat in olive oil will limit your body's absorption of alcohol. So if you can swallow it, have a tablespoon of olive oil before you go to a drinking party.
Alternatively, you can increase your olive oil intake indirectly by dipping some crusty bread in it, or sprinkling it on salads
Step 4. Drink milk
Milk is often said to help prevent hangovers because it forms a layer on the stomach wall, which can help limit the amount of alcohol absorbed into your bloodstream. While there is little scientific evidence to support the idea that milk can help prevent hangovers, there are many people who strongly believe in this method. If nothing else, milk is a healthy source of calcium and B vitamins, so drinking milk won't do you any harm.
Method 2 of 3: Drink Moderately
Step 1. Stick with one type of alcohol
Mixing drinks is your worst enemy when a hangover strikes. This is because different alcohols contain a variety of additives, flavorings, and other elements that, when combined, can give you the mother of all hangovers as your body struggles to process all types of alcohol at once. Opt for beer or vodka or wine or rum, but whatever you do, don't drink it all in one night. Choose your drink and don't switch from it.
Cocktails are deadly, because they usually contain two or more types of alcohol mixed together. If you can't stop yourself from drinking brightly colored cocktails and tiny umbrellas, try to at least limit yourself to a maximum of two Cosmopolitans
Step 2. Choose a light colored drink
Dark-colored drinks - such as brandy, whiskey, bourbon and some types of tequila - have high concentrations of toxins called congeners, which are formed during the fermentation and distillation of alcohol. These toxins can contribute to aggravating your hangover, so if you want to drink heavy drinks, stick with light colored drinks like vodka and gin to reduce your intake of toxins.
Step 3. Drink alcohol and water alternately
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it makes you urinate more often, which will lead to dehydration. Dehydration is one of the main causes of hangover symptoms such as thirst, dizziness and headaches. Therefore, the more water you drink to rehydrate your body before, during and after drinking, the more likely you are to experience a lighter hangover the next day.
- Drink a large glass of water before you start drinking, then try to drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you drink that night. Your body will thank you for this the next morning.
- Alternating drinking water with alcoholic beverages will also slow down the pace of your alcohol consumption, preventing you from drinking too much too quickly.
Step 4. Avoid "diet" mixes
Mixtures like diet lemon or diet cola are not a good idea when you're drinking. This is due to the fact that the diet mix contains no sugar or calories, without the barrier that allows the alcohol to directly seep into the bloodstream. Stick with the regular version of the mix to keep fewer calories in your system, which will serve to help you feel less groggy the next morning.
While the regular mix is better than the diet version, fruit juice is a better choice than the others. Juices are non-carbonated drinks - they are good drinks because carbonated drinks increase the rate at which alcohol is absorbed - while juices also contain a number of vitamins, which of course are harmless to the body
Step 5. Be careful with champagne and sparkling wine
Champagne and sparkling wine can really go straight into your head. Studies have shown that the bubble effect in alcohol increases the delivery of alcohol through your system and causes you to get drunk faster.
If you're at an event like a wedding and you can't stop yourself from drinking a few steamy drinks, try drinking only one glass of champagne when toasting and drinking a different kind of alcohol the rest of the time
Step 6. Know your limits
Know your limits and stick with them. The harsh reality is that if you drink too much alcohol, you won't be able to avoid some form of hangover. Hangovers are your body's natural way of flushing the toxins in alcohol from your body, so the more you absorb, the more severe your hangover will be. The amount of alcohol needed to reach poisoning varies from person to person and knowing your own limits is important. It is generally recommended that you drink no more than three drinks in one to two hours, and no more than five drinks a night.
- Pay attention to how different types of alcohol affect you. No matter what research says, everyone has a different ability to process alcohol and you'll know from experience whether beer, wine, spirits or liqueurs are doing you good or causing harm to your body. Listen to your own body's reaction and deal with it accordingly.
- Keep in mind that despite all the precautions you can take, the only surefire way to avoid a hangover is not to drink at all. If that's not possible, you should pay more attention to quantity - the less alcohol you drink, the better chance you have of avoiding a hangover. So easy.
Method 3 of 3: After Drinking
Step 1. Rehydrate
As mentioned above, dehydration is a major cause of hangover symptoms. To prevent dehydration beforehand, drink a large glass of water as soon as you get home, and drink it all before you go to bed. Also remember to put a glass or a bottle of water next to your bed and drink it every time you wake up during the night. You may have to get up to relieve yourself at 4am but you will feel better in the morning.
- The next morning, regardless of how you feel, drink another large glass of water. Drink at room temperature if the water from the fridge is too harsh on your stomach.
- You can also rehydrate and replace lost electrolytes by drinking energy drinks or coconut water. The ginger drink will help soothe a nauseous stomach, while the orange juice will give you energy.
- Avoid caffeine in the morning after drinking, as this will only make your dehydration worse. If you really want to drink caffeine, limit yourself to just one cup of coffee or drink something lighter, like iced tea.
Step 2. Eat a good breakfast
A moderately healthy, but hearty breakfast after a night of binge drinking can work wonders. The food will soothe your stomach, as well as give you energy. Try some toast topped with a little butter and jam, or better yet, some scrambled eggs. Toast will absorb the excess alcohol left in your stomach, while eggs contain protein and B vitamins that are great for replenishing your body's natural resources.
You should also eat fresh fruit to benefit from the high vitamin and water content of the fruit. If you're always busy, try a fruit smoothie - healthy and satisfying
Step 3. Sleep
If you go to bed drunk, the quality of your sleep that night is usually very poor, which leaves you feeling tired and dizzy the next day. After waking up, drink water and eat some food, try to go back to sleep briefly, if possible.
Your body will need a few hours to process the alcohol, so you'll probably also sleep for a few hours and hopefully you'll feel a lot better when you wake up
Step 4. Divert your attention
The pain of a hangover can be much worse if you just sit around and immerse yourself in the pain. This may be difficult, but force yourself to get up, get dressed and head outside for some fresh air. Something you might need is a walk around the park or a stroll along the beach. If that seems difficult to do, try watching a movie, reading or calling a friend so you can share a story about what happened last night…
Some people even say that exercise is a great hangover cure, so if you want to do it, try running and sweating the toxins out. This is not for the faint of heart
Step 5. Take some painkillers
If you have a headache, try taking some painkillers like aspirin or ibuprofen to ease the pain. Always take this pill in the morning, not the night before while the alcohol is still sitting in your system. Alcohol is a blood thinner, and painkillers will only make your blood thinner, and that can be dangerous.
- Never take acetaminophen-based pills while alcohol is still in your system, as the combination of these two substances can be very dangerous.
- Drinking the next day can have an effect that makes you feel better, but remember that your body has to process all the alcohol in your system at some point, so drinking more will only prolong the pain as your body recovers.
Tips
- Avoid smoking. Smoking constricts your lungs and reduces the flow of oxygen into your bloodstream.
- Cheese and nuts are great snacks to snack on while you're drinking because their high fat content slows down the absorption of alcohol. When at the bar, eat slowly as you drink.
- If you are a woman or of Asian descent, you may want to consider drinking less as your metabolism makes you more prone to hangovers. Women tend to have lower metabolic rates due to their high body fat ratio and Asians tend to have lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol.
- With regard to the amount of alcohol consumed, 354 ml of beer = 147 ml of wine = 44 ml of spirit. Don't think you only drink a little because you only drink white wine instead of Jack Daniels and Coke.
- If you have nausea and heartburn, take an over-the-counter antacid.
- Some people find that taking milk thistle capsules can help reduce hangover symptoms. Indeed more research is needed but if this works for you then go for it.
Warning
- Remember: NEVER drink while driving! This is not a question of whether or not your drunken act is illegal, it is a question of whether or not it is safe to drive a vehicle if you consume a certain amount of alcohol. Research shows that the decline in the body's abilities begins long before a person reaches the level of blood alcohol concentration that makes a person guilty of drunk driving.
- NEVER combine Tylenol, Paracetamol, or any other brand of Acetaminophen with alcohol as it can cause serious liver damage! Take aspirin if you must take painkillers.
- Always read the labels on vitamins or other medications, especially health warnings, to make sure that there are no side effects when mixed with alcohol.
- Be careful when consuming alcohol and caffeine. Too much caffeine mixed with too much alcohol can cause a severe, and even fatal, increase in heart rate.
- Using "Chaser" or other congener blocking drugs does not prevent a person from getting drunk. Chasers or drugs that only prevent or reduce the effects of hangovers.
- Just because you've taken precautions doesn't mean you won't get drunk. Always drink responsibly.
