Who hasn’t had too much to drink the night before, gone to bed with a dizzy head, and woken up in a strange place: in front of the toilet bowl, for example? Even when you’ve been irresponsible the night before, the rest of the world expects life to go on. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a cure for a hangover? Although people have been drinking alcohol for centuries, no one has managed to cure a hangover. However, there are many different philosophies that claim hangovers can be lessened. For those who want the technical details, the body can only process about one drink per hour, depending on several factors, including gender, body size, and food consumption. Alcohol content also contributes to this, as well as stress level. So the best way to get rid of a hangover is to prevent it! But for those cases in which we are not prepared before the big night, some of the most common remedies involve some easy solutions.
The most common solution would be hydration, since alcohol dehydrates the body. I recommend combining this with a couple of Tylenol. Exercise (such as light jogging) is thought to be helpful in getting the blood pumping, thus lessening the effects of a hangover. Running with a hangover? It’s not the first on my list.
Some suggest putting a teaspoon of baking soda in some water to combat nausea. Vitamin B6 is also an option…taken at several hundred of the RDA. Other sources say eat, and that eggs are particularly good for you because of the cysteine they contain (some even say eat a raw egg in the morning, to me that would IMPROVE your hangover, not help it). There is also the hot shower or coffee method; however, these theories are frequently discredited by the professional community. Another solution commonly known among bartenders is two drops of bitters and some sparkling water, but who really has those ingredients on hand?
One source jokingly recommends kidney dialysis to speed up the process of helping the kidneys filter blood. Usually reserved for diabetic patients, this route would not be the most feasible. And seeing pipes stuck to your body when you woke up from the drunken night before I can’t imagine that’s such a nice way to wake up. Personally, I’d take the hangover.
A new study has shown that when you drink, you are taking poisons into your body. Usually in safe amounts, but in abundance, a hangover can occur. Alcohol is also shown to be a diuretic, hence the dehydrating factor. The liver is also unable to process free radicals in your body when you drink too fast.
Knowing that you are taking toxins into your body and that drinking too much can have long-term health effects, researchers are trying to find an answer to this dilemma. While official lab coat wearers and unofficial researchers in kitchens across the country come up with new remedies, maybe we should all slow down on drinking just a little…or not! If you have any cures you’d like to share, feel free to post them on the Bananas Cure Hangover blog.