I’ve heard of the horrors of hangovers, though I’ve never been unfortunate enough to experience them myself. I’ve been drunk just once in my life (drinking competition with my brother – made it to 17 shots before enough was enough), but I suppose my constitution is strong enough to keep me from being bleary, headachy, and red-eyed the next morning.
For all of you not gifted with my Viking-esque constitution, hangovers can be incredibly rough. Sounds grate on your nerves, light stabs into your brain, and you want nothing more than to stay huddled around the toilet where you spent the night.
The good news is: you won’t drink again, at least for a few days until you’ve forgotten how bad drinking can be. The better news: we’ve got a few interesting ways for you to cure hangover!
Did You Know: Alcohol is actually toxic to the body, and a hangover is basically the side effects of the alcohol poisoning your system?
Water
Everyone will tell you that the best hangover cure is to drink water. Most of the symptoms of a hangover are the symptoms of dehydration, as alcohol dehydrates you very quickly. If you want to get rid of that splitting pain in your head, force yourself to drink at least a quart of water. It’s best to try and drink some before you go to bed, as that will prevent the hangover in the first place.
Lifehack: Gatorade contains a lot of the minerals your body has eliminated during the night, but Pedialyte is even better. It’s loaded with electrolytes and healthy nutrients, and it will help to squash the marching band drumming in your head.
Bacon and Eggs
Surprisingly, fatty foods can help to quash those hangover symptoms. Bacon and eggs taste fantastic, and they’re two foods that almost anyone can eat at any time. The fat will help to give you some calories, and the eggs will infuse your body with alcohol toxin-cleaning amino acids. This isn’t a remedy recommended by all, but many Brits swear by it.
Dramamine
Dramamine is an excellent anti-nausea OTC drug that most people take when flying, taking a ship, or driving long distances. Nausea is one of the worst things to deal with when hung over, so take a Dramamine to help combat the sickness you feel. It will help to settle your stomach, making it easier for you to move around and eat without feeling the need to hug the toilet all day long. If you take it with a few painkillers, there is a chance you’ll actually be up and around before the end of the day.
Hair of the Dog
“Hair of the dog” means drinking more of the alcohol that gave you the hangover. Once again, this is a hangover cure that many people swear by, while others say that it doesn’t work. If you can force down a bit of what you drank to make you drunk, it may help to take away the pain from your hangover.
Lifehack: Drink Scotch to avoid hangovers. Scotch – the gentleman’s liquor – is much less likely to cause hangovers than any other alcohol, so it may be time to change your drink of choice if you find yourself hung over one time too many.
Crackers
There’s nothing like mild crackers to ease the rumbling and roiling in your stomach, so grab yourself a pack and force yourself to eat them. Crackers will help to raise your blood sugar, which means that you’ll get just enough energy to get yourself out of bed. It’s fairly easy to eat crackers even on an alcohol-soaked stomach, and they will help to settle your poor, abused digestive system.
BRAT
The BRAT diet consists of bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast, and will be one of the best hangover cures. Bananas are loaded with the potassium and other minerals that you’ve lost during your binge drinking, and the other ingredients will help to settle your stomach and raise your blood sugar. It is the blandest, mildest diet that you can try, and it will be good for your stomach.
Coconut Water
Coconut water is surprisingly effective at dealing with hangovers. It contains all the minerals and electrolytes that your body needs, as well as antioxidantsto deal with the residual toxins of the alcohol. One small serving of the water contains the same nutrients as a large bottle Pedialyte, but it tastes a whole lot better and is much more natural.
Other Untested Remedies
We’ve all heard of crazy hangover cures, and here are a few recipes that people have posted online:
- Take an aspirin and a peppermint.
- Suck down a can of caffeine-free cola.
- Eat some fruits, as they contain Vitamin C to help your liver break down the alcohol.
- Try coffee, as it helps to shrink the blood vessels that are making your head pound.
- Use feverfew or willowbark as natural pain relievers.
- Boil water and drop in a cube of bouillon to help replace salt and minerals.
- Take a spoonful of honey on crackers to help speed up detoxificiation.
- Try activated charcoal tablets to settle your stomach.
- Try exercise (if you can drag yourself away from the bathroom).
- Make a Bloody Mary – heavy on the Tabasco sauce and salt.
- Take a hot bath to sweat the alcohol out of your system and relax your poor aching head.
- Blend up a banana, a carrot, some milk, a tomato, Tabasco sauce and a shot of Vodka.
- Eat 2 VERY spicy tacos and a beer.
- Try diarrhea medication to deal with the hangover.
- Slather a slice of toast with vegemite (thanks to our Aussie brethren for this tip).
- Have sex.
- Try milk or cheese (if you can stomach dairy).
And here’s the scientific hangover cure:
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