Ways to Prevent a Hangover

Ahh jyea...this kind of topic hits right at home for me (and probably most of you). For some of you (die-hard party animals), the weekend starts on Thursday night, and for everyone else, the weekend starts on Friday night. The one thing that goes through my mind, before I call back my friend to confirm that I'm down to go out is, "How early do I need to be awake and functioning tomorrow?". Nothing feels worse than coming into work (not on time) Friday morning, feeling like shit, and being queasy. Yes, you know what it is, being HUNGOVER. I found this article written on dumblittleman.com that will probably help us party animals GREATLY.



from the article:

So what do we choose? Anything that's going to manage a hangover has to address the three different things that cause a hangover:

1. Dehydration: This is the biggest factor. For every 30 ml of alcohol you drink you lose 200 ml of water. Dehydration can cause headaches and sickness even without alcohol.

2. Vitamin Burnout: Alcohol is, at its heart, a poison. Your body does a lot of work to remove that poison (that you just paid $6 to ingest) from your system. That work, mainly done by your liver, uses a lot of vitamins like vitamin B and Potassium that aren't available to you later. This can cause queasiness, tiredness and muscle cramps.

3. Toxins: Additives, preservatives and chemicals, from a night out drinking, build up in your blood and cause sluggishness and vomitosity - never pleasant.

But what we eat and drink before, during and after a night out can have significant impact on how we feel the next day. All we need to do is plan for it when our head is still clear.

Before Drunkfest
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of "dear God I think I'm going to die".

* Before you go out, load up on foods that are rich in the vitamins you'll lose:

o Bananas
o Wheat Germ
o Whole Grain cereals
o Anything Soy

* A plate of spaghetti or a bowl of ramen before you go out is a good choice; carb-heavy foods will help slow the absorption of alcohol.

* Water, drink lots of water. Why start out dehydrated and then go drink something what will increase the dehydration?

During Drunkfest
Tonight's party is still time we need to be thinking about tomorrow's vomit. A few smart choices now will limit the consequences.

* Pig out at the end of the night. All that booze that's in your stomach is still going to get into your blood, help slow it down with a big plate of anything.

* Clear alcohol, like vodka and gin, tend to have less toxic gunk in it then drinks like whiskey.

* Beer can be a better choice because it has a higher alcohol to water ratio.

* Again, drink water, lots of water. Try alternating each real drink with a glass of water throughout the night. You may end up going to the bathroom a few more times but it beats a morning of vomiting and a pounding head.

After Drunkfest
I know that between the headache and the puking and the urge to beat yourself to death against your own porcelain bowl the last thing on your mind is "What do I eat now?", but eating the right thing at this stage can mean the difference between hell and purgatory.

* Pop (soda to you philistines) can be very useful the next day. The carbonation helps settle your stomach and the caffeine is a nice burst of energy.

* Greasy food is a hangover staple for a reason. It absorbs a lot of the acidity and fills you up.

* Tabasco sauce or anything hot is great during a hangover and no one really knows why. I suspect that a good sweat helps get rid of some of those toxins.

* Did I already mention water?

All in all, anything that slows the alcohol absorption, replaces vitamins the alcohol uses, or purges the toxins alcohol brings, will help reduce your hangover. But most importantly do everything you can to avoid dehydration. Even if it means you have to drink water. Lots of water.

-Garrett [DumbLittleMan.com]

As most of my friends know, I am a champ in the sport of Going-to-Work-the-Day-After-Clubbing. To some, I have shared with them exactly what I do to get into the office the next day. And now, I will share it with you:

What I eat before going out: Pizza (or anything with lots of carbs)
What I drink (non-alcoholic) while I'm out: Water (nothing beats H2O)
What I do once I get home: Drink lots of water (My water of choice for this is SmartWater)
What I do once I wake up: Drink a bottle of SmartWater and then an energry drink (Hansen's) on my way out

If you can't get any SmartWater, get something that replenishes electrolytes (Propel, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, etc.)

After reading this article, it has opened my eyes to new ways to lower my chance of getting a hangover. I have shared my methods, post a comment and leave yours.

See you at the clubs! ;)