Gettin Over your Hangover

by: AimyD
Total views: 27 | Word Count: 504

If you are someone who likes to go out on the weekends and drink or get drunk, but you have a problem or a fear of a hangover you should keep reading and find ways to reduce the hangover or avoid it completely.

Reducing and preventing the hangover

Drink clear alcohol instead of dark alcohols. This is a recommendation because dark alcohol contains cogeners which may cause your hangover symptoms to be worse. Beer is okay to an extent depending on the type of beer and its color.

Stay hydrated while drinking. While you may think that since you are drinking alcohol and putting some type of liquid in your body you are staying hydrated, wrong. Beer and alcoholic drinks only make your body more dehydrated, making you drink more of it. So drink lots of water before you begin drinking you alcohol, you may even want to drink water while you are drinking alcohol meaning have a beer then a glass of water. This will help tremendously.

Eating before you begin drinking and while you are drinking will slow down the absorption of the alcohol. Eat plenty of fats or carbohydrates for best results. Stay away from sugars as they will only induce your hangover.

You don’t have to drink as much as your buddies do. Not everyone can handle as much alcohol as the next person. This is seen more in women than in men, so slow down on the drinking, you are not the drinking ninja.

Think about your calories. Each alcoholic beverage you have may contain up to half of your daily calorie intake. Thinking of this every time you order a drink may help reduce the amount of drinks you have each night.

Reducing the hangover after drinking

By drinking water prior to going to sleep helps prevent dehydration, and speeds up the flushing of alcohol from the body. Sugar based drinks can help too. Dinks such as coffee should be avoided as this will only act to further dehydrate a person and sleep will be the best escape anyway. Avoid carbonation and acidic drinks if the stomach is upset. Apple juice and Gatorade are good drinks. Milk can be hard to digest at this point. If nauseated, clear water at room temperature, taken in small sips will be the easiest to hold down.

If your stomach is not upset and there is no history of ulcers, for women you must not be a regular heavy drinker, a couple of ibuprofen or similar pain-relievers can help. Be careful. Both alcohol and these medications irritate the stomach and increase the tendency to bleed. It isn't worth adding to the problem. Advil and Aleve are acceptable alternatives.

Have more sugar before you go to bed, this will help the alcohol break down sugar that is stored in the liver which needs to be replaced. Without the sugars in the liver you may begin to feel lightheaded.

Lastly, keep extra of each item on your bedside table. This way you will be able to get to it fast if needed.