Sometimes we drink to loosen up, become more sociable where we might otherwise hold back, and make many events more entertaining and enjoyable. Unfortunately it does not take much for many of us to feel the detrimental effects alcohol can have on our system the next day, such as headaches, nausea, stomachaches, tiredness, etc.
There are some natural and easy ways to help alleviate the negative effects of a bad hangover without sacrificing a night out:
1) Before you go to sleep, and after you finish drinking alcohol, drink a sports drink or a liquid with mostly water and electrolytes, Gatorade will do. Alcohol dehydrates your body, so you want to up your fluid intake before, during, and after consuming alcohol.
Eat something. When we drink, our body sometimes gets depleted of the necessary nutrients and essential minerals like vitamins B & C. Eat foods to get these back. Fruit is a great solution.
By eating something easily digestible that is healthy, we can help regain essential amino acids that have been lost. Try eating something like yogurt, bread, or crackers to help calm your stomach.
2) Avoid certain drinks, like drinks that hide the taste of alcohol. You may end up drinking too fast and too much. Certain types of alcohol can actually increase your chance of getting a hangover, so avoid them if possible.
3) Do not mix different types of alcohol because your body takes longer to individualize and metabolize the different types. Some say additives make a hangover worse, avoid carbonated drinks because they might speed up the absorption of alcohol.
4) Take a vitamin supplement, many experts recommend taking a B-complex vitamin with vitamin C before and after you drink alcohol. A deficiency in vitamin B-1 makes it harder for your body to break down the alcohol, so taking the vitamin could help boost B-1 levels easing alcohol absorption.
5) Finally, sleep it off, your body will thank you in the morning. After you have rehydrated your body with water and had a small snack, crawl into bed and let your body rest and detoxify itself.
