Hangovers tend to occur because you have consumed more than your liver has been able to cope with. The drinks most likely to cause hangovers include bourbon, brandy, champagne, cognac, rum, rye, whiskey, and red wine. Vodka, gin, and white wine are less likely to cause hangovers. In general, the less flavor a substance has, the less likely it is to cause a hangover. Mixing several kinds of drinks increases hangovers and so does the use of carbonated beverages, which enter the system quickly. Symptoms of hangovers include irritability, depression, headache, nausea, and dizziness. Let’s look at some folk remedies for hangover prevention and treatment.
NATURAL CURES FOR HANGOVER
Take 2 to 6 teaspoons (13 to 40 g) of honey every 20 minutes upon waking, depending on the severity of the hangover. Continue with the honey until you start to feel better and then take 4 teaspoons (27 g) with your first meal. The potassium in the honey helps counteract the effects of the alcohol and will decrease the cravings for it.
Thrifty Cure!
Eat a banana! Bananas are rich in the important electrolytes magnesium and potassium, which are severely depleted during heavy drinking.
To help ward off a hangover, take a 100 mg B complex vitamin before bed and again upon arising to break down alcohol in the body. B vitamins are water soluble and get washed out of the body by the diuretic effects of alcohol.
Hangovers are produced by dehydration (alcohol is a diuretic) and hypoglycemia (alcohol is full of sugar). So drink plenty of fluids before and after drinking to prevent dehydration. Aim for twice as much water or non-alcoholic beverage to each drink you take. Sports drinks, which are high in electrolytes, help replenish what the kidneys have excreted during drinking. Take before bedtime. In the morning, a glass of orange juice or tomato juice can help dispel a hangover more quickly, as can teas of anise, mint, or chamomile.
Eat before imbibing. That’s because when the stomach is full, alcohol absorption is slowed.
Fruit juice contains natural sugars, which help the body metabolize alcohol faster. Elevating blood sugar levels by eating a snack of fruit before bed can help prevent a hangover. Eating oily foods like cheese or nuts before drinking and starchy foods while drinking also help prevent a hangover. Eating a few dates in the morning or a grapefruit will also elevate blood sugar levels, making you feel better.
GOOD TO KNOW!
Take one tablet of activated charcoal per drink while you are drinking. The charcoal absorbs the impurities in the alcohol, which are the cause of the hangover. However, note that the charcoal also absorbs important nutrients, so if you are a heavy drinker, don’t use this remedy daily as you will end up with nutritional deficiencies.
KEEP IN MIND
A Siberian folk remedy to sober up is to have the person lay on their back while someone briskly rubs their ears in a circular motion. Don’t rely on this or any of the other methods discussed here to still drive.
Thrifty Cure!
Try a compress of water on the head to which a few drops of geranium oil have been added to soothe a hangover-induced headache.
Skip This!
Coffee has long been used to sober folks up. However, it is a strong diuretic that can cause further dehydration so it should be avoided.
This Preventing and Treating Hangover article is taken from :
The Country Almanac of Home Remedies - Brigitte Mars
