video:
CHOW Tip
How to Prevent a Hangover
Michael Cecconi is the mixologist at New York’s Back Forty; he also works at the Savoy and teaches at the Institute of Culinary Education. He’s seen a lot of hangovers in his day, and knows a thing or two about how to prevent them: Drink water. His advice is simple but sage.
I do agree that rehydration does have a major effect on hangovers, but it is far from a cure-all: I always alternate alcohol - water and I've still had some doozies where even laying in bed was painful. Xanax is the only hangover reliever that works for me.
I'll do this as a pacing mechanism for a long evening of imbibing. However, my faithful motto has held true for years...
"Never mix, never worry."
One night a friend and I unexpectedly ended up a whole bottle of tequila all to ourselves! We were having so much fun just staying in. I inevitably suffered from a hangover the next morning. I decided to continue with my routine of going to the gym every weekend morning. I did my regular 15 min sauna schedule and ran for 30 mins on the elliptical machine, hydrating hydrating, hydrating. At the end of the hour workout, I felt like myself again and can take on the world. Hope this helps in your hangover dilemma.
that video was insightful...anyone who hasn't figured that one out yet shouldn't be drinking.
going to the gym though, that is a sure fire hangover killer...if you can manage to make it there, 30 mins of somewhat intense exercise (and water) and you're good as new.
Nobody mentioned that one should *never* drink on an empty stomach. Doing this is the cause of many "happy hour" hangovers.
I ditto hydration.
what about beer? it's mostly water....do both in one shot?
Alka-Seltzer mixed in powerade sports drink works immediately.
Surely all these methods will work. If too hung over, getting to the gym may be near impossible. Flushing with water is a good idea. Especially if started the same night. But if water is not drank until next day, drinking water seems to initially bring on the feeling of re-intoxication. Dehydrated alcohol ...just mix water and stumble.
The most powerful sobering agent I know of is "bitters." A guy I once dated worked for Frederick Wildman and Sons, purveyor of fine wines and spirits. He informed me of its sobering powers.
A few weeks later, a new bride called me in distress, because her husband had an important interview, but for some unknown reason he had drank himself incoherent. Recalling the tip, I told her to find a good bar that would prepare him a drink of 'bitters'.
With the effort of many, he was hand-delivered to a fine 5 star restaurant bar in Long Beach. Not long after, he left on his own two feet. Mama used to say, "Sometimes, you got to learn to take the bitter with the sweet."
I heard pickle juice is good cuz its loaded with sodium
an aspirin with a glass of water before you go to sleep.
Water and aspirin before you go to sleep and a sweaty workout the next morning. May be painful, but its the only thing that works. You have to sweat the impurities out. Bitters works if your stomach is in a bad way. But if you drink to much your going to pay. No getting around it
Emergen-C taken before bed, and upon rising. I will also say that I am impressed if you can get up and workout...But I will stick with my bed and snuggie.
Please don't take aspirin or Tylenol (acetaminophen) with alcohol. When mixed with alcohol, aspirin damages the stomach lining and Tylenol damages the liver. Ibuprofen is a slightly better alternative.
Hangovers should also be thought of as minor withdrawal symptoms of acute drug use. Hence, drinking a half serving of whatever alcohol caused the hangover does the trick for me.
i would have to agree with both paulcain "there's no getting around it, if you drink too much you're going to pay" and Joe MacBu - "don't take tylenols or aspirin with alcohol because it damages the stomach lining and liver." i would only take bayer (aspirin) or mortin/advil (ibuprofen) to get rid of the headache the next morning.
I agree that hydration helps but is not a cure-all. An occassional excess of beer, wine, martinis, etc. and I could be hurting, but bourbon and water and I'm fine.
I would think that there is a dilution effect too, as a glass of water after each cocktail would seem to limit the total amount that is consumed.
My best hangover preventative is an Alka-Seltzer before bed. Again, not a cure-all but it definitely takes the edge off.
Gatorade! 12-16 ozs when you go to sleep and again in the A.M. after a night of drinking. works like a charm. must be those electrolytes. I keep afew bottles around for medicinal purposes. the fruit flavors taste much better than bitters and no damaging meds needed. the only workout required is opening and pouring the Gatorade.
to increase the workout to the next level, you can make an icepack for the head and play couch potatoe while watching the Sunday Morning show.
People have been trying to cure hangovers as long as they have been drinking alcohol. Per several posters above: drink too much of anything and you will be sorry. Nothing really prevents it on the front end, or cures it on the back end. Time is, in the final analysis the only thing that will cure a bad hangover.
I wrote a little something about that on my blog
http://www.tinynerd.com/2009/06/how-t...
I'm not a doctor or anything but this is just based on some research I've done. Hope it can help :)
the medical journal i read said that magnesium and zinc and vitamin b were the major things robbed from your body by alcohol, so i take those at night before bed (with lots of water) if drinking and I'm usually good to go by morning.
Can't resist adding a bit more.
Ethanol is poisonous if consumed in sufficient quantities. Drink enough of it, you will feel bad. There is no getting around it, no cure, no remedy. Not zinc, not magnesium, not evening primrose oil, nothing.
Exceed your body's capacity to metabolize alcohol and you will pay the piper, period.
my friend always calls me the "fishy." I wake up mid morning SO THIRSTY or even in the middle of the night EVERY TIME I DRINK! So yes, water, water, and more water.
YAY!
If the bartender serves you a glass of water that you didn't ask for, she's giving you a hint that you need to slow down and are close to being cut off. That's the way it works in my world, anyway.
Hangovers are far from being simple dehydration. They are dehydration + mineral loss + a buildup of acetaldehyde, an intermediate chemical that forms as your liver converts alcohol to acetate and eliminates it from the body. You can fix the dehydration and mineral loss and mostly feel much better, but the only thing that will fix the chemical buildup is to wait. To prevent a hangover, pace yourself while drinking (that's why this suggestion is good), and stop drinking a few hours before you go to bed. Vitamins and supplements that support liver function, like milk thistle, also do a world of good when taken on a daily basis. If I'm already in hangover land, water + minerals + vitamins + carbs (as in a big OJ) generally does the job. If you're into the hair of the dog remedy, an energy drink with alcohol or a red beer (beer + tomato juice) is a good bet.