Preventing a Hangover
1. Drink water! Alcohol dehydrates and drinking water helps offset the effect.
2. Eat before drinking. When drinking on an empty stomach, your body will absorb alcohol faster, quickly intoxicating and dehydrating you.
3. Stick to lighter drinks. Darker beverages like red wine, rum or whiskey contain congeners, which are toxins formed during the fermentation and distilling of the alcohol.
4. Take vitamins (B vitamins are best). Your body uses up lots of vitamins while processing alcohol, and alcohol depletes B vitamins. Take a few B supplements before drinking to ease the strain on your body.
5. Know your limits. The easiest way to avoid a hangover is to regulate your drinking and know when you’ve had enough.
Hangover Cures
1. Eat breakfast: eggs, toast and banana. Eggs contain protein and B vitamins, toast can soak up any remaining alcohol in the stomach and bananas are rich in potassium. All of these will replenish what was lost during a rough night and help you feel better.
2. Get fresh air. Oxygen increases the rate at which alcohol toxins are broken down in the body.
3. Have a glass of juice. After working hard to process the alcohol, your body will be low on blood sugar. Pick it back up with a glass or two of fruit juice.
4. Light exercise. Exercising boosts metabolism rates and helps bring more oxygen into cells, both of which speed up your body’s detox.
5. More water! Rehydrating your body is essential; drink water at every opportunity before, during and after a night of drinking.
