How To Prevent a Hangover

How To Prevent a Hangover

How to prevent a hangover: Planning

Almost anyone who drinks on a regular basis has experienced a wicked hangover at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, the only sure fire way to prevent a hangover is to abstain from alcohol. If you’re not ready to do that, there are some steps you can take that may stave off the worst of it the next morning:

How to prevent a hangover: Drink Limit

Obviously, the less you drink, the less likely you are to have a hangover the next morning. Everyone is different when it comes to alcohol-some people get a hangover after only one or two drinks and others can drink all night without any ill effects. However, a good rule of thumb to prevent a hangover is to limit yourself to one drink an hour. Most people’s body’s eliminate alcohol at this rate, so sticking to this schedule is a good way to prevent a hangover. Also, drink no more than five drinks in one evening.

How to prevent a hangover: Drink Water

One of the major causes of hangover symptoms is dehydration. Alcohol decreases a hormone called vasopressin. This is known as the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) because when it is released in the blood stream, it prevents your body from excreting water in your urine. When it is suppressed from drinking alcohol, your body loses more water in urine. The effect is so strong that for every pint of beer you drink, you can lose up to four pints of water. To prevent a hangover, drink one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you have.

How to prevent a hangover: Eat Something

The worst thing you can do is to drink on an empty stomach. Having a filling meal you start drinking is a great way to prevent a hangover. The food in your stomach will slow the absorption of alcohol in your blood stream. Even if you only have a snack before going out, some food is better than no food.

How to prevent a hangover: Order on the Rocks

Ordering a drink “on the rocks” not only fills your glass with ice so you are forced to drink more slowly, but it can also prevent a hangover if you take care to chew all the ice before you move on to the next drink. The ice also melts as long as you don’t drink too slowly, watering down the drink and thus the amount of alcohol you are ingesting with each sip.

How to prevent a hangover: Avoid Shots and Mixing

When you do shots, you have a whole drink’s worth of alcohol in the space of a few seconds. This means that your system could be overloaded and not be able to break the alcohol down as efficiently as it would if you had the same amount of alcohol over a longer period of time. You also may be tempted to drink more. To prevent a hangover, stick with drinks that you can sip on throughout the night.

Mixing drink types is also a big no-no if you want to prevent a hangover. Staying with one type of alcohol will ensure that you’re not mixing up various additives, flavorings, and other elements in different types of alcohol, which can all increase the chance that you’ll wake up with a hangover.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

How To Cure A Hangover

How To Cure A Hangover

How To Cure A Hangover

Hangovers are awful. You wake up with a pounding headache, sour stomach, and a deep sense of remorse for drinking those last few cocktails. Unfortunately, most of the “hangover cures” sold in pharmacies and at convenient shops don’t work. However, you hope that there is something you can do to ease the pain. Here are some things that will help you cure a hangover.

 How to cure a hangover: Headache

One of the worst symptoms of a hangover is the headache. Sometimes it feels like your head may explode. Caffeine has been shown to help you cure a hangover when you have a bad headache. Contrary to popular opinion, coffee won’t sober you up after you’ve been drinking. It can, however, help with the headache. Caffeine has been clinically shown to react against the chemical compounds of ethanol. Alcohol consumption causes a buildup of acetate, which is what produces a headache the next morning. Caffeine has been shown to reduce the amount of acetate in the system. For best results, take an anti-inflammatory like aspirin with your morning after cup of java.

How to cure a hangover: Stomach upset

The best way to cure a hangover that includes an upset stomach is to eat something. Food is a big part of most hangover remedies because it can calm the stomach and speed the metabolism so your body can get rid of the booze more quickly.  If you can handle it, eat something that contains both protein (like eggs and/or bacon) and carbohydrates (like bread).

Food like bacon and eggs contain a lot of protein, which breaks down into amino acids. One particular type of amino acid, amine has been shown to be effective in clearing your head after a night of partying.  Binging on alcohol depletes your store of amino acids, so eating protein can help cure a hangover. Bread is great because it contains a lot of carbohydrates. It not only can absorb some of the acid in your stomach when you wake up with a hangover, it also gives you a boost of energy.

Over the counter medication like Pepto-Bismol can also help cure a hangover that includes an upset stomach. If your stomach can’t handle a big meal, try eating crackers or drinking broth. Getting something in your stomach helps cure a hangover by helping an upset stomach and giving you energy. Broth can also help with dehydration.

How to cure a hangover: Dehydration

One of the major causes of hangover symptoms is dehydration. The side effects of binge drinking alcohol like vomiting, diarrhea and increased urination can cause the body to rapidly lose electrolytes and become dehydrated. In extreme cases, this dehydration can lead to seizures and even death, which is why it is so important to keep hydrated while drinking. It is also why fluids like water and sports drinks can help cure a hangover. Steer clear of acidic juices, like orange, as acidic juices can sometimes exacerbate a sour stomach.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.