Beating the hangover
You know that nasty feeling you have in the morning, after that night when you kept screaming Y.O.L.O. all night, knocking back shots as if it were 21-12-12 already. You didn’t think you were poisoning your body did you? Well, a hangover tells you otherwise. The question is how do we hang the hangover?
Myths from the abyss
Let's start off by getting these out of the way.
A hangover = the reaction to excessive alcohol consumption. Heavy drinking shocks the nervous system, our brain chemicals are affected in that extent that it leads to headache, dizziness, and nausea, you go to the bathroom so often you also get dehydrated. Altogether it weakens your immune system.
Don’t even think of bringing that, “drink this, before that”-mentality to me. It’s not whether you drink liquor before beer, it’s the amount how much of both that you drink that makes the difference. A 12-ounce glass of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1.5-ounce “shot” of whiskey, all contain roughly the same amount of alcohol.
Some ladies can really hold their liquor, but fact of the matter is that due to a higher percentage of water in male bodies, males are genetically better at holding their drinks. So it’s all about your body composition. Now you know why that “bigger” girl drank more than you, just don’t tell her she's retaining water.
If alcohol gives you a hangover…..What makes you think more alcohol will help!? Drinking alcohol the morning after will only postpone your hangover; later that day there will be hell to pay.
Coffee seems to be the answer for that drowsy feeling you have before going to work, but don’t be mistaken, after a wild night this leads to more dehydration the next morning. It could even make your hangover worse, so avoid anything with caffeine.
The cure
O.K. so let’s get to what really helps; the following are some tips that do help avoid that hangover after going #H.A.M.
Food slows down the absorption of alcohol in the body so go get some grub before happy hour. You can only build an awesome night on a strong foundation.
If you want to go for the gentlest options, you can pick between beer and all clear liquors like vodka and gin. Gentle as in a smaller chance of a hangover in the morning because if you drink a whole bottle of vodka or gin you’ll probably get wasted, right? "Why can´t I drink wine?" Well if you're a wine drinker I think/hope you'll be fine. Red wine contains tannins, a group of chemical compounds that affect the color, aging ability and texture of the wine, these chemicals are known to trigger headaches in some people. Malt liquors like whiskey also tend to have a vicious aftermath, we all know that one.
Drinking water in between drinks is one of the easiest ways to moderate your alcohol intake, too bad we don’t use it as often as we should. After a couple of drinks just throw in some good old H2O.
Sugar helps decreasing the intensity of your hangover, so if you’re staying healthy by counting calories and drinking diet cocktails, good luck in the morning.
The best way to beat a hangover is ….. Drinking with moderation. Surprised? Bet you are.
And if it get's out of hand?
Let’s say you disregard everything I’m telling you right now, or you’ve been such a bad friend that you haven’t told your friends about this blog…*tisk tisk*… these are the symptoms of alcohol poisoning:
- Confusion
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Slow, irregular breathing
- Low body temperature, bluish skin
If your friend keeps vomiting or passes out after heavy drinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get him/her to the emergency room.
Don’t be that friend and share this blog post.
