Hangover Holiday Cures

Now that the holidays are fast approaching, we may find ourselves invited to a few parties. If you do go to a holiday party and overindulge on alcoholic beverages, there are some things that may lessen the severity of a hangover.

A hangover occurs because your body has become dehydrated from the alcohol you drank the night before. Magnesium and potassium are two vital electrolytes you're missing when you have a hangover, so getting them back in your system should help you feel better.

For the delightful hangover headache, take ibuprofen. From personal experience, I have learned that Excedrin Migraine also works pretty well with hangover headaches.

Throughout the day after your holiday party, drink lots of water. This will help your body recover from the dehydration. Plain water does just fine, but water with electrolytes (especially the potassium and magnesium) may help you feel even better.

Eating foods with magnesium and potassium can help you bounce back from a hangover too. The greasy or salty foods you may be craving won't help so much.

Regular coffee drinkers probably shouldn't skip their morning coffee, even if it doesn't sound appealing to an unsettled stomach. If you get a caffeine withdrawal on top of your hangover, you will only feel worse.

People have long believed in home remedies for hangovers: ancient Romans ate deep-fried canaries for theirs, and the Greeks ate sheep's lungs to cure their hangovers. Those that lived in medieval times ate eel and bitter almonds.

Folk remedies for hangovers exist today, as well. Contrary to popular belief, not all may actually help you. Doctors believe water, good food, and over the counter pain medication is the best remedy.

If you want to try a home remedy, however, try one of the following. Vitamins C, B and E may help you feel better when taken with a lot of water. Some think drinking buttermilk with your hangover, or drinking milk before you consume alcohol, will help with a hangover.

Other concoctions that some believe help with hangovers include tomato juice or coffee with tonic water, honey and orange juice. A "red eye" is also used by some people: coffee, whiskey, one raw egg, Tabasco sauce, pepper and orange juice. Still others say vegemite on toast will help you feel better.

Another home remedy for hangovers is two raw eggs mixed with a tall glass of milk, and sugar to taste. Advocates of this remedy claim if you gulp it down your hangover is gone within a half hour.

There are many home remedies like these for hangovers. The validity of them is sometimes hard to determine, so if you want a sure fire way to get over a hangover, stick with water and foods rich in potassium and magnesium.

Sources:

Fitness Magazine, December 2007-January 2008 issue, page 70
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medical/a/hair_of_the_dog.htm
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Hangover.html