Hangover Heaven

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, the bubbly will be flowing and the fireworks lighting up the skies. It might even be the first time in a while you’ve really gotten your dancing shoes on. And with all that excitement and adrenaline pumping through your veins, it may have also slipped your mind that you swore you were ‘never drinking alcohol again’. Nausea, headaches and that ‘shoot me now’ feeling – the struggle from one too many glasses last night is well and truly real. But what if you could get sloshed and somehow avoid that awful feeling? Here we highlight some of the key ways to reduce and even avoid that hangover all together.

Before You Drink

1.Pop Those Vitamins

One big misconception, is that hangovers are merely a result of dehydration, but one of the main issues is actually inflammation. It is far easier to prevent a hangover than it is to cure one the following morning. Antioxidants are one thing that works well at mitigating the damage. Be sure to pop a multivitamin or two before you hit the bars and for the most effective results go for vitamin B, B12 or B6. Alternatively, drinking pomegranate juice, acai juice or prickly-pear juice (if you can get your hands on some) can do wonders for preventing that splitting headache the following morning.

2. Load up on Carbs and Red Meat

Most of us know that drinking on an empty stomach is borderline hangover suicide, so do future you a favor and load up on a good meal before the shots commence. No one wants to look bloated, especially not on New Years Eve, so don’t go overboard but keep in mind that a hangovers severity is dependent on how you metabolize the ethanol. This depends mainly on what you have eaten beforehand. Make sure that your pre-alcohol meal contains carbs, protein and some fat to stay in the safe zone. Red meat particularly has a high content of amino acids and vitamin B which can really help process those horrid byproducts of alcohol.

3. A Spoon Full of Olive Oil Helps the Alcohol Go Down

If you don’t want to eat too many fats in your pre-alcohol meal, you can simply take a small teaspoon of olive oil instead. Although a little gross, many Mediterranean cultures swear by it! The fat in the oil will slow and limit the body’s absorption of alcohol. Alternatively, if you can’t quite hack a spoon of the stuff, you could drizzle some on your salad or veg – much better.

Whilst Drinking

1. Avoid Carbonation

Carbonated drinks can cause the stomach’s surface area to actually expand, thus increasing alcohol absorption according to Richard Deitrich, M.D., alcohol researcher at the University of Colorado. Culprits include Bubbles in Champagne, fizzy drinks and tonic water.
Bottom Line: Try mixing your alcohol with flat juices – this will also give you some vitamins and sugar to give your body the calories it needs whilst drinking.

2. Water Up

Sipping on a glass of water whilst drinking your booze will keep you hydrated along the way – which is absolutely key due to the dehydrating nature of alcohol!

3. Stick with the Clear Stuff

Other than ethanol itself; congeners are toxic chemicals that are formed in small amounts when alcohol is produced. The higher the amount of congeners, the more likely and intense a hangover will be. Whiskey (particularly bourbon!), tequila and cognac are all rather high in congeners. Colorless drinks however, such as vodka, rum and gin are all relatively low in congeners. In fact Vodka contains practically none what so ever. Many studies have shown that the likelihood and intensity of a hangover is far greater after whiskey than vodka.
Bottom Line: The severity of a hangover can be seriously reduced by drinking clearer beverages (low in congeners) such as gin, rum or vodka.

Although these tips won’t necessarily prevent a hangover completely, they will certainly ease your suffering, you could always opt for not drinking at all…but where would the fun in that be?

Have a very Happy New Year from Stop2pose!