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What’s the Best Way to Treat a Hangover?

Our Customers Asked:

What’s the best way to treat a hangover?

Our Experts Answered:

If you’re probing for a hangover solution, you’re probably experiencing some combination of nausea, queasiness, fatigue, anxiety, a headache and a tinge of regret.

The surprising part is that for a condition so common, scientists have yet to pinpoint a definitive cure-all nor the exact mechanisms that cause all these unpleasant symptoms.

But here’s what we do know: Your liver uses nutrients to metabolize alcohol. Depending on your unique physiology and chemistry, your liver can generally process half an ounce to one ounce of liquor every hour, but any more than this and it can’t handle the additional alcohol. The excess liquor then enters your bloodstream and body’s tissues. This process causes you to lose massive amounts of nutrients. Alcohol is also a diuretic, which means it makes you urinate more frequently and become dehydrated.

“Here’s what you should focus on while you’re nurturing yourself back to health.”

Revitalizing your body after it’s been overloaded with liquor takes time (which, in this case, does heal all wounds). But in the meantime, based on the knowledge that alcohol exhausts your supply of nutrients and water, here’s what you should focus on while you’re nurturing yourself back to health the next day. Chin up!

Drink water spiked with electrolytes

When you drink too much alcohol, you lose significant amounts of important electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium. If you aren’t lucky enough to have coconut water or a sports drink like Gatorade at your disposal, it’s worth taking a quick trip to the grocery store or asking someone to fetch it for you. These beverages work double-duty by both rehydrating and replenishing much-needed electrolytes for quicker recovery. To be prepared at all times, keep some ZYM Portable Electrolyte tablets in your kitchen. All you need to is add one to plain water! It’s like Gatorade without the unnecessary sugar and calories.

Pop an ibuprofen or two

If you have the strength to make it to your medicine cabinet prior to jumping into bed, take two ibuprofen tablets before going to sleep, then again when you wake up. This will dramatically help reduce the severity of your headache. Just be aware of your general reaction to OTC medication. If your stomach is sensitive to it, proceed with caution (or call your trusty pharmacist at C.O. Bigelow).

Restock on the nutrients you lost

Excess alcohol consumption depletes your body of nutrients, particularly B-Complex vitamins, vitamin C and electrolytes like potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc and iron. So even if your daily diet usually comprises a wide array of nutrients, you need to supercharge your efforts after all that champagne. Drop a Berocca Effervescent Multivitamin into a glass of water – these fizzy tablets burst with many of the nutrients you’ve lost, including seven types of B vitamins. If you remember to, drink this concoction before you sleep and again when you wake up to feel better, faster.

Eat eggs and toast drizzled with honey

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but eating a greasy pepperoni pizza is only helpful before drinking. If you’re already suffering from taking one too many shots, eat bland carbohydrates like toast, which help absorb residual alcohol and fight nausea. Eggs are also known to be helpful thanks to their content of a chemical called N-acetyl-cysteine, which helps clear out the liver of toxins. There is also evidence that fructose in honey helps burn alcohol. After breakfast, focus on eating nutrient-filled foods for the rest of the day.

Luxuriate in a relaxing mustard bath

Not only is a warm bath a welcome retreat from the unpleasant experience of a hangover, but enjoying a mustard-infused soak also expedites toxin elimination from your body (mustard is known to stimulate the sweat glands and open up pores). This ritual goes back centuries to ancient Greece and Rome and remains a popular tradition in England. We love Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath, which contains a revitalizing blend of eucalyptus, rosemary, wintergreen and thyme to help boost acid waste elimination and improve circulation. Just the mere thought of decongesting your pores from impurities will make you feel better!

Sleep it off

The only sure cure for a hangover is time. And what better way to pass the time than to slumber? Not only is your body working its hardest to heal and rejuvenate while you’re dreaming of better times, but you’ll get to count down the hours to a brand-new day without feeling any of the symptoms.