Hangovers: Home Remedies

That one last drink may have seemed like a great idea last night, but now you are searching the internet for home remedies for hangovers, and you may be regretting it just a little bit!

The good news is that you do not need to look any further.

Home Treatments for Hangovers

The home treatments for hangovers include:

1. Drink Water

Drink plenty of water – not alcohol! Alcoholic drinks use up your body’s water stores thus causing dehydration. This in turn causes some hangover symptoms, so drinking water is a good start.

Be careful not to drink too much water too quickly. Large quantities of water can strip electrolytes from the body so it is better to try to replace these as well, or keep to around half a litre of water per hour.

2. Replace Electrolytes

Sports drinks are one of the best ways to get you feeling human again. They will boost your blood sugar, rehydrate you and provide the vital electrolytes (potassium, sodium etc) that you will have lost through the kidneys while you were drinking and overnight.

If you prefer not to have the refined sugar and additives that are in sports drinks, have plain water and eat bananas for potassium and fructose. Alternatively, make a banana smoothie by putting a couple of bananas in the blender with a little water or milk.

If you do not have bananas and cannot face going to the store right now, use apples or other sweet fruit (not citrus), or even plain honey dissolved in water. Honey contains electrolytes too. The less refined your honey is, the better.

3. Exercise

Exercise will help your circulatory system to detoxify. Take a brisk half hour walk as soon as you are able.

4. Herbs/Supplements

The following supplements have been researched for their ability to reduce hangover symptoms:

Feverfew

Feverfew is a well known herbal remedy for headaches and can be taken in place of aspirin or other chemical painkillers. Raw persimmon and raw cabbage are also said to help with headaches. Aspirin can damage the lining of the stomach and so is not the best solution for a sensitive morning-after digestive system.

Red ginseng

Red ginseng can reduce blood alcohol levels, as well as hangover severity.

Prickly pear

Studies have shown that prickly pear extract can decrease hangover symptoms and reduce the risk of hangover severity by half.

Ginger

Combining ginger with brown sugar and tangerine extract can improve several hangover symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea

Siberian ginseng

Studies have shown that Siberian ginseng extract reduces several hangover symptoms and decreases overall severity.

Prevention of Hangovers

Here are a few things that you can do before you go drinking to prevent the same thing happening next time around. These include:

1. Hydration

Drink water to prevent dehydration. The best rule is to have one glass of water between each alcoholic drink, but failing that, drink a couple of large glasses of water before you go to sleep.

2. Bifidus powder

Buy some Bifidus powder. This is friendly bacteria that detoxifies acetaldehyde, a by-product of alcohol that is a major cause of hangover symptoms. One teaspoon in a large glass of water drunk before going to sleep should mean that you wake up hangover-free.

3. Foods high in unsaturated fats

Foods high in unsaturated fats can reduce the effects of alcohol. American Indian lore says that 6 raw almonds eaten before drinking will stop you getting drunk. African tradition recommends peanut butter. Evening primrose oil is another option, especially for women who can benefit from taking it anyway.

Take any of these before you start drinking to avoid having to search for home remedies for hangovers after your next night out!