Help yourself to avoid the ‘morning after feeling’ by following a few easy steps:
1 Eat before a night drinking: alcohol without food gets absorbed much more (as if it was poured directly in the bloodstream) and while the liver works hard to deal with it, it cannot metabolise glucose well with the result that blood sugar levels drop producing shakes and sweats. The heart pumps harder, resulting in a rise in blood pressure (which is also why some people suffer heart attacks the morning after).
Munching on fatty food (kebabs, hot dogs etc.) on the way home will only worsen the situation.
2 Do not underestimate genetics: there is a different quantity of enzymes in the stomach to break down alcohol between sexes (women have less therefore they get drunk quicker).
The good news on that is women as they get older catch up with men in terms of fat-muscle (and enzymes) ratio and their brain shrinks slightly too making them less prone to headache.
3 Prevent dehydration: alcohol has diuretic properties, so while drinking kidneys produce more urine than normal which will deplete the blood levels of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Alcohol causes swelling in the brain which results in the typical headache. This can be avoided by alternating an alcoholic drink with a soft drink to maintain hydration. Drinking a pint of water before going to sleep actually works.
4 Know what you are dealing with: despite brands and types all alcohol works the same way when it comes to hangover. What counts is actually what is mixed with it: browner drinks (such as rum, brandy, whisky and port) generally cause heavier hangover than transparent spirits (vodka in particular is least likely to cause a heavy hangover because it’s repeatedly filtered to remove impurities). Beer is the least dangerous to drink but the most calorie-rich (1 pint equals more or less 170/200 calories)
5 Know that taking painkillers to cure hangover is dangerous: aspirin irritates the stomach and can cause bleeding while paracetamol triggers liver damage if combined with alcohol.
Apparently there is no evidence of the effectiveness of artichoke extract and yeast (main ingredients in hangover pills).
A Very Happy New Year to you all with very pleasant ‘hangover-free’ festive days knowing that the best way to avoid hangover is taking the precautions above the night before as the only cure for it is waiting until it goes
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