A hangover is caused by the consumption of alcoholic beverages in exaggeration, causing symptoms such as discomfort, nausea or headache, which can be cured quickly with the following tips:
- Take 2 cups of unsweetened black coffee because coffee reduces the swelling of the blood vessels that cause the headache and helps the liver to metabolize its toxins;
- Take 1 hangover medicine such as Engov, for example, that helps decrease hangover symptoms such as headache and motion sickness. Learn about the best pharmacy remedies to cure hangover symptoms.
- Drink plenty of water because alcohol causes dehydration, so you should drink several glasses of water throughout the day;
- Drinking a natural fruit juice because these juices possess a type of sugar called fructose which helps the body to burn alcohol faster. A large glass of orange juice or tomato also helps speed up the removal of alcohol from the body;
- Eat honey biscuits, because honey also has a concentrated form of fructose, which helps to eliminate alcohol from the body;
- Take a vegetable soup, which helps replenish the salt and potassium that the body lost during alcohol consumption, fighting the hangover;
- Put a glass of water between each drink and drink water before going to sleep, and when you wake up have a cup of strong, sugar-free coffee.
Foods that can improve discomfort are apple, melon, peach, grape, tangerine, lemon, cucumber, tomato, garlic, onion and ginger.
Another important tip is to rest whenever possible by adopting a light diet, so that the body can recover more quickly eliminating the toxins produced in the liver due to excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Learn what else you can do in this video:
Why Hangover Happens
A hangover is caused by the consumption of alcoholic drinks in exaggeration. Alcohol to be eliminated by the body, has to be transformed, in the liver, into acetic acid, and for this has to be first transformed into acetaldehyde which is even more toxic than alcohol. As the liver takes a long time to make this transformation, alcohol and acetaldehyde continue to circulate in the body until they are converted to acetic acid.
Acetaldehyde is a toxic substance that is deposited in various organs of the body, exerting toxicity and thus causing the symptoms of hangover. In addition, during the metabolism of an excess of alcohol, the body does not release blood sugar in fasting situations with so much efficiency, therefore causing hypoglycemia. Alcohol also causes more water to be eliminated and can also cause dehydration.
How to drink without getting a hangover
To prevent hangover the most recommended is not to drink exaggeratedly, but one can also take 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil a few hours before the consumption of the drinks and always intercalar 1 glass of alcoholic beverage with 1 glass of water. Other tips are:
- Never drink on an empty stomach and always drink 1 glass of water or natural fruit juice between each dose of alcoholic beverage;
- Take 1 g of activated charcoal before consuming alcoholic beverages;
- Eat something with fat, like a piece of yellow cheese, for example, between each glass of drink.
Thus, dehydration and hypoglycaemia are avoided and the body has more time to metabolize ethanol, reducing the risk of hangover.
