Hangover Cures

Okay – just about everyone who has a fondness for alcohol has at some stage, if not quite often, over-indulged and then felt the repercussions the following day.

Hangovers are very personal and vary from drinker to drinker.  A colleague who I talked to yesterday, regularly imbibes 750 ml of wine a night with no ill effect, but suffers slight headaches if she has another few glasses.  Certainly the volume consumed is directly proportional to the physical and mental damage.

Personally, if it gets to the point where I’m unsure of how many glasses I had - but it’s about 1.00 a.m. and I’m on Facebook dispensing swathes of wisdom and hilarity, then there is a very good chance that I will be unwell the next morning   For me, it pans out as nausea, mental confusion, dehydration and a pounding headache.  As the day proceeds with a leaden gloom, foul mood, general feeling of loss of will to live, and an inability to form complete sentences.  This doesn’t disappear for about 24 hours if I’m lucky.

So – is there a cure for hangovers?

Yes.  Duh? Don’t drink too much.  . 

Nah, but yeah truly - is there a cure for hangovers?, I hear you ask.
Not really, but there are some measures of damage control which appear to have some scientific backing.

•   Drink as much water as you can during the evening and before you go to bed to alleviate symptoms caused by dehydration.  Continue drinking fluids the next morning.  Sports drinks, such as Gatorade,  relieve dehydration, and replace electrolytes.  The downside is (hopefully remembering) to get up in the night frequently to relieve the bladder.
  
• Painkillers – Aspirin, and ibuprofen help to reduce headaches and muscle pain.  But don’t use them if you have any gastric pain or nausea, because these painkillers are also gastric irritants and can add to stomach lining irritation. Paracetomol is a more gentle option.

• Eggs are thought to help with breaking down toxins associated with alcohol breakdown

• Ginger – either tea or in pill form can help to relieve nausea

• Bananas help to replace potassium and other electrolytes

• Fruits and fruit juices replace vitamins and nutrients, particularly vitamin C

• Berocca and vegemite  (not mixed together, silly).  Both good sources of vitamin B.

Then there are Ye Olde hangover cures – which you may wish to try: pair of pickled sheeps’ eyes in tomato juice, tea brewed from rabbit droppings, or the more familiar Prairie Oyster.  I.e.  a whole raw egg and Worcestershire sauce, seasoned with salt and pepper. The aim is to swallow it in one gulp without breaking the yolk.

Phil runs winery tours in Auckland New Zealand