Health Life + Arts

Don’t get hung up over hangovers

Glass of clean mineral water on old color wooden surface and pla

Water is the most easily available way to ease hangovers. Take advantage of it. | Courtesy of Bigstock

Hangovers aren’t necessarily caused or severely affected by dehydration, the accumulation of a toxic byproduct of alcohol processing or low blood sugar. They’re actually a response similar to the inflammation of a wound after infection; alcohol “infects” the body by slowing its neural processes.

The simplest solution would be to prevent alcohol from affecting the brain in the first place. If you’ve got access to a Chinese herbal shop that sells hovenia, which contains ampelopsin — a chemical that mitigates severe hangover symptoms — then you probably won’t need to pay attention to any of the other cures in the guide, which pertain more to specific symptoms.

Most of us have a list of go-to treatments for hangovers, but many of them are either counterproductive or relatively ineffective. Here’s a list of things you can do to keep that hangover in check:

Drink plenty of water, as alcohol depresses a hormone that controls urination. You’ll lose more water, which can exacerbate headaches and other hangover symptoms. The first thing you should do after waking up — and running to the bathroom — is drink a glass or two of water.

Opt out of sweet drinks, or at least too many of them. Lactate makes hangovers worse, and lactate levels are higher when alcohol and sugar are consumed together.

Avoid coffee, whose acidic properties, far worse when taken black, will definitely irritate the stomach lining after a night of drinking. Additionally, coffee affects the blood pressure, often worsening the hangover symptoms.

Avoid aspirin, even though it may make that headache feel better — your body won’t appreciate it. Aspirin thins the blood, just as alcohol does; in the off chance you get cut, or seriously injured, you want your blood to be able to clot.

Avoid Tylenol — and any other form of acetaminophen — which has the potential to cause serious liver damage.

Don’t consume more alcohol. Alcohol may temporarily ease the symptoms, but it continues the vicious cycle you’ve read this much to avert. The prolonged processing may lead to an even worse hangover the next day.

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