Most of us like to have an occasional drink. We may be out at a party or enjoying a nice dinner. Perhaps, it’s Friday and after a full week of being subjected to a news cycle that could send even the most committed teetotaler racing to the nearest bar, we decide it’s time for a drink. Whatever the reason, drinking is part of our culture and lives. While a few drinks in the evening may feel really good, the morning after often doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a cure for hangovers?
This is one of those perfect situations where Mother Nature gives us alcohol with one hand and a cure for your morning hangover in the other. Below I will list the best natural remedies for minimizing or eliminating your hangover. Armed with these hangover cures that really work, you can now enjoy your favorite drinks in the evening and get up the next morning hangover free.
Please realize, even with these remedies, drinking alcohol is not good for your health. These remedies will help lessen the damage, but they aren’t going make alcohol problem-free. I know there are a lot of articles about how drinking alcohol can be healthy. However, there are many more articles that detail the negative health effects of alcohol on your liver, brain and overall health. Let’s use some common sense here. When was the last time you went out for the evening, ate a big salad with lots of vegetables and woke up the next morning feeling queasy with a raging headache? Exactly. Your body doesn’t give you fake news.
That being said, occasional drinking that is part of an overall healthy lifestyle isn’t going to hurt you. I hope you use these hangover cures in good health!
My 4 top hangover cures:
Hangover Cure 1 – Stay hydrated. I think we all know the classic advice “drink lots of water.” If you remember to do this while you drinking, it sort of works. However, most of us forget to drink water or just don’t get around to filling up with water in between drinks. On the margin, it is worth keeping this in your hangover prevention tool-kit. However, the following three remedies are easy to use and significantly more effective.
Hangover Cure 2 – Vitamin B complex. Alcohol depletes your vitamins and minerals, especially the B vitamins. People who consume excessive amounts of alcohol are typically deficient in B vitamins and would benefit from supplementing with a B complex daily. If you are going to be drinking, be sure to take a high quality B complex vitamin before you start drinking. Vitamin B alone likely won’t be enough to ward off your hangover, so combine it with the milk thistle and/ or the vitamin C that I recommend below.
Hangover Cure 3 – Vitamin C. Vitamin C is so good for you that you should take 1000 mg every day regardless of whether or not you drink. If you are drinking, take 1000 mg of vitamin C before you begin drinking and another 1000 mg while you are out or when you get home. If you can add in another 1000 mg in the middle at some point, all the better. Like vitamin B, vitamin C alone usually can’t take on the whole job by itself. Combine it with the milk thistle and/ or vitamin B.
Hangover Cure 4 – Milk Thistle. Milk Thistle is an herb with powerful liver protecting qualities. Milk thistle enhances the ability of your body to produce the antioxidant glutathione which is critical for the health of your liver. Take 500 mg before you start drinking and 500 mg again at the end of the evening. If you drink regularly, I recommend taking 500 mg daily.
You can use all of these remedies in one evening or try just one or two and see what works best for you.
In the rare case that the amount of alcohol you consumed outweighed the effectiveness of these remedies here are some recommendations for the next morning.
My favorite morning-after hangover cures:
– If you have a headache, you could take 300 mg of magnesium to lessen its severity. Some people can get loose stools as a result of taking magnesium. If this happens to you, you may want to take less.
– If you are feeling queasy, boiling a little ginger root (an inch or two) in water to make a tea or having some ready-made herbal ginger tea may help.
– You could also drink some coconut water to replenish your electrolyte balance. These minerals are important for your quick recovery.
– Enjoy a hearty breakfast of eggs and vegetables. The eggs contain cysteine, an amino acid that combats the toxin acetaldehyde that is produced by the liver when you drink alcohol. It is the build up of acetaldehyde in your system that causes the hangover effect. The vegetables will supply some helpful antioxidants and minerals to help eliminate the toxins in your system as well.
These tips will give you the best chance of getting back to normal as quickly as possible.
Finally, if you really want to do something amazing for your liver and health, mark your calendar for my 7-Day Sugar Detox Cleanse beginning January 29, 2018. It is a great experience. You and your liver will love it!
The information in this article and any other articles published by Julie Scott Nutrition are for educational purposes only and are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional, nor are they intended as a substitute for medical advice.