This time of year is as filled with overindulgence as it is good cheer and presents. Drink a little too much at the holiday party? Planning to go all-out on New Year's Eve? Here are some suggestions for dealing with the inevitable aftereffects of too much alcohol.
1. Water
It's boring, it's bland, but it bears repeating: the #1 cause of a hangover is dehydration, and the #1 cure is simple: drink water. If you can manage to drink a glass before going to bed, all the better.
2. Asparagus
According to a 2009 South Korean study, eating asparagus before you drink can help prevent a hangover, and eating asparagus the next morning can help cure it. But can you really handle the thought of roasting up a pound of asparagus the morning after a wild bender? I get queasy just thinking about it.
3. Coconut water
Coconut water helps hydrate you, and naturally contains as many electrolytes as a sports drink, without all the nasty colorings, artificial flavorings, and sweetener (or artificial sweetener). On the down side, the only coconut water I've tried tasted like sweat socks, so there is that.
4. Eggs
Eggs for breakfast is a classic hangover cure, and with good reason. The protein in the eggs helps to stabilize your blood sugar, and eggs contain B vitamins that alcohol leaches from your system. Eggs also contain cysteine, a protein that may help break down toxins.
And best of all, for the hung-over person staggering into the kitchen by the bleak light of morning, eggs are both bland and easy to cook.
5. Bananas
Depending on what you were drinking the night before, your blood sugar levels may be wonky. When your liver is busy processing alcohol, it can't regulate your blood sugar.
If you were drinking buckets of daiquiris or other super-sweet drinks, do your pancreas a favor the next morning and go low-carb, at least for a few hours. But if you were drinking hard alcohol or beer, a banana can help banish the groggy feeling while giving you a dose of potassium for good measure.
Image courtesy Flickr/mountainhiker
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