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The Question: Hopefully the holiday hangovers have taught us not to drink too much. If not, maybe we've learned a way to drink and avoid the next mornings effects. What is the best cure for a hangover? How can you avoid a hangover the next morning? Bonus Question: What do you think is the best remedy to help avoid/cure a hangover? Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - 50 in store credit. 3rd place - 25 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
Hopefully the holiday hangovers have taught us not to drink too much. If not, maybe we've learned a way to drink and avoid the next morning's effects.
A night out on the town is always a great way to loosen up after a hard week of work and a full set of workouts. The problem with this is that the next morning tends to be usually less than enjoyable. This is what is traditionally called a "hangover." Now, the goal of this article is to talk about the ways to cure this dreaded condition, but in order to do that, we must first define the problem. Now, a hangover is a self-inflicted condition which typically consists of a few different symptoms such as headache, nausea, moodiness, as well as an overall feeling of being tired. A hangover is actually caused by dehydration in the body, Acetaldehyde intoxication, hypoglycemia, and an overall lack of the vitamin B-12 in the body.(1)
  Click Image To Enlarge.A Hangover Is Caused By Dehydration. Now this is all based on scientific suspicion, so there still is a little bit of experimentation necessary to find the most effective cure for yourself. But there are a few general concrete natural occurrences that will happen that essentially make up a classic hangover:
First, a hangover can't be "cured" until the toxins and remnants of alcohol have left the body. One of the main toxins that are in the body in excess is acetaldehyde. This organic compound is essentially what the liver turns ethanol (alcohol) into before turning it into the harmless substance acetic acid (which is most commonly found in vinegar, but i[s] harmless to the body.)(1) Since the body does not under normal circumstances have to deal with excess amounts of alcohol, the liver isn't able to convert massive amounts of alcohol into harmless products as quickly as some of our other biological processes.
Secondly, alcohol is a diuretic. This is because alcohol has an inhibiting effect on the body's ADH production (Anti-diuretic hormone.)(2) This hormone is one of the key factors in the body's ability to retain water, meaning that without this hormone, you would pee every five minutes. This is exactly why you have to pee so often when you're drinking. Now, this can't really be readily stopped, so as long as you're drinking, you will be losing water at a rapid rate. And no, holding your pee in (not "breaking the seal") doesn't stop this water loss. Your bladder will continue to fill as water leaves your bloodstream.
Third, alcohol causes changes in digestive patterns. This is the major cause of the nausea involved with alcohol intoxication. Normally, there is a constant flow of food products into waste products that are then excreted from the body. Partially due to the changes in hydration in the small intestine, the contents of the small and large intestine can come to a halt or even move in the opposite direction.(3) Now nausea is a very general symptom in the body which is intended to let the person experiencing it know that something is not right in the body, so be wary because nausea can be a representative of something more serious than a hangover, so if symptoms don't subside within 24 hours of your last drink, be sure to seek medical attention.
Finally, alcohol inhibits the body's ability to break down nutrients into usable molecules by decreasing the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas.(4) This is due to the stress that is placed on the body with the excess of alcohol circulating around. Alcohol is toxic to the body, so the body essentially puts all of its efforts into the removal of it, and it's toxins from the body. This is one of the reasons that alcoholics look so malnourished. Although alcohol provides more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates, alcoholics can't absorb the nutrients in addition to the vitamins. Alcohol Articles:
Now, since we've looked at what happens to the body during the condition we call a hangover, we see that there are a few possibilities in attempting to cure a hangover:
Water, drinks with added electrolytes such as Gatorade and others are my suggestions. Basically, if you wake up with a hangover, drink more than you think you need. Basically this will aid in recovering from a hangover in two ways. The first is that it will re-hydrate the body, while the second is that the extra fluid will aid in the excretion of the toxins and metabolic byproducts. So drink your favorite beverage, it will speed your recovery.
Now as an avid health-conscious reader of the articles here, you should already be taking a multivitamin to aid in your muscular gains, but if you're not, a hangover is an essential time to get the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals. Since alcohol doesn't allow normal nutrient absorption, you really need to be taking a multivitamin and not only for hangover recovery, but for regular daily use.
Painkillers and alcohol most certainly do not mix. Oddly, many people suggest them as the ultimate hangover cure. No!!! Combining alcohol and the common painkiller Ibuprofen has side effects such as bleeding stomach, inflammation, or even permanent ulceration.(5) Alcohol remains in the body for approximately 24 hours after consumption, but is relief from one headache really worth permanent stomach problems? No it isn't. So if you want to take painkillers to relieve some of the suffering, wait as long as possible, ideally 12 hours of so, where the alcohol has had the chance to leave the digestive system.
Hopefully you don't have work the day after successfully drinking your Aunt Helga under the table. But one more thing, remember that alcohol remains in your body for almost 24 hours after consuming them. So when you wake up the morning after a night of heavy drinking... You are almost certainly still over the legal limit, and shouldn't drive anywhere. So if you plan on getting pulled over on the way home, you could be arrested with a DWI charge. And no I'm not blowing steam up your behind here. One of my good friends got a DWI the morning after a night of beer pong without even being drunk. So be careful!
 Click Image To Enlarge.Alcohol Remains In Your Body For Almost 24 Hours.
Prevention is always a good way to avoid problems. Obviously, as you have guessed the simplest way to avoid a hangover is to not drink. Now that seems like a cop-out but it really is an option. Just nominate yourself the designated driver and you'll have no problem dealing with criticism on "Why you're not drinking." But this is not really the goal of the article here. Personally, the most effective preventative measure that I have found is to drink as much water as you can before lying down to pass out for the night. This aids in preventing the dehydration part of the hangover, even though you might have to do a lot of waking up to pee during the night. Since the presence of toxins and other physiological changes that alcohol causes can't be prevented, it's good to take advantage of the fact that dehydration can be. Although typically I wouldn't drink water right before bed for fear of having to wake up during the night multiple times to... "relieve myself", it's much better than the alternative. I would certainly take being tired in the morning due to waking multiple times than a wicked hangover.
This whole article essentially answers this question, but I will paraphrase the general ideas shown above.
Thanks for Reading! References:
The lure of alcohol - we all know the harmful effects that it causes to the body; the poor decisions it pushes us to make; the sickness that it causes when we have too much. The list goes on and on. What makes us continually return to this popular drug? Maybe it is the social aspect? Maybe it is the feeling you get after a few drinks? Maybe it's the loss of one's inhibitions and social anxieties? Whatever the case people go out in packs to purchase and consume these alcohol packed beverages. When your friends give you the call on Friday night to partake in bar hopping it is often nearly impossible to say no. So lets delve into this dangerous world of drinking and the dreaded after-effects. Why should you take my word over anyone else's? What puts my word and my opinion above other individuals? Here are a few details of my experiences, although not proud of them. I'm 23 years old and have been drinking since I was 16. I spent over 4 years in college. (I wont go into detailed time frames; lets just say it was 4 years minimum).
I spent the majority of those years in a college fraternity (I don't think I have to say more about that). I have been to countless bars on the eastern coast. I live in New Jersey and have experienced New York as well. However I did not stop there. I have driven down to Morgantown, West Virginia just to experience the WVU campus and bars. I know ALL about the hangover and have tried many different remedies and cures. What I have written below is what I have found to be the best.
Well obviously the best cure is to never get involved and stick to non-alcoholic beverages if possible. One of the greatest ways to limit the amount of drinks you intake is to be the designated driver. (Trust me, all your friends will love you for this, and it makes SURE to keep your drink intake low as long as you're responsible). So what happens when you're asked to join your friends for a night out on the town and want to have a little more than your body can physically handle? The consequence of this will most definitely end with the dreaded hangover. Let me get to this quickly and point out the obvious. There is NO cure for a hangover. Yes, I said it. Once you wake up with that hangover there is NO immediate cure. The only treatment, sadly, is time. There are ways to help speed up this time, but there is no magical remedy that will make you feel like you can run a marathon after a tough night of drinking. So how can we shorten this time frame of feeling awful? I have tried many different remedies to speed up the recovery process. I may not have a lot of experience in the bodybuilding field, however my experience in the field of partying is quite vast. We all know the feeling. Opening your eyes, head is pounding, acid reflux burning your chest, dry mouth, and the thought "I'm never drinking again." There are a couple ways to avoid some of these symptoms that I will go over in the next section. However lets just say you forgot your preventative measures this time. To begin with, you're dehydrated, consuming those carbohydrate, sugar, and alcohol "enriched" drinks all night sucks the water right out of you. Get some water into your system as soon as possible. It would be even more beneficial if you can consume some Gatorade or something similar. It may not be the best for your body in simple sugars etc, however the night before you were just dumping poison into your body, Gatorade should be the least of your worries. Continue drinking water over the next couple steps to get your body hydrated. Dehydration Articles: Alka-Seltzer is the second step to recovery. This should help with the acid reflux and upset stomach that is a commonly linked with a hangover. Some people experience the acidic upset stomach others do not; I am one of those people who get horrible acid in the morning after drinking. For the headache; I will usually deal with the headache - as the damage I have inflicted upon my liver the previous night does not need to be compounded - with the effect of Tylenol. If you are one that cannot deal with a headache for some reason or another I personally recommend Aleve or Advil. Now we need to get those lost nutrients back into our body. A nice sized breakfast paired with your choice of a multivitamin will cover that task. Just be sure your stomach can handle what your putting into it. We don't want to be throwing up what you just put in. Remember to continue to consume water/Gatorade continually to get your body re-hydrated! You are now on your way to a speedy recovery from that nasty hangover.  View Multivitamins Sorted By Top Seller Here.
So you know your going to have a rough night of drinking ahead of you but are dreading that hangover the next morning? There are a couple ways to minimize the effect or prevent it completely. Start off the night with a high-quality meal. This will help slow down the absorption of alcohol in your stomach later on in the night. It is vital to drink a good amount of water before, during and after your night of partying. Staying hydrated is essential as these alcoholic beverages you are consuming drain the water right out of your body (Drinking Gatorade or something similar is very beneficial in preventing a hangover in my experience. If you are into mixed drinks, and if it is at all possible, use Gatorade as your mixer. I have found this will nearly eliminate your hangover if your only drinking liquor mixed in Gatorade. Try orange flavored vodka mixed with orange Gatorade, you will be asking if there is even any liquor in the drink.).
One of my biggest secrets in eliminating that upset stomach and acid reflux in the morning is very simple. Take a Zantac BEFORE you start drinking. This very simple step will eliminate that acidic/upset stomach in the morning by neutralizing the toxins in your stomach as they occur. And finally, before you go to sleep, eat something paired with a multivitamin. It does not really matter what it is. Eat something at your local 24-hour diner or eat something healthy like a can of tuna. You have just spent countless hours consuming nothing but toxic liquids, get some food and nutrients into your stomach. Your body is starving for actual substance, vitamins, and minerals. This will greatly lessen the effect of your hangover in the morning. There you have it. Some very simple steps that will help prevent the dreaded hangover. If you do wake up with a hangover it will be MUCH less severe than it would have been and will fade quickly with the steps I listed to cure a hangover.
Personally, I do not experience very bad hangovers unless I forget to follow the steps I listed above. If I start the night off with a good meal, my Zantac, and a lot of water I'm set for the night. By the end of the night the "Drunk Munchies" have set in. So I find no problem having a bite to eat before hitting the sack. There really is no cure for a hangover once you wake up with that pounding headache. There are only some steps to help speed up the recovery process. I am a firm believer that there are ways to PREVENT or lessen the effects of a hangover on the body. With the steps I have listed above I have experience fewer hangovers and much less severe ones if by some chance I do have one.
Hopefully the holiday hangovers have taught us not to drink too much. If not, maybe we've learned a way to drink and avoid the next morning's effects.
Ok, another topic. But this one should not be taken too positively. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle and drinking is out of the equation anyway. A topic that suggests cures for a hangover would promote drinking in my opinion. So I would not suggest drinking at all in the first place.
The severity of a hangover depends on:
Ethanol in the body causes more urine production which causes the dehydration and this causes the headaches the dry mouth and lethargy. Dehydration causes the brain to shrink away from the skull slightly (hope no one wants that to happen regularly so drink electrolyte solutions). Alcohols effect on the stomachs lining causes nausea and it also has negative effects on the liver and the kidneys. Ok, I won't make it too complicated but what's bad is bad.
Firstly prevention is better than the cure, so don't drink poison or be ready for the consequences. But what to do if you can't stay away from drinking.
Bananas and Apples and honey are good sources of food that help in curing hangovers. Bananas would help calm the stomach while honey builds up the depleted sugar levels. Bananas are also rich in the important electrolytes, magnesium and potassium, which are severely depleted during heavy drinking.
Vitamin B6 is also known for reducing hangovers. Over consumption of alcohol causes vitamin B12 deficiency as well. Vitamin C stimulates the liver to break down the alcohol. Take 2-10 gm per day in divided doses. Start at 1,000 mg an hour and build up to bowel tolerance. An excess of vitamin C can cause diarrhea, and since you probably have stomach distress already too much C may cause a problem. So don't take too much. View Vitamin B Products Sorted By Top Seller Here.
Individuals with lower magnesium levels may experience more severe hangovers. A healthy diet that contains an adequate intake of magnesium and other minerals may help in the long term to reduce the effects of hangovers. The hangover symptoms of headache, and light and sound sensitivity, are very similar to those of a migraine. A common treatment for chronic migraine headaches is magnesium. Some scientists hypothesize that a hangover may be exhibiting at least some symptoms of an acute magnesium deficiency.
So what should be understood is that to avoid hangovers we have to give back to the body what alcohol consumption has taken away. So a good multivitamin which includes B-Vitamins, magnesium, zinc and vitamin C should be taken along with a meal and lots of water. Painkillers are only temporary relief and don't do much to reduce the damage. But it still would urge everyone to live happy and to avoid drinking. Along with this a good workout would improve circulation and provide oxygen to the oxygen deprived brain since the heavy drinking.
I've NEVER had a hangover for the simple reason that I've never consumed an alcoholic beverage. And this is exactly what is required for a bodybuilding lifestyle. So enjoy your gains and live healthy. References:
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