HANGOVER

I HOPE YOU’RE NOT expecting me to give you a sure-fire natural hangover remedy that will allow you to drink all night and feel great the next morning-there’s no such thing. If you drink too much, you’re going to pay the penalty the next day. Though I no longer drink myself, I can empathize.

The truth is, the only way to avoid hangovers is to avoid drinking. Indeed, a hangover is not the only problem you’re likely to have if you overindulge. Most people don’t realize that even though they might feel okay after a night of drinking, their performance ability is impaired. Many studies have shown that no matter how you feel in the morning, if you’ve been drinking more than a drink or two the night before, your reaction times are slowed and your other facilities are not up to par. So if you are required to give a peak performance the next day, the best advice is to avoid drinking entirely.

If you are going to drink, there are ways to help prevent a hangover. First, there’s some evidence that vitamin C can help clear alcohol out of your system faster than otherwise. This doesn’t mean that vitamin C will cure or prevent a hangover; it does mean that some vitamin C before drinking will help you recover more quickly.

You should be sure to drink on a full stomach because food will help to slow the absorption of the alcohol. It’s those few drinks at the cocktail hour before dinner that can really do damage by rushing into your bloodstream and destroying any resolve you have not to drink too much.

It also helps to drink slowly. Five drinks spread over four hours have a very different effect than the same amount of alcohol consumed in an hour. Pace yourself by paying attention to the amount you’re drinking in relation to the passage of time.

If you did have too much to drink, have two aspirins, ibuprofen, or some Alka-Seltzer before bed. They can help to eliminate the symptoms of hangover the next morning. And if you forgot to take them before bed, they’ll still help in the morning by relieving your headache.

Black coffee won’t help you get back to normal, but fruit juice can. The fructose in fruit juice helps the body burn alcohol faster and replenishes the fluid your body loses from drinking. So a large, cold glass of orange or apple juice will help you get back on track. One of my patients told me whenever he felt “fragile” from too much to drink, he started the next day with two tall glasses of orange juice mixed half and half with seltzer: It makes the juice lighter and gives the body extra fluid.

Another patient told me that every time he has a hangover he feels a craving for a bowl of chicken soup made from a dried mix, no doubt because these soups have a high sodium content. Chicken soup is really therapeutic-a big steaming bowl will help replace lost salts and potassium as well as lost fluids.

Finally, there is a theory that the symptoms of hangover are caused by substances called congeners. It’s said that because vodka is so low in congeners, it doesn’t cause the wicked cognac or whiskey hangovers. Congeners are absorbed by activated charcoal, so if you take some activated charcoal tablets before bed, you call expect to absorb at least a portion of the congeners before the, do their damage. I have never tried this, but some of’ my patients have told me that it works for them.

NATURAL PRESCRIPTION FOR HANGOVER

• Avoid drinking to excess.
• Take 1,000 mg. of vitamin C before drinking.
• Drink only on a full stomach. · Drink slowly.
• Take two aspirins or so e Alka-Seltzer before bed.
• Try taking two or three tablets of activated charcoal before going to bed.
• Drink two large glasses of fruit juice spritzer the next morning.