5 Top Hang-over Cures

gidlah says on August 3rd, 2006 at 12:06 pm

That’s all useless. It’s easiest to just avoid hangover by drinking lots of water before falling asleep. AFAIK hangover is caused by the dehydration that alcohol creates.

Rick says on August 3rd, 2006 at 12:09 pm

I was a chem major for a little while in college, and a buddy passed on this time-tested remedy: Cysteine amino acid supplements.

Hangovers are exacerbated by the body’s incomplete metabolization of alcohol, which turns it into an aldehyde. Cysteine reacts with aldehyde and breaks it down much faster, before it can turn your brain into leather.

The trick is to take 200 mg at the start of drinking, 100 mg per drink, and 200 mg right before you pass out.

Note that the toast soldiers dipped in egg listed above are very high in cysteine, as is most pizza.

Ed says on August 3rd, 2006 at 12:25 pm

First, ditto on the water drinking. When I decide to go over my limit, I try to match a glass of water to a beer, one for one. In other words, I gulp down some agua between Pete’s Wickeds. That might be overkill, but it really helps in my case.

Second, whenever possible, I try to drink homebrewed beer. From what I understand, unfiltered, unpasteurized homebrew either has fewer things that cause hangover or more things that prevent hangover. One or the other. In any case, my homebrew doesn’t give bad hangovers; that’s good enough for me!

Lance says on August 3rd, 2006 at 1:15 pm

I prefer Gatorade over water as a “morning after” drink as it was designed/marketed as being able to rehydrate you faster than water. Anything to make that hangover go away faster!

Richard Querin says on August 3rd, 2006 at 1:18 pm

A couple of glasses of water before bed along with a couple of Tylenols (not sure about how safe that is) seems to work well. Also, I’ve heard that a glass of Pedialyte or even a jug of Gatorade makes a good dehydration remedy which helps mitigate hangover symptoms by morning.

While not a heavy drinker by any stretch, what I don’t get is that I’m not too bad if I have 6 or 8 beers, but when I have 1 or 2 I end up with much worse headaches in the morning. Why is that?

Reg says on August 3rd, 2006 at 1:55 pm

gidlah,
I think “useless” may be a bit harsh. Also, If you read the complete article you’ll note I do mention not drinking at all and I suggest resources for those with difficulties in this area.
Rick,Lance and Richard are correct. The “hung over” effect is due in large part to dehydration and the bodies inability to get rid of the excess alcohol.
As for Ed, I don’t know the stats for the “homebrew” side. But, it sure sounds interesting.

Osman says on August 3rd, 2006 at 3:05 pm

emergen-C. One packet before passing out.

James says on August 3rd, 2006 at 3:15 pm

As mentioned above, Gatorade and Pedialyte help. A friend who is social worker said Gatorade was kept in the fridge at a detox center where she worked. I also talked to a rehab nurse who added they also used Pedialyte.

gidlah says on August 3rd, 2006 at 3:32 pm

Reg,
sorry, it was too harsh. In fact I didn’t read the article at all. I just felt a sudden urge to mention water before passing out, as it has worked extremely well for me and my acquintances.

Pascal Venier says on August 3rd, 2006 at 6:35 pm

Drink in moderation to avoid hang-overs! ;^)

Peter says on August 4th, 2006 at 1:04 am

My own cure: Meditation
- meditate on how alcohol is the third cause of death in USA
- meditate on how I missed most of the party (I can’t remember it because I drunk like a pig)
- meditate on the fact the there is no “morning after” but “the following 2 days of feeling like shit”

and finally, my favorite
- meditate on the fact that my own father is dieing of alcohol induced liver cancer.

I only have 2 weeks of alcohol free life… but I already had a nice party where I *do* remember having a great time all night long.

Martin says on August 6th, 2006 at 10:40 pm

I’ve tried almost all these “cures,” and I’ve found only one thing that works FOR ME.

Exactly two hours before you start drinking, eat a very large meal with lots of starch and fat, i.e. a tuna salad sandwich with lots of fries. I’ve also just eaten an entire loaf of french bread and downed it with several glasses of whole milk. Be sure you are very full.

Wait two hours, exactly.

Drink to your heart’s content.

You have to drink a lot more before you start to feel it, and it’s a very nice, deep, long lasting buzz; difficult to get fallin-down drunk.

Pass out.

Wake up to the sound of birds chirping and stretch and yawn and realize you feel great.

Aaliya says on January 28th, 2008 at 6:07 am

you’ve got a pounding headache the morning after, try sudafed (or similar) instead of aspirin. Irish ex-bf gave me the heads up on that one, go figure…