How to overcome a hangover: 16 Science-Backed Ways to Get Rid of a Hangover Faster

10.08.202313.06.2023 by alexxlab

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How To Cure a Hangover, According to Science

Humans have been searching for the perfect hangover cure since we first started fermenting things thousands of years ago. There are numerous hangover-cure products on the market, and various home remedies that drinkers—and even some health proponents—swear by.

Unfortunately for those who occasionally overindulge, there is no such thing as a “magic pill” or specific regimen that can truly kick a hangover to the curb. “But just like any good myth, there’s a kernel of truth in a lot of it,” says Jesus Chavarria, a clinical psychologist at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario, Canada.

Why Do Some People Get Hangovers and Others Don’t?

While most people aren’t immune to alcohol’s lingering effects, some people can handle it better than others, and some can even drink without fear of a hangover at all. “It all comes down to how different individuals break down alcohol in their bodies,” says Yunfeng Lu, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Two enzymes–alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase–are responsible for processing alcohol in the body. If the second enzyme is weak, such as in some Asian populations, it can result in slower alcohol metabolism and lingering hangover symptoms.

On the other hand, about 20 to 25 percent of people are considered “hangover resistant,” Chavarria tells Popular Mechanics. “So they could actually drink a good amount and not feel too bad the next day.” But they’re not completely immune–those folks will still suffer the consequences if they drink more than they’re used to drinking.

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The severity of hangover symptoms depend on a couple of things: genetics and frequency. Research suggests that people with a family history of an alcohol use disorder are generally more prone to hangovers, Chavarria says. Some research also suggests that the more often people experience hangovers, the more severe the hangovers become. It’s unclear why this happens, but it could suggest an adaptive response that causes your body to become more sensitive to the effects of alcohol, Chavarria explains. To add to that, recent studies suggest that hangovers occur when someone drinks more than what they typically drink, period, no matter what that typical amount is, he adds.

How To Cure a Hangover

The most widely recommended solution for easing a hangover is to drink non-alcoholic fluids while you’re imbibing to hopefully help prevent a hangover, and afterward, to help relieve one. This is because alcohol acts as a diuretic, which means it stops the body from absorbing water and promotes water loss through urine.

“Most people don’t drink enough water while they’re drinking, or any kind of liquid besides the liquor that they’re drinking,” Chavarria says. But drinking water or beverages like Gatorade or Pedialyte will help rehydrate the body and at least lessen the symptoms of dehydration that are associated with a hangover after heavy drinking, such as dry mouth, dizziness, and fatigue.

Another remedy some seasoned drinkers swear by is eating greasy, fatty foods. But there’s no scientific evidence to suggest this really works. “It might make you feel a little bit better, but it’s going to be more placebo than anything else,” Chavarria says. (The placebo effect means there’s no actual therapeutic effect, but the person eating the food thinks there is, which could in turn actually make them feel better.) Drinking alcohol can affect blood sugar levels, which could be why your body craves food during a hangover, but eating unhealthy foods is not a healthy way to stabilize blood sugar, Chavarria adds.

And healthy foods won’t stop a hangover either. A viral TikTok video suggests that eating asparagus before drinking will prevent a hangover, but there’s no scientific merit to this, Today reported last June.

Over-the-Counter Hangover Treatments

Purple Tree Celebration Vitamin Pills (30-Count)

$20 at Amazon

Drinkwel Better Mornings (90-Count)

$40 at Amazon

Himalaya PartySmart (10-Count)

$21 at Amazon

Morning Recovery Detox Drink (6-Count)

$36 at Amazon

Probably the oldest purported hangover cure out there is to just keep drinking: “the hair of the dog,” as they say. But all of the experts say this is bad advice because it prolongs drunkenness, postpones a hangover, and does nothing to prevent said hangover. “At some point, the Reaper’s going to get paid, and you’re going to have to feel it,” Chavarria says.

Pain-killer drugs are also often part of people’s hangover regimen. While ibuprofen or aspirin can help with the headache or body aches, steer clear from Tylenol, the experts warn. Mixing the active ingredient in Tylenol (acetaminophen) with alcohol can cause serious liver damage. “It is so dangerous,” Davies said. “Stay away from acetaminophen until that alcohol is completely cleared.”

All the experts agreed that the best way to get over a hangover fast is to drink responsibly in the first place, stay hydrated, and get lots of sleep. “When you’re asleep you’re not really kind of conscious of all those horrible feelings,” Chavarria says. “I think that’s the way to go.”

Kimberly Hickok

Kimberly is a freelance science writer with a degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in biology from Southeastern Louisiana University and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has been published by NBC, Science, Live Science, Space.com and many others. Her favorite stories are about health, animals and obscurities.

How to Cure a Hangover – Zest

After an evening of excessive alcoholic beverages, the splitting headache and muscle cramps are unavoidable for some people. If you couldn’t avoid alcohol altogether, for whatever reason, the next best option is to treat those hangover symptoms. But how do you tell a legitimate hangover cure from an old folk’s tale?

This article will explain what happens to your brain and body after you drink alcohol, and a few hangover cure options that may help, including Zest Hydration Powder Packs.

What Hangovers Are

After excessive drinking, our bodies are flooded with alcohol. This alcohol consumption leads to a number of symptoms – usually emerging when we awake the next morning – that are grouped together and called a hangover. But the exact cause of a hangover isn’t a simple explanation.

Drinking alcohol increases your blood alcohol levels, which is metabolized into acetaldehyde – a toxic substance. Alcohol also interferes with hormones and sleep quality. We also know that alcohol leads to dehydration and a drop in blood sugar levels. All these effects combined create the hangover you experience.

If you are concerned about alcohol dependence or have hangover symptoms that won’t go away, contact a medical health professional for help.

High Blood Alcohol Levels

Heavy drinking impacts us all differently. Hangover severity can greatly differ from one person to the next, even after consuming the same alcoholic drink in the same quantity. However, the worse hangover effects usually happen when our blood alcohol levels start to drop.1

Even when there’s no alcohol left in your bloodstream, your liver will still be dealing with the effects of alcohol and your hangover may be far from over. Contrary to what you might think, drinking more alcohol isn’t the solution – you’re just prolonging the inevitable.

Low Blood Sugar

One of the effects of alcohol consumption is low blood sugar. Researchers have documented that alcohol has a negative effect on metabolism, impairing glucose output from the liver and reducing muscle glycogen uptake and storage.2

This potentially explains why hangover cures that replenish sugar (usually through carbohydrate-rich foods) can treat the muscle pains and fatigue that you’re feeling.

Dehydration

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that it dehydrates you. Add on other symptoms from even worse hangovers, such as vomiting and diarrhea, and you may find that you’ve lost more hydration than you realize. One small study also found that the more concentrated a beverage (distilled spirits being very strong and concentrated), the more likely you are to be dehydrated.3

Drinking water is the obvious solution. A big glass before you go to sleep is often recommended. However, you could also drink coffee or even pickle juice the next morning to rehydrate.

The best way to rehydrate is by drinking electrolytes (learn more below or read our article Should You Drink Electrolyte Powder Without Stevia? for more). This can go a long way to combatting many of the symptoms listed below.

Common Hangover Symptoms

Hangover symptoms vary from one person to the next. The worst symptoms may crop up when you haven’t been eating food, or have lost it to vomiting and/or diarrhea. Replenishing nutrition and fluids is key.

The most common symptoms include:

A headache or multiple headaches throughout the day,
Fatigue and tiredness,
Sensitivity to lights and sounds, as well as general irritability,
Nausea and an upset stomach or stomach pain,
Muscle aches and cramps,
A dry mouth,
Dizziness or feeling disconnected.

Less common (but still normal) symptoms include:

A rapid heartbeat,
Feeling of depression or anxiety,
Shakiness and jitters.

You can always reach out to a doctor or medical health professional if you’re concerned about any of the symptoms you experience.

For most of these minor symptoms, they should naturally decrease over the next 24 hours. Using the hangover solutions below, you may be able to reduce the recovery time more significantly – but of course, it also depends on your tolerance. Some people simply bounce back quicker.

3 Hangover Cure Options

Hangover cures range from consuming more alcohol (the controversial ‘hair of the dog’) to unusual extracts and exotic cures including prickly pear extract and red ginseng. You can also find over-the-counter medications aimed at hangovers.

Some cures are backed by scientific evidence, while others aren’t.

Our three suggested hangover remedy drinks work by soothing the symptoms so you can get on with your day quicker.

Zest Hydrating Electrolyte Powder

Zest Hydrating Electrolyte Powder is your best bet to treat that headache and other dehydration-related hangover symptoms. A morning cup or bottle of water with a stick of this powder will provide electrolytes for rehydration and fast acting relief.

The powder is made with 700mg of electrolytes that enhance cellular absorption, meaning your body holds onto the water you consume rather than flushing it straight through. This keeps your body hydrated for longer.

This is our best hangover cure at Zest, as it also includes a little cane sugar (see carbs below to find out why this is good), B vitamins, and vitamin C. With a lemon lime flavor, it’s gentle on your stomach too.

What About Zest Tea?

Caffeine is actually a good idea after a hangover, as it helps fight the grogginess, and amino acid L-Theanine can soothe any stress or anxiety you’re feeling in the morning too. However, getting good sleep can be key to minimizing hangover symptoms so we don’t recommend drinking Zest Energy Tea late at night to prevent a hangover the next day!

If you want some extra energy with your electrolytes in the morning then take a look at our Energy & Hydration Powder Pack next.

Water and Pain Relievers

While some studies suggest that certain natural remedies could effectively act as a pain reliever, clinical medicine is still incredibly effective as a treatment for reducing that hangover headache.

When you take a pain reliever, you should also consume plenty of water to rehydrate. You could even incorporate Zest’s electrolyte powder into the mix. The fluid will rehydrate your body and work to return everything to normal, while the painkiller provides instant relief.

There are several common drugs available, however nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the only ones you should choose – aspirin and ibuprofen are probably already in your home. If your stomach is feeling a little tender, try to eat some simple food (e.g. toast) with the drugs to prevent further discomfort.

You should avoid any acetaminophen, like Tylenol. As one study noted: “It is considered to be safe when administered within its therapeutic range, but in cases of acute intoxication, hepatotoxicity can occur. “4 Put simply, any alcohol that’s lingering in your system can exacerbate the toxicity of the drug. If you consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, this could risk damaging your liver.

Carbohydrate-Rich Foods

Drinks are great for combatting symptoms related to dehydration caused by hangovers, but you shouldn’t forget to eat some food. One of the key symptoms that hangover cures should target is that drop in blood sugar.

Eating carbohydrate-rich foods replaces any lost glucose. As we explored in our article All About Zest’s Fasting Electrolyte Powder, both the brain and your muscles rely heavily on glucose for energy. Replacing the glucose can combat fatigue, muscle complaints, and headaches too.

If your body feels a little too fragile for a large meal, or you’re experiencing nausea, keep it simple. A slice of toast or a baked potato will be ideal.

FAQs

What can I drink to get rid of a hangover?

To negate the hangover symptoms that arise after a night of drinking, try a tall glass of something hydrating like our electrolyte powder. You can also take a painkiller to tackle headaches, and consume something simple to reduce nausea. Whatever you do, don’t add more alcohol to the mix! Most scientists agree, ‘hair of the dog’ is a very bad idea.5

How long does a hangover take to go away?

The length of your hangover symptoms depends on biological factors, as well as how much you drank the night before, how much sleep you managed to get, and how dehydrated you are. You can treat a hangover with plenty of fluids to rehydrate your body. Nonetheless, most hangovers are completely finished within 24 hours.6

What drinks help a hangover?

With ‘hair of the dog’ firmly out of the question, there are still a large number of cures that you might be tempted by. Herbal remedies, from red ginseng to essential oils, are largely unfounded. Drinking caffeine can help reduce some symptoms too. However, the best drinks for a hangover are ones that enhance hydration and restore glucose, to replace the water and sugar lost after a night of drinking.

Which hangover remedies work?

One small study found that compounds which inhibit prostaglandin synthesis or accelerate alcohol metabolism could prevent hangover symptoms… but more research is needed.7

Most verifiable cures combat hangover symptoms after they’re already present, by increasing hydration, replenishing glucose, and providing vitamins, like vitamin C. You should also eat food to reduce fatigue and feed your brain!

SOURCES
1 https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/7-steps-to-cure-your-hangover-and-ginkgo-biloba-whats-the-verdict
2 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/2/8/781
3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537780/
4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26921661/
5 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/hair-of-the-dog#risks
6 https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-a-hangover-last
7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20712594/

How to overcome a hangover with the help of food

The other side of the New Year and the deep is the weak and merciless. Afisha Daily asked knowledgeable experts how to deal with a hangover. We are preparing for the New Year in all possible scenarios.

The best cure for a hangover is sleep, and sleep is time. If there is a lot of time, then this is the simplest: in a dream, you feel less unpleasant somatic sensations. But this can be accelerated by the so-called “double sleep system”, developed by our grandfathers in the 60s of the last century. You wake up early because alcohol disturbs your sleep, you drink, conditionally, 100 grams of vodka or a bottle of beer – and go to bed again. After a couple of hours, you wake up with much more pleasant sensations.

Shchi is good for “pulling off”, moreover, those that are not from sour cabbage, but from ordinary cabbage, but with a large proportion of acid, with a large number of tomatoes. This sensation of the sweetish milky taste of strongly boiled cabbage with the sweetness and acidity of the tomato has a calming effect on the body.

But, in general, all these warm, fatty and sour soups do not have any effect on the removal of alcohol from the body. It works like a placebo or homeopathy. On the other hand, food, especially liquid food, creates a comfortable feeling inside the stomach, as opposed to uncomfortable sensations in the rest of the body. And if you drink a small amount of alcohol with food, then at least for a while you will enter a state of balance with the world around you.

I rarely drink, even a lot. Drinking alcohol is not easy. A feast for me is not to sit for an hour, but at least a day: next to friends and a lot of snacks on the table. If you sit down, then thoroughly, to relax and chat. This is the most important thing, tsimes.

The first time I had a hangover, my mother helped me by bringing me a mug of chicken broth. After a good feast, I stupidly need to eat hot soup: you eat soup – and like a cucumber. But not khash or other fatty soups.

It is believed that chicken – and, in particular, chicken broth – contains the hormone of happiness. Chicken broth helps to restore strength, it is less fat than other meat broth, but it brings the body in order. I have a New Year’s tradition. On the morning of January 1, no matter what state I am in, I cook chicken noodles for myself and friends. Then we eat it – and we can continue to celebrate if we have the strength.

In any case, a hangover can happen. When you are young, you somehow don’t fight with him: you drank some water, held your head and ran – young, you have enough strength. Now you are not afraid of such a state, but it brings tangible discomfort. In youth, this happened often, because we were promiscuous in the choice of drink, and now, in fact, there is plenty to choose from.

If the question is the correct restoration of acidity, then you need to ask toxicologists, they will tell you exactly what and in what proportions to take. But there are also pleasant gastronomic ways. And this, of course, is much more interesting than taking and drinking an aspirin or something else.

First of all, these are hot and concentrated soups. In Georgia and near the Caucasus, this is something like khash. They are different, there are similar dishes in other cuisines. In Russian cuisine – and, in my opinion, this is more effective – these are sour soups. Solyanka is a very hangover dish. This is a strong, concentrated meat broth made from different types of meat. Solyanka has its own characteristic sour taste due to the addition of tomato, pickles, brine from pickles and, of course, onions, olives, capers, olives, and, again, different types of meat and meat products cooked in this soup. It is rich, so it absorbs well and normalizes acidity.

A sense of proportion during a feast should not be a taboo. If the feeling has formed naturally and you feel that you just don’t need it anymore, you just don’t want to, then you need to stop. And then the soup will not be so necessary.

Of course, it’s better not to have a hangover at all. Therefore, there is one simple remedy – to drink plenty of water. When we were in the West for the first time, about ten years ago, it was very surprising for us that a glass of water is poured with each cocktail. See how foreigners drink: one cocktail, one glass of water. If you do not forget about this technique, then everything will turn out great.

Of course, it is also better to drink water before going to bed, and analgesics should not be taken in the morning, when the head is already splitting, but before going to bed, it dilutes the blood. Again, if you don’t forget.

Of course, good sleep is important. It often happens that you drank on Thursday – you still have to get up for work on Friday, you don’t get enough sleep, and a familiar depressing state appears. You definitely need to sleep well, then the hangover will resolve itself.

We had a cocktail called “Alcoholic’s Breakfast” (also called “Dragon’s Eye” or “Yellow Eye”), when you can’t even have breakfast in the morning and you get sick. Tomato juice, egg and beer. Tomato juice is beaten with an egg, spices, more salt, because the salt is washed out with alcohol, this thing is poured with beer – and it goes very well. There is also the old and forgotten Bullshot cocktail, vodka with beef broth. In Delicatessen, we will now give after the New Year: you shake a glass of frozen vodka – and then you drink hot broth.

People say, “It’s nice to get drunk.” But everyone is afraid to get drunk, because this is such a sign of alcoholism. But in fact, you can do a little, this is normal. It’s funny when they ask in a bar: “Give me something like this (referring to alcohol) so that I can sober up.” That is, “add more alcohol to me so that the alcohol stops working.”

Hangovers are just as, and perhaps more, an important part of any worthwhile drinking adventure than consumption itself. Especially when the holidays allow you to give a hangover the scale of an epic and at the same time help to subtly experience its smallest nuances, enjoy them without being distracted by everyday worries, as is usually the case on the rest of the year.

Therefore, find out in advance which of your favorite places will be open on January 1, and make a route, or rather several, within walking distance of the place where you will celebrate. As for the right alcohol, corresponding to the moment, it is difficult to give any advice here. It largely depends on what you drank before: cereals to cereals (beer, whiskey, vodka), grapes to grapes (wine, cognac, etc.). On the other hand, a lot depends on the amount drunk and the frequency with which they drank.

But if you still single out some specific drinks that are ideally combined with the “carnival morning”, then, from my point of view, these are primarily sparkling wines, champagne, cava and creams, as well as natural sparkling wines, so called petnates. Like all natural wines, they tend to be more oxidized, making them easier to drink, and overall a good option.

Because of my work, I basically have no restrictions on what day I can drink, and it all happens very unpredictably. I can not drink all week, and on Saturday I go to a bar and accidentally get drunk. It cannot be said that I drink deeply, I try to limit myself a little, but sometimes it happens. It seems to me that this is an integral part of the life of an adult.

When a hangover happens, I go to a Georgian restaurant near my house, where I have a stable set in this state – Adjarian khachapuri and five khinkali with some kind of meat, well, and a bottle of water. I push a liter of water into myself, because a hangover is, first of all, a lack of water in the body, and, accordingly, the water balance needs to be restored somehow. Well, the food – it’s all so fatty, satisfying. The next thing I do is go home and sleep there further, because sleep helps even more. You ate, drank water, you feel a little better, it makes you sleepy. When you have slept, by the evening you are generally ok, you can go on drinking. I do this very often, and it saves me.

Top 6 ways to overcome a hangover

articleContentBiochemist Gleb Repich right in the studio Breakfast. Weekend analyzed the most common ways to deal with a hangover and told which ones are really effective, and which ones are not even worth trying.

Activated charcoal

Freepik

According to Gleb Repich, activated charcoal will help in case of ordinary food poisoning.

Activated carbon absorbs large hydrophobic molecules well, such as bacterial toxins. But, unfortunately, it is absolutely powerless against small molecules of alcohol and acetaldehyde. It’s not even worth trying.

The biochemist also added that in order to alleviate the hangover from pharmaceutical products, it makes sense to use only headache medicines. However, those that do not contain paracetamol.

Brine

This folk recipe really works. After alcohol poisoning, the body is dehydrated, so it is important to compensate for the lost fluid. In addition, due to the salt content, the electrolyte balance is restored.

Broth

Broth also helps relieve hangover symptoms.

First, it’s a liquid. And secondly, the composition of the broth contains readily available nutrients that allow you to quickly overcome exhaustion.

Freepik

A glass of water with a teaspoon of honey and lemon juice will help you feel better. Such a drink quenches thirst, restores the body’s strength and gives energy due to the glucose in honey.

Dairy products

Strong alcohol irritates the stomach. Kefir and natural yogurt soothe its walls well.

Drinks containing caffeine

Black or green tea and coffee with sugar improve the condition after alcohol poisoning. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and helps the body get rid of toxins through the kidneys.

So, in order to overcome a hangover, in addition to ordinary water, you can use:

brine;
broth;
water with honey and lemon juice;
fermented milk products;
caffeinated drinks.

Finally, Gleb Repich spoke about a popular, but extremely harmful way to deal with a hangover – a new portion of alcohol. After “walking” the day before, the liver is already languishing from the destructive effect.

How to overcome a hangover: 16 Science-Backed Ways to Get Rid of a Hangover Faster