Hangover Recovery
Hangover recovery methods range all over the place. Imagine a food, beverage or herbal extract, and somebody has tried to use it to recover from hangovers.
That doesn't mean every idea is a good one, though. Below are a new of good and bad hangover recovery techniques. We'll start with the absolute worst ideas - at least the absolute worst ideas that get used by drinkers often.
Hangover Recovery - Bad Ideas
The list below includes common hangover recovery methods that you should never attempt. These tend make a bad problem even worse. The last thing you need is to prolong your suffering.
Sauna Hangover Recovery - On the surface, it makes sense to sweat out the impurities in your body by going into a steam room or sauna. You just sit there and sweat out the excess alcohol and remaining toxins from over-drinking.
The problem is, your body is already dehydrated. The last thing you need is to make your body even more dehydrated. Not only is it not healthy, but you'll come out of the sauna feeling weak and dizzy. Whatever body purification you get out of the sauna is going to be more than counteracted by the increased dehydration, which is the main reason you feel bad.
More Drinking - The "hair on the dog" remedy is not a solution, because it continues the process. Sooner or later, you have to pay the piper, and you're only making it worse, when you do finally come down. Don't start drinking in the morning, to avoid a hangover.
You may find temporary relief. Certain researchers expect that hangover have to do with extreme withdrawal syndrome, where your body is going through a mini-withdrawal phase from alcohol. That should terrify you, that one night out binge drinking can have that kind of effect.
If the withdrawal theory is correct, drinking more liquor the next might morning could make you feel better for a little while. But the more you drink to forestall hangover effects, the more of a mini-withdrawal you'll go through, when you come out the other end.
Cold Shower Hangover Recovery - This is a perfectly awful idea. A hung over body is going to be sensitive to temperature changes, so running your body under cold water is going to make you feel even worse than it normally does. A cold shower isn't going to steam away any of the impurities in your body, either, so you get no positive benefits from the cold shower. You're just torturing yourself.
If you want a shower, get a warm shower or even a hot shower. This does cleanse your body of some impurities and toxins from drinking too much. Make it relatively quick and drink plenty of water before and after, because the steam does continue the process of dehydration. A warm shower is much better than a sauna, though, because it is less extreme.
How to Recover from Hangovers - Good Ideas
Understanding how to recover from hangovers simply requires some common sesne thinking.
Water - The #1 hangover remedy is to drink a lot of water, because many of the hangover symptoms are a result of dehydration. Water is what makes the body function properly on virtually every level.
Not having enough water makes your muscles and nerve endings work improperly, causing soreness and cramping. Water regulates the salt content in your blood, while it helps maintain blood pressure levels and blood sugar content. If you don't have enough water, every cell in your body doesn't function right.
So if you do anything, drink water to replenish. If your stomach won't let you drink water, then drink juices, sports drinks or carbonated drinks, which have significant water content.
Vitamin B Complex - People with severe hangover symptoms, or who are so inebriated that they go to the hospital, are given Vitamin B-1. Take a cue from the doctors and take some Vitamin-B complex supplements.
This is especially true for frequent drinkers. You likely lose Vitamin-B steadily enough that you need a supplement to replenish your body.
Crackers or Dry Toast - Get something on your stomach that is going to be relatively inoffensive, while at the same time good at soaking up stomach acid. Bread or crackers are great for soaking up liquids, while they are among the least offensive foods to the greatest amount of people.
Don't eat greasy foods the morning after. Don't eat rich foods or food that's high in acidic content. Go with some simple and straightforward.
Banana Hangover Recovery - I've touched on this one before. Bananas restore potassium and magnesium, while giving us a healthy level of a sugar boost. Potassium and magnesium helps drives several body functions, from blood pressure to muscle function.
Orange Juice for Hangovers - Orange juice also provides Vitamin-C and other vitamins, while restoring water to your body's system. Like a banana, orange juice is high in potassium.
Keep Your Chin Up - Remember, hangovers are only temporary. Whether you just have to get the alcohol out of your system and get rehydrated, or whether you're actually going through a mild 24-hour withdrawal phase, hangovers pass within a day's time. Sure, it's a day of hell, but if you've made it this far, you'll make it through the hangover phase.
Look at a bad hangover as a learning experience. You'll remember to be a little more cautious next time: drinking plenty of water and having a full meal before you start binge drinking.
Is Greasy Food a Good Idea?
There are people who swear by greasy food as a hangover remedy, because the grease is supposed to coat the inner lining of your stomach. I'm against it, myself, because the last thing I want on an upset stomach is greasy food. If you want to eat greasy food before going on a bender, by all means give it a try. The grease coating might make sense then.
A better idea is to take a dose of olive oil, which is healthier and probably better for the task than pizza grease. Or try the old milk coating technique, where you drink a glass of milk before drinking alcohol.
Recovering from a Hangover
As you can see, hangover recovery tips remain a hotly debated source of controversy. That's because doctors prefer to study ways to reduce or stop drinking altogether, instead of making life comfortable for all of us devoted alcohol drinkers out there. Until medical science decides to devote significant research resources to the "hair on the dog" and Sunday morning banana milkshakes, we're going to have to do the research ourselves.