This is from an article I found years ago from a blogger named “I’m not Martha”. It’s really great advice on hangovers and how to deal with them.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
They don’t call it intoxication for nothing. Happy juice\u00a0
is poisonous. Put enough of it into your body and you die.\u00a0
It is not so much alcohol itself but the by-products of\u00a0
alcohol, and especially one particularly nasty chemical\u00a0
critter by the name of acetaldehyde. It’s got a lot more\u00a0
of the bad kind of kapow, and the latest research suggests\u00a0
that it may be responsible for the worst of your hangover.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
After you ingest alcohol, your body breaks it down into\u00a0
(among other things) acetaldehyde, before converting it\u00a0
into less harmful substances. The acetaldehyde messes with\u00a0
your brain at the same time as a host of depleted minerals\u00a0
are short-circuiting your nervous system, and that’s in\u00a0
addition to low blood sugar and the classic headache-and-\u00a0
dry-mouth symptoms caused by dehydration. The result:\u00a0
nausea, twitchy nerves, unpleasantness, pessimism, terrible\u00a0
brain pain, and a temporary suspension of the laws of\u00a0
gravity.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The severity of a hangover varies according to . . .\u00a0
* The amount you’ve guzzled in a given period of time\u00a0
* Your own innate enzymatic capacity to deal with the poisons\u00a0
* Your age\u00a0
* Your gender…guys can drink more. Hey, they are bigger,\u00a0
etc.\u00a0
Translation: the more you drink in a short amount of time,\u00a0
the more you’ll feel the alcohol. One’s weight is also a\u00a0
factor (the less you weigh, the more you’ll feel it), as\u00a0
is a genetic predisposition. Finally, the older you get,\u00a0
the more you’ll feel the alcohol the next morning.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
As anyone who has had a hangover knows, thirst and dry mouth\u00a0
are 2 of the cardinal symptoms. These symptoms caused\u00a0
scientists to investigate how drinking alcohol affects your\u00a0
water regulatory system.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Anyone who has gotten drunk knows that drinking eventually\u00a0
leads to multiple trips to the bathroom. This is because\u00a0
consumption of alcohol causes a decrease in a substance\u00a0
called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). As blood alcohol levels\u00a0
rise, less ADH is available, and more water is excreted by\u00a0
the kidneys. This situation reverses itself, however, when\u00a0
blood alcohol levels begin to fall, and your body begins to\u00a0
compensate for the temporary, alcohol induced dehydration.\u00a0
ADH levels rise, urinary output decreases, and you become\u00a0
thirsty. By the time the hangover gets into full swing, you\u00a0
are actually retaining fluid, as evidenced by the puffy eyes\u00a0
and face that some people get after a night of drinking. I\u00a0
suspect that this fluid retention, also known as edema,\u00a0
contributes to the hangover headache.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Some of the other effects of hangover appear to be caused by\u00a0
a condition known as metabolic acidosis. Acidosis is when\u00a0
your blood becomes more acidic than it should be. There are\u00a0
a number of reasons why alcohol causes this, but suffice it\u00a0
to say that alcohol interferes with the normal metabolism of\u00a0
some acids, and actually produces others. The end result is\u00a0
a slight increase in the acidity of your blood. This increase\u00a0
reaches its peak during the hangover period, and the level\u00a0
of acidity is strongly correlated with the severity of the\u00a0
hangover symptoms. It takes your kidneys and lungs about\u00a0
18-24 hours to return the blood acid levels back to normal.\u00a0
It seems likely that the symptoms of nausea and sweating are\u00a0
related to this temporary increase in blood acidity.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The third cause of hangover symptoms is a disruption of some\u00a0
of your normal daily (circadian) rhythms. I have found some\u00a0
studies which observed that alcohol consumption that leads\u00a0
to drunkenness can change the normal daily rhythm of body\u00a0
temperature and brain activity. In those cases, the subjects\u00a0
body clocks were set back about 6 hours; that means that if\u00a0
they woke up at 9:00am after a night of drinking, their body\u00a0
thought it was 3:00am. This could definitely account for\u00a0
hangover grogginess and irritability.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Lastly, some people believe that certain impurities or toxins\u00a0
that can be found in alcoholic drinks, called congeners, can\u00a0
cause hangover. In fact, there is a brand of vodka that used\u00a0
to market itself as so pure that it was hangover free; I\u00a0
believe some governmental agency has since made them stop\u00a0
saying that. In any event, drinks like vodka and gin have\u00a0
fewer congeners, and are supposed to produce less of a hang-\u00a0
over, whereas drinks like whisky and red wine, which have\u00a0
lots of non-alcohol ingredients, are supposed to insure a big\u00a0
headache. Along these same lines is the idea that a toxic\u00a0
byproduct of alcohol metabolism (acetaldehyde), builds in the\u00a0
bloodstream and causes hangover.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
You’ve just opened your eyes to find yourself crumbled into\u00a0
a collapsed mess, hopefully in a bed, hopefully in somewhat\u00a0
familiar surroundings, but, worst of all, awake. Your mind\u00a0
gradually manages to reconstruct some sort of memory of some\u00a0
portion of the previous night’s activities. You feel like\u00a0
the worst part of hell …this is the cue for the proverbial\u00a0
“I’ll-never-drink-again” declaration. You need help. Quick.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
You are suffering from the Big Three:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
1. Dehydration – the alcohol has forced evaporation of a\u00a0
certain vital portion of the body’s water.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
2. Nervous shock – with alcohol you’re coming off the\u00a0
effects of a mild overdose of a depressant drug, so your\u00a0
nerves are displaying the great Newtonian natural law of\u00a0
action\/reaction by going into a relatively hypersensitive\u00a0
state.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
3. Malnutrition – pumping all that alcohol and liquid\u00a0
through your body has effectively flushed away a significant\u00a0
supply of your storage of vitamins and nutrients, chemicals\u00a0
which would stimulate natural defense systems, but you’re\u00a0
running seriously low on them now.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
What you need to do is take some restorative steps to begin\u00a0
a recovery process.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Hydrate…water, water, water. Gatorade, Diet Coke, juice.\u00a0
Tea sweetened with honey.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
It also means trying to eat something that will help to\u00a0
replace the nutrients you’ve lost. That really should be\u00a0
in the forms of fruits\/vegetables, NOT fatty, greasy junk,\u00a0
not dairy foods, something that isn’t too tough on the\u00a0
already beat-up digestive system.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Bananas are great for key vitamins….tomatoes! Strange but\u00a0
true. This sort of explains half of the reason that a Bloody\u00a0
Mary is the standard morning-after drink.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So, next time, try it. Maybe a little light pasta with a\u00a0
meatless, greaseless, tomato sauce. Cold gazpacho or a mild\u00a0
salsa may work too, but your stomach will be in no mood for\u00a0
onions and peppers.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
A glass of V8 may be just the thing. Citrus juices tend to\u00a0
bother the stomach too; but tomatoes are highly acidic, so\u00a0
I can’t explain that part.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
BEFORE YOU GO OUT\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So now that you know exactly how alcohol can affect your\u00a0
little ol’ body and what makes you likely to feel the\u00a0
aftereffects, it is time to figure out how to prevent a\u00a0
hangover. Prepare yourself even before you step out the\u00a0
door, by following these tips:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Don’t go out on an empty stomach. Granted, it’s completely\u00a0
unrealistic to ask you to pause and enjoy a healthy meal\u00a0
full of starches and stocked with essential minerals when\u00a0
you’re getting ready to have a night on the town. Also,\u00a0
launch your night with a double order of curly fries. The\u00a0
moderating effect this will have on the absorption of\u00a0
alcohol into your bloodstream in the short term may be more\u00a0
important than the clogged arteries in the long term. The\u00a0
reason that food is so important is because it’ll sop up\u00a0
the alcohol so that it doesn’t all go directly into the\u00a0
bloodstream.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Hydrate your body. An ounce of prevention is worth a\u00a0
pound of cure. Sure, you’ll probably still wake up at\u00a0
4 a.m. with hairbrush tongue and a desperate compulsion\u00a0
to hang your head under the faucet, but every glass of\u00a0
juice or water you force yourself to swallow now is worth\u00a0
two in the morning. Everyone knows that alcohol acts as\u00a0
a diuretic. In case all those trips to the bathroom didn’t\u00a0
tip you off, more is going out than coming in. You need to\u00a0
replace that liquid.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So the lowdown is: eat, drink (water), and you’ll be merry\u00a0
in the morning.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
WHILE YOU ARE OUT\u00a0 <\/p>\n
OK, so you’ve loaded up on food and water. Now you can\u00a0
start your drinking. But while you’re deciding whether\u00a0
you’d like a Fuzzy Navel or a Shirley Temple, there are a\u00a0
few things you can do while you’re drinking to lessen the\u00a0
effects of the alcohol:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Choose your drinks with care. There are poisons besides\u00a0
alcohol itself that contribute to a brutal hangover. Nasty\u00a0
chemicals called congeners occur naturally in all fermented\u00a0
drinks. The general rule is that darker drinks, such as\u00a0
red wine, bourbon, scotch, and brandy have more congeners\u00a0
than lighter drinks like white wine, vodka, and gin. But\u00a0
you should also keep in mind that whatever your drink’s\u00a0
color, the cheaper it is, the more poison will be in it.\u00a0
So avoid the cheap sauce. One further note: red wine\u00a0
contains an extra hangover-inducing poison all of its own\u00a0
called tyramine. So be especially careful with cheap red\u00a0
wine.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Alternate alcoholic beverages with non-alcoholic beverages.\u00a0
This simple measure will help keep you hydrated. A fruit\u00a0
juice (which is particularly good at re-hydrating the body)\u00a0
is an especially good choice.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Consume less than one drink per hour. Your liver breaks\u00a0
down alcohol at the rate of about a beer an hour, so\u00a0
spreading out the drinking over the course of an evening\u00a0
will lessen the likelihood of a hangover.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
TIPSY TIME…despite all your best efforts!\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* Don’t pass out! Your metabolism slows down when you’re\u00a0
asleep, so your body takes longer to process and safely\u00a0
dispose of all that alcohol. This is how hangovers happen.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* You have to drink lots of water immediately. Remember\u00a0
dehydration is responsible for a major part of that\u00a0
hungover feeling. OK, you hate water – try Diet Coke or\u00a0
something, as long as it’s not full of sugar. Drink at\u00a0
least 2 big glasses of it, whatever it is.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* You are going to stay awake for at least an hour, so\u00a0
chat with a friend (or the cat), make a cup of tea (not\u00a0
coffee – that just dehydrates you more), do anything that\u00a0
keeps you awake.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Stay awake drinking water until you’re only about half as\u00a0
drunk as you were, if not exactly sober. Now, go to bed –\u00a0
and when you wake up you won’t feel nearly as ghastly as\u00a0
you would have without the extra awake time and the water.\u00a0
You may be pleasantly surprised by complete hangover\u00a0
absence if the impending hangover was likely to be mild;\u00a0
or if you were set for a major hangover, you’ll get a mild\u00a0
one instead.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* In your list of hangover cures you mention taking aspirin,\u00a0
ibuprofen, or acetominophen. One thing you REALLY ought to\u00a0
be aware of — if you plan on living very long — is that\u00a0
acetominophen in combination with alcohol does HORRENDOUS\u00a0
liver damage. Alcohol alone damages the liver; and\u00a0
acetominophen (Tylenol ie.) does a little damage to the\u00a0
liver; but if you mix the two, the damage you incur is\u00a0
EXPONENTIAL. I’m sure you can find plenty of medical\u00a0
journals to calloborate this if you want to. This made\u00a0
news a while back. You can literally wreck your liver in\u00a0
a very short time if you mix Tylenol with alcohol.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Aspirin upsets the stomach and aggravates the symptoms of\u00a0
a hangover.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Ibuprofen is the best. Before you go to bed take 2 Advil\u00a0
(or any headache pill that is made of Ibuprofen).\u00a0 <\/p>\n
* If you want to take a pill, a multivitamin might help by\u00a0
replenishing some of the B vitamins you’ve quite literally\u00a0
pissed away during the course of the evening. Research has\u00a0
shown that B Vitamins are the first thing to be used up\u00a0
when the liver is processing alcohol.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
IMPORTANT NOTE: See a doctor IMMEDIATELY if you are\u00a0
experiencing tremors, stomach pain, or if you see blood\u00a0
in your vomit. These are indications that you have tippled\u00a0
way too much, and must get professional medical attention,\u00a0
(e.g., a stomach-pump at the local emergency room). Better\u00a0
safe than sorry.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Before you go out put a glass of water next to your bed.\u00a0
Then drink it and put another one there for when you get\u00a0
home. Works best if you know where you’ll be sleeping.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
You can help your body to ease the pain and assist rapid\u00a0
recovery by trying a little-known substance called cysteine.\u00a0
Cysteine directly counteracts the poisonous effects of\u00a0
acetaldehyde. It can be found at vitamin shops.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
If necessary, follow up with a dose of Maalox, lots of\u00a0
Gatorade, and bouillon soup for dinner. These ingredients\u00a0
will rehydrate your body, replace essential vitamins and\u00a0
minerals, and help rid your body of some of the toxic by-\u00a0
products of metabolized alcohol.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
For a headache that drugs don’t seem to touch, try an ice-\u00a0
pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel, 20\u00a0
minutes on your head, 10 minutes off.\u00a0 <\/p>\n