It's what ever o'clock and for what ever the reason you have to get up from your warm, safe bed where the room is dark and quiet. There are no kids running around. There is no T.V on. There is simply piece & quiet and that is nice. All that is about to change however. Wow that was some night last night. You drank so much. We all know that you didn't intend to drink so much after all you have so many responsibility's the following day. What ever the reason was you did drink a lot....a real lot. You were sucessful and killed some brain cells that will never come back and said and did some things you still don't remember but don't worry there were plenty of people there that will remind you....perhaps forever. You have made a lot of memories that will go down in history. The stories will start like this. "Do you remember that one New Years Eve when you....." or the old "I can't believe that one time when you....." . Well you will deal with that stuff when it comes up (and it will). Before we get into this article. let me say something we all should know. Alcohol is poison. With that being said here we go.
Right now your head is pounding and you need it to stop. There are many old wives tales such as a Bloody Mary. That's right your body is hurting from an overdose of too much Alcohol so the thing to cure it is more Alcohol. I assume that "remedy" is dead now. There is another "remedy" that has been around for many years and that is a greasy breakfast. According to doctors there is no evidence that a greasy breakfast helps in any way with a hangover. There are lots of hangover "cures" in a bottle out there such as Chaser, PreToxx, and RU 21—but very little evidence to back up claims. How about sports drinks like Gatorade "Even though the diuretic effect of alcohol may cause the body to lose some electrolytes, it's not so much that you need to replace them right away," says Samir Zakhari, Ph.D., director of the Division of Metabolism and Health Effects at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. And research has shown Gatorade is no better for a hangover than water from your tap, so save your money. How about drinking juice? The problem with juice is that it would take gallons of juice to get enough sugar in your system to really change your metabolic rate—an already suspect line of reasoning since researchers in the 1970s established that drinking lots of juice slows down the metabolizing of alcohol. Then, even if the questionable trick worked, you'd have to deal with the massive insulin spike and sugar crash that followed—which can be just as nasty as a hangover. Hydration is important, especially after drinking it up, but juice doesn't do anything special to help you. What about Aspirin? Ibuprofen while you are drinking is also not advised as it may increase the risk of liver damage when combined with large amounts of alcohol. The last one is probably the most popular and that is coffee. This is part myth and part truth . It's a myth that coffee helps sober you up and ease a hangover. Coffee is actually a diuretic and drinking it will further dehydrate you. It is true in the sense that if you drink a weak cup and have plenty of water, the caffeine in a cup of coffee may help prevent or alleviate a headache because it constricts your blood vessels, according to the American Headache Society. We can go on and on with busting different myths concerning curing a hangover but the bottom line is they don't work.
There are things you should do BEFORE you go out for that night of drinking. The first thing to do is eat. Eating a meal high in protein or carbohydrates should be done BEFORE drinking. This helps alcohol absorb slowly into your blood stream. Not in the mood for spaghetti? Other meal options that prepare your body for drinking is steak, which is high in fat, or tuna, which is high in protein. Fat and protein help slow the rate of absorption, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. What about Asparagus? You might not have heard this one but the Plant Green Discovery Communications Research has found that enzymes in asparagus help break down alcohol in the body. Having some before or after a night of drinking may ease a headache and speed up detoxification. Have a shot of Wheat-grass. Wheat-grass is known to hydrate cells and give you healthy energy because it is full of antioxidants that help detoxify and hydrate. Replacing one of your tequila shots with a shot of wheat-grass may help your body prevent a hangover the next day, this according to Discovery Communications Planet Green once again. How about honey? Add a few tablespoons of honey to your water or tea, or just have a tablespoon of it. This will help metabolize the alcohol in your body faster and help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. The potassium in honey is also believed to decrease cravings for alcohol, according to Health911, a natural health and wellness company.
There are things that you CAN do to to help a little with the effects of over doing it or least help or shorten the time you pay for over doing it. In ancient Roman times, sufferers were advised to try downing raw owl eggs, which might have helped, since eggs contain an amino acid called cysteine that is depleted by alcohol. Pliny the Elder advised lining the stomach with a meal of roasted sheep’s intestines before hitting the town probably to some effect. In America, party hosts of the 1950s were told they could save their guests from the hell of the morning after by passing round Quaff-Aid as part of the evening’s fun. Quaff-Aid was actually brewer’s yeast. Rich in minerals and B-complex vitamins, it is still used as a remedy but, as with all hangover cures, it can’t suddenly eradicate the poison from the system. H2O (water) is a must. As you likely know from the frequent trips to the bathroom during a night of debauchery, alcohol is a diuretic and can cause dehydration. Before falling into bed, down 16 to 20 ounces of water, says Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D., a consultant in addiction psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic. And the next time you go out, he recommends ordering a glass of water with every beer—and alternate between the two to replace lost fluids as you go.
However you decide to handle the Alcohol either today, tomorrow or at the company Christmas party please do it responsibility and DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE please. Have a safe outing.
The Desert Wine Guy
