I’m going to give it to you straight – the only way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation and stay hydrated through the evening. BUT… we all know that every now and again we get carried away, my husband calls it being socially excitable! Haha. So to help out all those socially excitable folk among us, here are our tips for curing a hang over this festive season.
So firstly to explain how alcohol causes a hangover… when we drink the hormone that regulates our fluid levels (Anti-diuretic Hormone or ADH) becomes disrupted and the pituitary gland is inhibited from secreting ADH, the result is that the kidneys do not reabsorb as much water as usual and more urine is made, hence why we become dehydrated.
Drinking less alcohol will be likely to lessen the effects of the inhibited ADH, and replacing some of the fluid lost by drinking water throughout the evening will help.
The electrolyte imbalance from dehydration is likely to worsen the symptoms you feel, drinking an electrolyte beverage is a good way to balance out the intra and extracellular fluid levels. Consuming electrolytes before bed and first thing in the morning are a great time to get the system flooded with goodness. A balanced powder that contains the following vitamins and minerals – B vitamins, magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc and sodium are all important, we stock a practitioner level powder in clinic called B vital, this is the perfect combination to give your body all the nutrients it needs to re-balance.
It i
s likely that you will crave salty, greasy food when you have over indulged however what your body really needs to feel better is a high dose of good nutrition. The best choices are hydrating foods that will boost your depleted nutritional profile. Salads and summer fruits are fantastic, cheese, eggs and sea food are also great choices to boost your B vitamins. Nuts and seeds, avocado and salmon are all great to boost your omega levels which will help with the endocrine disruption alcohol causes.
Do you feel blue in the days following alcohol consumption? The effects of alcohol increases serotonin in the short term, but in the days following your levels are lower due to the interference with the amino acid tryptophan which is an important precursor for producing serotonin. While prevention is far better than cure, we can support an over worked system with a practitioner level supplement called Preseraton, ask us about it next time you are in clinic.
Another strategy that makes moderation is fun, is to incorporate a game around drinking less, once alcohol begins to effect the brain we become less inhibited and self-control is reduced, to help refocus and stop a binge drinking session taking hold its great to distract yourself. You might incorporate physical challenges, a trivia style interlude, make drinking a glass of water fun by having a partner in crime and staying hydrated together!
Having fun is so important, but staying safe and healthy is even more important, we hope you have a fabulous festive season this year and use our guide above to make sure you bounce into 2017!
Ps. If you need a pick me up next year book in for a consultation and we can help you detox an over worked system and get back on track!
