With so many South Florida drinking establishments serving till the wee hours, it's easy to wrap up a seemingly good night, only to wake up with a nasty banging headache that feels like tiny angry elves are hammering away at your temples rudely reminding you that you've outdone yourself, again.
You wake up on the floor, still wearing your shoes, armbands tightly wrapped around your wrists. You reach for your smartphone to read random texts messages from that cute stranger from the night before: "Get home safe, hot stuff." Then the angry elves hammer away and the diabolical stomach monster fiercely growls. Yep, you're hung over, Charlie.
The most obvious way to avoid a hangover is to limit consumption, but we know that's not an option. So we asked local bartenders and one registered dietitian to share their favorite hangover cures.
6. Beer before liquor, never been sicker
You've
may have heard the urban legend before or the other variation, "Liquor
before beer, you're in the clear." But does it matter what order you
drink your drinks? No. What's important is how much you drink versus the
order and what's in your belly when you start drinking. Drinking on an
empty stomach is a surefire way to end your night faced down hugging the
porcelain god. Eat some solids before you down any liquids to coat your
stomach to keep those diabolical stomach monsters away.
5. Mary is a Saint
The
last thing you'll want to do when you feel sick from a night of heavy
drinking is to have another drink but our bartender friends say the
hungover party goer frequently ask for a Bloody Mary to ease the pain.
Careful not to drink too many, or you'll end up drunk, again, only to
delay the hangover. And we were told that puffing on that other kind of
Mary, Mary Jane which is sold legally in some parts of the country for
medicinal purposes is known as a decent hangover remedy. Right on,
dude.
4. Sports drinks, Cheeseburgers and Aspirin
Drinking
beverages with electrolytes such as sports drinks and coconut water,
help keep athletes hydrated during intense sports training. After a
crazy night of intense drinking, try to down one of these drinks over
the greasiest burger you can find to settle your stomach. And don't
forget to take an over the counter pain reliever the moment you wake up
to shut up those elves. It's advised to avoid mixing acetaminophen with
alcohol, so skip the Tylenol.
3. Hello H2O, we've heard of you
The
key to hangover avoidance is trying not to drink too much. One way to
slow down the drinking as your friends scream out, "Shot, shot, shots!"
is to drink a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume.
Not only will this keep your body hydrated, the major cause for hangover
symptoms, but you'll likely drink less resulting in less damage to your
body and your wallet. So when you think you have just downed that one
questionable shot that may tip you from tipsy to "WTF, I feel like I'm
better off dead," order a bottle of water. Drink it and repeat. In fact,
the bartenders we spoke to all agreed to drink as much water as
possible before hitting the sack.
2. Take your vitamins and eat a potato
Don't
take our word for it, we asked local Registered Dietitian, Adrienne
Bolten to share her expertise on what to do after indulging in a booze
fest.
"One
of the best things you can do to after a long night of drinking is to
hydrate and replenish the B vitamins. Many of the B vitamins like
Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2) and Folic acid get depleted from drinking
alcohol therefore if you drink a tall glass of water and take a
multivitamin or more specifically a B complex vitamin before you go to
bed, you'll be ahead of the game.
Some other great ideas are to down a packet of Emergen-C which will help with hydration and vitamin intake.
Believe
it or not, eating a potato will also help. Choose a baked potato
instead of French Fries the day after you've had "a little too much" and
you'll be replenishing many of the needed B vitamins. Another great fix
is to try snacking on some cucumber slices; the water content in
cucumbers is very high."
1. "This Too Shall Pass"
Take
heart, Charlie. The party was a blast but now you are enduring some
excruciating hangover pains. It's safe to say, there are no true
hangover cures like the gift of time. Time, that's what the cure is. So,
after you put down the cheeseburger, Bloody Mary and have taken your
vitamins, go back to bed, sleep it all off and you too will feel better
just in time to do it all over again.
Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB
