Why Hangovers Hurt
A young man, who follows my daily scribblings, wants to know why "hangovers" hurt so badly, so I'll try to explain. The Germans, who know a bunch about hangovers, call hangovers "the wailing of the cats." The Norwegians, no strangers to alcohol themselves, call it "carpenters in the head."
I have a few other descriptions of hangovers that I can't print.
The two most common effects of a hangover are nausea and a skull splitting headache. What it really is...is your body's way of reacting to low blood sugar, dehydration and inflammation.
Poof juice hampers the production of glucose, the sugar that fuels every cell in your body, and in particular, your brain. A glucose deprived brain can cause irritability, weakness and dizziness.
Firewater also acts as a diuretic, so the kidneys are continually flushing out vital nutrients, such as magnesium and potassium. If your consumption level caused you to puke, your hydration level is taxed at a very high level. The elixir of choice also causes inflammation of the stomach lining and the blood vessels in the brain.
That's the basic science and it probably has never deterred anyone from drinking.
There are some simple defenses against a hangover, the most obvious being...don't drink. Since no one pays any attention to that, I'll move on.
1) Drink a lot of water, while you're dinking alcohol. The water will help fill you up, hydrate you and lessen the amount of brewski you can take in.
2) If you are going to be drinking quite a bit, stay away from brown liquor and red wine. These beverages can turn a mild headache into a severe one.
3) Eat some food, prior to drinking. This slows the absorption of alcohol and helps your body to metabolize it.
One old wives' tale to be avoided, upon waking, is: Taking a jolt of whatever caused the hangover in the first place. This can only make the situation worse and will actually prolong the agony.
Here are some foods that will help alleviate the hangover.
Cinnamon. Cinnamon has several stomach settling compounds and over one dozen pain relievers.
Wintergreen tea. It contains a dozen or so anti inflammatories.
Hot peppers. This is why southern boys often carry a bottle of hot sauce with them, everywhere they go. Hot peppers contain antioxidants that repair cell damage and capsaicin, a chemical that
causes the body to release natural opiates, called endorphins.
Bananas. They replace important vitamins and minerals being flushed
out by alcohol, such as potassium.
Fruit juice. This will help you replace glucose and help eliminate headaches and dizziness. It may also help burn up residual alcohol, faster.
An extra fish oil dose. You can do this the night of, or the following morning, or both (which is what I would recommend). It helps keep your system in balance.
The Chinese also have an herbal cure, where they use kudzu extract, before drinking. I don't know where you could get this, except at a Chinese herbal store. The way it works, as I understand it, is that it cuts the desire for alcohol and makes the drinker much more satisfied with a lot less.
I have a few other descriptions of hangovers that I can't print.
The two most common effects of a hangover are nausea and a skull splitting headache. What it really is...is your body's way of reacting to low blood sugar, dehydration and inflammation.
Poof juice hampers the production of glucose, the sugar that fuels every cell in your body, and in particular, your brain. A glucose deprived brain can cause irritability, weakness and dizziness.
Firewater also acts as a diuretic, so the kidneys are continually flushing out vital nutrients, such as magnesium and potassium. If your consumption level caused you to puke, your hydration level is taxed at a very high level. The elixir of choice also causes inflammation of the stomach lining and the blood vessels in the brain.
That's the basic science and it probably has never deterred anyone from drinking.
There are some simple defenses against a hangover, the most obvious being...don't drink. Since no one pays any attention to that, I'll move on.
1) Drink a lot of water, while you're dinking alcohol. The water will help fill you up, hydrate you and lessen the amount of brewski you can take in.
2) If you are going to be drinking quite a bit, stay away from brown liquor and red wine. These beverages can turn a mild headache into a severe one.
3) Eat some food, prior to drinking. This slows the absorption of alcohol and helps your body to metabolize it.
One old wives' tale to be avoided, upon waking, is: Taking a jolt of whatever caused the hangover in the first place. This can only make the situation worse and will actually prolong the agony.
Here are some foods that will help alleviate the hangover.
Cinnamon. Cinnamon has several stomach settling compounds and over one dozen pain relievers.
Wintergreen tea. It contains a dozen or so anti inflammatories.
Hot peppers. This is why southern boys often carry a bottle of hot sauce with them, everywhere they go. Hot peppers contain antioxidants that repair cell damage and capsaicin, a chemical that
causes the body to release natural opiates, called endorphins.
Bananas. They replace important vitamins and minerals being flushed
out by alcohol, such as potassium.
Fruit juice. This will help you replace glucose and help eliminate headaches and dizziness. It may also help burn up residual alcohol, faster.
An extra fish oil dose. You can do this the night of, or the following morning, or both (which is what I would recommend). It helps keep your system in balance.
The Chinese also have an herbal cure, where they use kudzu extract, before drinking. I don't know where you could get this, except at a Chinese herbal store. The way it works, as I understand it, is that it cuts the desire for alcohol and makes the drinker much more satisfied with a lot less.
Source...