What causes a Hangover?

Alcohol is a poison and, although your body can break down small amounts of it at a time, the toxic byproducts produced affect you adversely on every level. Hangovers are your body's violent reaction to being poisoned.

Contributing to the damage, felt as a hangover, are:

Acetylaldehyde--the poison produced when your liver processes alcohol. Some scientists have suggested alcoholism be renamed acetyladehydism, as this byproduct of alcohol metabolism is more toxic than alcohol itself. Even in moderate drinkers it increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, cancer, and addiction. It binds to your red blood cells, poisoning your whole body, including your brain. It also makes your red blood cells so rigid they can't enter small capillaries, reducing oxygen supply to your organs and tissues. Acetylaldehyde generates free radicals which destroy cells and cause a toxic overload to your liver (resulting in headaches and that seedy feeling).

Dehydration--which causes many hangover symptoms. Alcohol is a potent diuretic which forces your body to pee out its vital minerals and fluid.

Nervous shock--the effects of alcohol overdose, a depressant drug, cause your nerves to be in a hypersensitive, disorientated, jittery state.

Metabolic shock--due to nutrient depletion, because alcohol metabolism uses up a significant quantity of your stored vitamin and mineral supplies.

You know the hangover symptoms--dry mouth, extreme thirst, nausea, fatigue, dizziness and headache. And don't forget that ghastly hypersensitivity to light and noise that sees you cringing at every little sound, while you huddle in your darkest shades! I'm shuddering just thinking about it; that’s definitely somewhere I don’t want to go this year--how about you?

Prevention Tips

Before you go out to celebrate, eat a well-balanced wholesome meal, and drink plenty of water. Then take a multivitamin and mineral complex high in B vitamins, and additional buffered Vitamin C--nutrients needed for alcohol metabolism. Milk Thistle herb (Silybum, in tablet or tincture) will help to protect your liver from the upcoming onslaught.

Drink smart--don't change your drinks (i.e. wine, then beer, then spirits). Alternate alcoholic drinks with fruit juice or water to avoid dehydration and control inebriation. Use fruit juice or water as mixers, not carbonated fizzy drinks which increase alcohol absorption. Avoid sugary drinks--they accelerate the depletion of B vitamins and make the hangover worse. About 200ml of water is needed to effectively counteract each 30ml of alcohol. Eat food before, during, and after drinking to aid alcohol metabolism. Avoid eating salty snacks which exacerbate dehydration.

Before going to bed, have another multivitamin and a drink of tomato juice. Tomatoes are the ideal hangover preventative--high in vitamin C, lycopene, and fructose (which helps restore blood sugar to normal and may help the body burn off alcohol faster). Then drink lots of water--until you're only about half as drunk as you were! Take a water bottle to bed and drink in the night and again first thing on waking.

Don't take acetaminophen (i.e. Panadol, Tylenol) after drinking alcohol as it can cause liver damage. Taken while drinking it can overwhelm the liver, with possibly fatal consequences. Avoid aspirin, which can increase alcohol absorption and its destructive effects on the body, and cause ulcers and kidney damage. Also avoid ibuprofen, which can cause stomach bleeding.

Start the morning after with lemon juice, fresh ginger root, honey, and hot water to help cleanse your body of toxins. Ginger will soothe the stomach and deal with the nausea, and honey provides fructose to reduce hangover effects. Then begin to replace the nutrients you've lost--eat a light fruit breakfast with some chopped nuts and seeds. Bananas are great for key nutrients and fructose. They are also a natural antacid to help with nausea and indigestion, and are high in magnesium, which can help relieve a pounding headache. Eggs have always been a feature of hangover cures across all cultures--they contain a chemical known to neutralize the effects of alcohol. If you can bear to have eggs on toast for breakfast then go for it! Replace intestinal flora with a probiotic containing acidophillus, or have a probiotic yoghurt.

Hydrate yourself--drink WATER, WATER, and more WATER frequently, all day long. Avoid coffee and tea, which are diuretics. Peppermint tea is a great hangover choice, and Thyme tea will ease your headache and queasy stomach very effectively, as will ginger tea. Ginger capsules can be taken to ease nausea too.

Heal your liver--Fresh beetroot juice is a great liver tonic. Raw cabbage juice is another top blood-purifying liver detoxer that has been used for centuries to cure hangovers. Add a pinch of chili pepper (or powdered cayenne) to a glass of tomato juice (chillies contain the pain-relieving compound capsaicin). If you've got the time, make yourself a fresh veggie juice including beetroot, tomato, and cabbage (otherwise drink V8 or similar). Homemade vegetable broth or soup is another good option. Umeboshi plums, available at Asian markets, have long been reputed to cure hangovers, so you might like to give them a try.

Help your body recover--take a multivitamin and mineral complex, or B complex, and buffered vitamin C several times during the day. Supplemental zinc is helpful for fatigue, headache, and nausea. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is the anti-hangover, antioxidant amino acid. Try herbal remedies such as Dandelion, which will aid digestion and liver function, and Willow (Salix), which contains the same pain-relieving ingredient as aspirin, without the detrimental side effects. Try Homeopathics: Nux vomica is ideal for nausea, headache, and light sensitivity, Cinchona for throbbing head and noise sensitivity, Quercus for dry mouth and throat...you can get a combination to treat hangovers.

Try RU-21 (dubbed the KGB pill), developed by Russian scientists. The KGB gave it to their agents so they could drink the opposition under the table and remain sober. Sadly, this didn't work--the agents still got horribly drunk, but found they didn't suffer hangovers afterwards! This is how it works--the body quickly turns poisonous alcohol into even more toxic acetylaldehyde and then slowly turns acetaldehyde into harmless acetic acid, and then into water and carbon dioxide. RU21 slows acetylaldehyde production and speeds up the decomposition of acetylaldehyde to nontoxic acetic acid. Take a minimum of two pills before your first alcoholic drink, and two pills after your last drink. If you are imbibing a lot, you will need to take some during your celebrations as well. Please don't abuse this remedy; use it only for exceptional occasions. Alcohol still causes heaps of cellular and organ damage, even if you don't suffer the consequences of a hangover. In a way, the hangover is a self-moderating tool; we need consequences to our foolish actions to remind us not to repeat them!

Gentle exercise helps--take a walk to help your body metabolize the remaining alcohol faster. Hangover effects can last up to 72 hours after your body has eliminated all traces of alcohol, affecting your driving, concentration, judgment, competence, and abilities--so don't plan anything dangerous the following day! Get as much rest and as little nervous stimulation as possible until your body has a chance to restore its balance.

I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year, with all my heart...

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