The Physics of a Hangover - Biology, Preventative tips, Cure, Remedies Fact & Fiction

The Intimate Journey of what a hangover is, how it works, and what to do to relieve the symptoms and preventative measures (and debunking the ridiculous rumors of voodoo cures)!

As far back as recorded history with alcohol, people have been trying to beat the odds against the effects of the inevitable hangover. Most people drum along and don't even realize what this merry drink does to the body nor do they truly know how to cure the hard core series of events that makes even the most experienced drinker hit the porcelain god and beg the gods for forgiveness and mercy when good times go bad.

Many simply ask friends (who also may not know the details but only hearsay cures) for the cure or what works only to get a long list of sometimes ridiculous ideas like eat a raw egg while standing on your head! (really?)

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"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink" (Isaiah 5:11)- Bible

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What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You

(and even kill you)

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Knowing What Alcohol Does To Your Body Helps You Avoid A Hangover In The First Place

It stands to reason that if your going to partake in the pleasures of "the drink" you really should take a moment and research exactly what is going to happen that inspires all those sparks and tickles in your body, the downsides of drinking, and especially how to prevent or treat the fall out the next day.

In this article I'm going to share with you my deep research into the hangover and I've even gone as far as to validate (with personal experimentation and friends who volunteered) certain hangover cures and even break down exactly why they claim to work.

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My research here started when I got curious as to how those over the counter cures worked, wanted to validate all the ridiculous things I'd heard people do to try to heal, and because I was also curious as to what exactly alcohol does to the body that causes the hangover and even the "drunk" feeling you experience.

^{The more I learned the less I wanted to join my peers when they drank (I never much liked drinking anyway I like to maintain control of my actions!) - overall the torment it does to your body is not really worth it, but that's just my opinion. In a way I wrote this as a way to show my friends who "overindulge" every weekend that they were causing all kinds of chaos in their body. I'm not here to judge, however, just to inform- I leave it up to them and you how you wish to use this information.}

I will share what I've learned about how alcohol affects the body and give you enough data to make your own informed decisions for what is claimed works (and what is claimed to work but doesn't) and why.

I found some fascinating information about the physics of a hangover and after reading this you should be better prepared to survive a night of drinking without getting one, or at least know what's happening so you know what to do to escalate your chances of avoiding the terrors of a hangover. I got my information over a range of media, from online research to watching television programs and even videos from experts and interviewed some people I considered credible (but still double checked their info).

Prepare to be blown away!

I'm Going To Attempt To Capture The Physics Of A Hangover For You And Show You.

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Hydration Is A Big One

Prevent Hangover Tonics (Let's Get Real About These)

These Work IF You Obey The "Drinking bi-laws" i.e. Stay hydrated, don't mix drinks, etc...


PreToxx for Hangovers (30 Natural Tim... LES Labs, Inc. ~~$20.00~~ $16.99 View on Amazon	Drinkin Mate Feel Better the Next Da... Drinkin' Mate ~~$19.98~~ $9.75 View on Amazon	Source Naturals Hangover Formula, 120... Source Naturals ~~$35.98~~ $19.08 View on Amazon

Spirit Science RU-21 20 Tablets Spirit Science Only $14.99 View on Amazon	Chaser Plus, Freedom from Hangovers 4... Living Essentials Only $26.99 View on Amazon	Knock Knock Hangover Recovery Kit Knock Knock ~~$13.27~~ $8.88 View on Amazon

Background - Taking Precautions Is Essential

What You Don't Know, Can Hurt You!

Most people have heard and often take as gospel that if you don't want to get a hangover you should drink plenty of water, eat some fatty foods and/or bread, and to "know your limits".

What many don't know is WHY they'd follow this advice, or even if it really works!

With the plethora of "hangover relief" pills, an energy drink with the label "recovery formula" hitting the shelves of every liquor store, most Walgreens, and grocery stores across the country (and world-wide)- people are starting to get the wrong idea about what these products actually do. Many don't take the time to learn about what they are taking and just take it and make assumptions. These assumptions often prove to be wrong.

Some are taken during drinking, others the next day or after your done, while others are taken before to prepare the body for the torture alcohol puts it through.

Dietary Supplement Ru-21 120 Tab - Ru-21

Ru-21

View on Amazon

Does RU21 Work? Is It Safe?

You'd think taking an RU21 or other supplement made of 100% natural ingredients designed to replenish the body's lost nutrients (more later on this), that this would guarantee you could drink all you want and simply take the stuff to avoid the inevitable hangover. This couldn't be further from the truth.

^{The stuff does work (and I'll explain how below), but like anything, there are rules, things you must also do, and provisions you must be aware of or your going to hurt yourself! If you don't take certain steps even a hangover relief tonic won't do anything for you. You wouldn't eat a healthy dinner everyday but eat junk food all day and energy drinks and expect your health to improve- even if you took vitamins/nutraceuticals- would you? Of course not!}

There are things you can do, precautions as well as post-cautions (things to do the next morning), and things you can take that will not guarantee, but will drastically improve your chances of skating past the hangover saga and being able to talk about last night without horror in your voice, a migraine in your head, or a body that yells at you all day for being so inconsiderate!

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Ah The Hangover Stories

And Misconceptions Of Using Hangover Supplements

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The inevitable hangovers have been the post party discussion of many millions all over the globe. It wasn't until the last 100 years that we've been able to really dig deep into the psyche and biology of what makes us feel the daunting effects of alcohol and grasp the physics of what is really happening in this chain reaction of hell.

Understanding what your body is going through and why is more important than just trying to find cures. Knowing what is happening and why helps us to make better decisions to avoid mixing drinks for example, and to drink water so we don't dehydrate and feel the pain of the hangover that could have been avoided. Taking others loosely valid or invalid (or just relayed without them actually validating what they heard) advice can be dangerous and even cause the symptoms of your hangover to get WORSE!

There are many "cures" out there but most of them are simply ridiculous. Others that are real may not include the needed information that would actually make it work. For example, taking RU21 or a hangover supplement without drinking a ton of water will not do ANYTHING but make you nauseous (due to the unprocessed ingredients sitting in your stomach or intestines).

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Water Doesn't Just Hydrate You It Aids In Breaking Down And "Flushing" Out Toxins Alcohol Creates!

Without water the body can't even process these correctly to get them to the appropriate organs that break them down and process them in the body.

At best you'd be taking these (they aren't cheap!) and nothing would happen (negative or positive/preventative), so you just wasted your money when something as simple as hydration was the only missing ingredient (and it's free!).

See The Snakes In Those Alcohol Bottles?

Drinking non alcoholic beverages like Iced Tea, sodas, and even cool-aid (high sugar content) doesn't count because they don't provide sufficient water needed (and a lot is urinated from drinking diuretics like caffeine and alcohol).

Worse, some people ignorantly think that taking the over the counter hangover prevention supplements will replace the need to drink plenty of water while you drink or the other drinking safety bi-laws like drinking in moderation! Without proper education people get the wrong idea and turn what works into what makes things worse!

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"An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure"

To drink, have fun and not over do it or break any natural laws of over indulging in the drink of the gods you need to know and understand exactly what it is your doing right or wrong. With great power to get drunk comes great responsibility to prepare and protect your body to not get sick, so you can go to work the next day.

Don't just think.. "Well last time I had a hang over and this time I didn't- why?" " I don't know". You should know why and how to prevent it. In this article we will discuss:

Hangovers the physics of how they happen at each biological step

Types of alcohol and how they affect you when "mixed" or consumed in different combinations

Preparations you can take to give yourself the best chance for NOT getting a hangover

What NOT to do lest you're begging for the pain

Remedies: Fact & Fiction and how the ones that work do their job (scientifically proven)

High tech over the counter pills that prevent hangovers and how they work

For centuries cures were created from trial and error, false cures were hypothesized and real cures were figured out (at least some remedies that one could use to feel better until their body caught up with its mopping up of the toxic aftermath).

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Congeners: Hangover tip # 1: Choose your "poison" wisely

When you drink you should pay close attention to what you drink and make sure your not mixing different types of alcoholic beverages. By different types I mean beer, hard liquor, and wine. Alcohol has a toxin called congeners, its a by product of the fermentation process and it's what gives you that wonderful reality check the next day after drinking. That time when your so miserable that you no longer for the moment anyway, take simple pleasures like opening your eyes when the curtains are drawn, for granted.

Different types of alcohol have different amounts of this bi-product and each kind has its respective toxins as well. When you mix the different types of alcohol the toxins don't play nice together, in fact they out right start a chemical civil war in your body.

Some drinks contain a higher concentration of congeners which causes you to have a massive hangover with heightened nausea and achy-ness. Mixing drinks specifically ones with high concentrations of congeners is really bad. Generally darker alcohols have congeners, while clear drinks like vodka don't (which is why clear drinks like tequila patron, vodka, gin and so forth are your best bet if you want to get drunk but don't want to suffer the next morning from certain hangover symptoms. You can still get dehydrated but this is easily avoided.

What is the best drink overall?

The best drink with the most impact, least possibility for a horrid achy hangover is Long Island Iced tea. The L.I.I.T. is made of all clear alcohols the only reason its dark at all is they tap coca cola into it to give it the color, but coke doesn't affect it since it doesn't have any alcohol in it.

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Suggested In Comments:

"Just wanted to note that a diet long island is better than a regular. The less sugar you consume with your alcohol, the lighter the resulting hangover. So watch those sugary mixers!

Also, coffee may momentarily relieve your fatigue and/or ease your pain, but all it is doing is dehydrating you further, and prolonging your recovery. The only way to actually "get over" a hangover is to rehydrate your body with enough salts and fluids."

My response now:

This is very true although the caffeine comment has recently been proven inaccurate. Although Caffeine is a diuretic they discovered it doesn't dehydrate you as much as was previously believed, in fact they found it actually still may rehydrate you a little due to the high water content in coffee.

Coffee tends to help you with focus and being tired from lack of sleep or your body going through a lot in the hangover, but does little to rehydrate you overall. It's best to avoid coffee until you've consumed several glasses of water and feel hydrated. You can get salts via sports drinks like Gatorade (the electrolytes ARE salt content in the drink)

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Red wine and dark liquors (bourbon, brandy, whiskey and tequila) contain the highest concentration of the congeners toxin. White wine and clear liquors such as rum, vodka and gin have fewer congeners and so hangover symptoms aren't as bad when you drink them (based on the congeners toxicity), however you can still dehydrate so be careful. With wine the cheaper it is the more congeners that aren't "filtered" out.

Cheaper dark (red, etc...) wine contains a great deal of sugar and congeners, hence more toxic and likely to give you a hang over; the more expensive wines are distilled better and are less likely to give you a hangover. Sweet wines are the most likely to give you a horrible hang over. especially with higher volumes consumed.

Different types of alcohol like beer, wine, and whiskey, contain different types of congeners so be extremely careful not to mix these drinks. Your best bet is to stick to clear alcohols or to stick with just one type (i.e. only beer, only wine, or only hard liquor but only one type all night) because although the mixture gives you several variations of "drunk" it also has a severe hangover that follows.The irony is that mixed drinks give you a better variety of drunk sensations, but these sensations are caused by the high congeners content. So you get drunker, but you suffer for it.

Many mixed drinks with cleaver names like atom bomb, take advantage of the congeners content to give you a certain experience but you pay a price for this experience if you drink too much.

Mixed Drinks are highly toxic but give you a great "High" Then Drop You Off A Cliff The Next Day

... Hitting every sharp branch on the way down!

Some people like the "high" the mixed alcohols brings them so much they drink them in large quantities knowing this will hurt the next day, they make a sacrifice that they regret each time but yet continue to do it when their well again!

Hangover supplements won't do anything for you if you mix drinks because the problem is not the exhaustion of your resources or nutrients, it's an overwhelming production of another toxin the liver produces when it metabolizes alcohol with congeners.

Another not so well known fact is that the carbonation in beer accelerates the absorption of alcohol so following beer with whiskey for example, will give the body even less time than usual to process the toxins which are also more potent when mixed (two different kinds of congeners! Its like saying yes can I get a headache and two shots of stomach cramps, then they hit you with both at the same time.

Acetaldehyde: Hangover tip # 2: Understand the Chain Reactions of Alchohol Metabolism

It helps to become aware of the concept of how alcohol reacts in your body, so subconsciously you start to realize what's happening and you will actually think before you drink, or at least know when to quit!

Knowing the chain reactions help your mind label the events and thus helps you become more conscious of what you're doing to yourself when you drink.

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Chain Reaction of Alcohol in the body:

The liver breaks down the alcohol you drink by an enzyme called "alcohol dehydrogenase" which creates the bi-product acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is much more toxic than the alcohol itself. But it doesn't stop there.. Once created the acetaldehyde like a foreign substance in the body is attacked by another enzyme called "acetaldehyde dehydrogenase" and glutathione, which has a lot of a substance called "cysteine".

Cysteine is attracted to acetaldehyde and when the two get together they bond and create another chemical this time that is non-toxic and is similar to the chemical make up of vinegar. This process helps to inhibit the acetaldehyde chemical from causing too much damage IF YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW DRINKS. If you drink more than that you make it harder for your body to fight it thus the acetaldehyde toxin reeks havoc on your body.

The problem comes in when you start to drink heavily because the liver starts to run short of the chemical glutathione, causing the acetaldehyde to build up in the body. The longer periods of time the acetaldehyde is in the body the more toxic it is to your system. Its like you have this defense chemical that neutralizes the toxin but if you drink too much your body can't fight it fast enough and it overwhelms your system causing some bad things to happen. The acetaldehyde is not broken down due to the overwhelming amounts in the system (the enzyme can't handle the entire work load).

Weight does factor into this equation so it change the dynamics between two people trying to drink each other under the table (the bigger person has the advantage of tolerance). Another thing to pay attention to is the different chemistry between men and women, rather the different amounts men and women shouldn't try to drink the same amounts (say in a contest to see who would win) because its literally and physically not a fair contest!

Women have less acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and glutathione, which makes their hangovers worse, even if they drink the exact same amount as someone with their same body weight and shape (who's male) because it takes longer for a woman's body to break down the alcohol! Bet you didn't know that, I guess we are different in some ways we thought we were the same!

When you feel the horrid symptoms like fatigue, stomach irritation, and the normal feelings of sickness ALL OVER, this is due to something called "glutamine rebound"

Sleep and Rebound

The Glutamine Rebound Effect and sleep

After drinking heavily it's hard to fall asleep, although you'd think that you'd pass right out from the intoxication. You may fall asleep depending on a lot of factors but there is a reaction happening in your body that makes sleeping soundly hard.

Alcohol has a depressive effect on the body because while you're drinking the alcohol in your drink inhibits the glutamine agent, one of your body's natural stimulants. When you stop drinking your body starts to create more glutamine than it needs, to try to make up for lost time.

The added glutamine levels stimulate the brain while you relax and try to pass out. This keeps you from reaching the deeper levels of sleep (there are several levels of sleep called sleep cycles that you go through every night if you're getting good rest. When you don't sleep well you skip "cycles" and thus don't feel vibrant in the morning.

You heal and regenerate vital chemicals in the body like potassium while you sleep, generally in deep delta sleep cycles, but when you drink it is hard to reach these dreamless states of rest resulting in the body not being properly recharged and the damage from the alcohol to your system is not so easily repaired. This can lead to some of the symptoms you feel when you wake up "hung over" like fatigue.

One way alcohol is absorbed is directly through the stomach. This causes the lining of the stomach to become irritated. Alcohol stimulates Hydrochloric acid secretions which cause the nerves to send messages to the brain that the stomach is hurting the body!

This is why you start throwing up, it's your brain trying to get rid of the toxin, and has nothing to do with the food you ate, or anything else in the stomach. The alcohol is the irritant and the brain uses different ways to force you to throw up and expel it out of the body, including heightened senses like smell or taste that make you feel sick, but this is the body trying to flush out the toxic waste.

This actually helps you in the long run because it removes the number of toxins the body has to deal with helping you not have too bad a hangover. (yes, throwing up is beneficial if you drank too many congeners!).

Other not so pleasant symptoms that can ensue are diarrhea and lack of appetite (which makes eating bread to absorb the alcohol in your stomach hard to keep down).

Food and Drink Remedies - Fact or Fiction?

Remedies: Fact or Bull

Hangover relief is an interesting topic that has so many variations people don't know what actually works and what is just something they heard and believed causing them to create a "placebo" effect. One of the reasons I precluded this article with all that science above is because this will help you if you decide to look up your own remedy theory. Below are some of the most popular remedies that work, on the other side ones that don't work, including a short explanation why it does or doesn't work.

If you have something I didn't mention here please leave a comment and I'll research it and possibly add it to the box my research shows it to fit into (do or don't, real or wives tale etc..)

I Asked Readers To Suggest Some Of Their Remedies

Only two people responded, one printed above where it fit better with the explanation

I started with my own:

Super Hot bath, hot as you can stand it. The hot water on your body's every nerve ending (skin and mainly the feet) numbs you and tricks the body into relaxing; the stimulation of the hot water is also very distracting and helps you to relax.

The hot water also hits your skin and triggers your brain's emergency endorphin system to release endorphins because it thinks your skin is in pain. The same effect happens when you eat hot sauce, jalapenos, and the like- the reason people love hot stuff is that it causes an endorphin rush much like a runners high.

While in the bath try to guzzle down 2 glasses of water and if you have it a sports drink for the electrolytes. While you're distracted by the hot water the water you drink will go to work on the dehydration, the headache happens when the body runs out of water, the organs steal the water from the brain, and the brain shrinks pulling on the membranes from your brain to your skull. Replenishing the water relieves this. Just sitting in a hot bath will also absorb/rehydrate you slightly because the body actually absorbs water through the skin and bottom of the feet.

djtphn1 Shared:

Niacin, and scrambled eggs. Burns it right out of you......

Jerrico: (explanation of "why" this works)

Niacin is vitamin B3, eggs supply choline (from the yolk) and other beneficial nutrients. B1 is also needed because drinking often burns out your entire supply- taking B1 Supplements are the best way to avoid this headache producing burnout. You can take them as you drink and after (or before). Your best bet is to take it through out to keep up, same with water. The over the counter hangover relief tonics contain both and other things that replenish the burnt out nutrients that lead to nausea and chaos in the body caused by reactions from alcohol.

This Is An Interresting Resource

The Hungover Cookbook

Everything you need to know to assess, understand, and improve a hangover is here: dozens of comforting recipes, very clever graphic tests for analyzing your state of mind, and ...

Clarkson Potter / ~~$6.31~~ $0.71

View on Amazon

Remedies that DO work

(proven scientifically)

Black Coffee (in very limited amounts)

Coffee has a lot of caffeine which is a stimulant. Coffee helps fight fatigue and stimulates focus, which can help you "feel" better.

This has only a mild effect on your hangover symptoms and you should never drink coffee upon waking up with a hangover until AFTER you drink at least one to two glasses of water.

Coffee is a diuretic like alcohol and so coffee dehydrates you because it triggers your body to expel water. If you're hung over you're already dehydrated so coffee can make symptoms worse.

If you drink plenty of water then drink ONE cup of coffee it can help you. But besides the two glasses of water you should drink before drinking the coffee, you should drink another glass of water after you finish your coffee just to be safe.

If your suffering the congeners hangover effects (toxins), your best bet is to drink plenty of water (no coffee!), and urinate as much as possible. The reason is the aforementioned toxins the body creates from metabolizing alcohol are literally just sitting in your body until you urinate it out. The more water you drink the faster you urinate out the toxins and the faster you'll recover!

Water is your best friend when you're dehydrated or toxic and the more you drink the faster you'll start to feel better! On another tip, a small amount of coffee may help the toxin "flush" because it makes you urinate, but keep it to a ratio of one cup of coffee to 3 8oz glasses of water.

Coffee can also help a pounding headache because its main ingredient caffeine is a vasoconstrictor. It reduces the size of blood vessels which counteracts the effect of the alcohol, making them swell up. This causes the headache in the first place.

Over all coffee is not a very good cure for a hangover because it can agitate the headache causing other symptoms to worsen.

Remedies that Don't do anything

(no scientific proof)

Drinking a beer (or some more of the alcohol you drank that got you here in the first place)- Hair of the dog that bit you- FALSE

This is ridiculous contrary to popular belief, because this only delays the inevitable. One of the reasons hangovers are not pleasant is the liver is still processing the toxins left over from the alcohol metabolism.

Drinking more alcohol may seem to work at first but that's only because its distracting you from what your feeling by getting you drunk again, however this will compound the hangover, especially if you haven't replenished the water, vitamins, electrolytes and put something in your stomach (like greasy foods)..

Drinking coffee right out of bed to combat the effects of a hang over have similar consequences because coffee is a diuretic and forces you to urinate. Although coffee does hydrate you a little, its likely while dehydrated it's forcing out more than it's putting in.

Burnt Toast

The culprit behind this fictional cure is the carbon in the burnt bread. Carbon acts like a filter in the body. While it is true that "activated" charcoal (which is a treated form of carbon) is used to treat some types of poisonings, it is not currently used to treat alcohol poisoning (something that is vastly different from a regular hangover).

Burt toast does nothing but turn your stomach, and if you throw up or dry heave it could cause more problems as the acids in your stomach may push up through your esophagus which could burn it and cause damage, especially if your stomach has no water in it.

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The Perfect Hangover Smoothie

More Remedies that DO work (and why/how they work)

(You'll notice the above video uses a lot of these!)

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Fried or Fatty Foods

Although eating fried or fatty foods the morning after will probably only irritate a drinker's stomach more, eating them before drinking can actually help alleviate potential symptoms before they're a problem. eating anything fatty before you drink helps prevent a hangover, fatty food especially stick to the stomach lining better and slow the alcohol ingestion into the blood stream, this may make getting drunk take longer but it also gives the body more time to handle the toxic effects of the alcohol which helps to avoid a hang over too.

The fatty foods don't block the alcohol it just acts as a buffer which allows the body to keep up with the metabolism of alcohol and simultaneously deal with the toxins created as a bi-product. Many people make the mistake of thinking they need to drink more alcohol because they ate fatty foods and don't "feel" anything right away (and their friends who have empty stomachs do!).

This is a big mistake because you will end up TOO drunk and your body will become overwhelmed with alcohol metabolism/toxins it can't fight fast enough and this will cancel out the benefits of eating the fatty foods in the first place. Patience is a virtue! Give it more time, you will get just as drunk, no need to over do it!

a Mediterranean folk tactic is to take a spoonful of olive oil before drinking alcohol as a hangover preventative measure because it works! (sort of like pepto bismol coats the stomach so does this)

Power drinks:

Drinking Gatorade, or any electrolyte fortified sports drink, smoothie, or fruit drink (fresh real fruit is best) replenishes the robbed electrolytes that went out when you kept having to go to the bathroom! Don't drink too much WHILE your drinking, however as sport drinks contain a lot of salt (what makes the electrolytes) and you can dehyrate yourself! This is best drank AFTER you drink the next morning. Water, however should be consumed before, during, and after.

Eggs

Eating eggs the morning after gives you energy like any other food, which is the greatest benefit, but eggs also contain large amounts of cysteine the substance that breaks down the toxin (remember?) acetaldehyde in the liver's easily depleted glutathione. Therefore, eggs can potentially help mop up the left-over toxins and assist the body to compensate faster.

Bananas

Bananas provide lost electrolytes, but it also replenishes the potassium lost to alcohol's diuretic effect. Other potassium-rich foods such as kiwi fruit or sports drinks work just as well.

Water

Drinking water is the most important thing you can do for your hang over, especially if you drink it while you drink. This combats dehydration, but also helps dilute the left over chemicals left over from the alcohol and liver. Its a good idea to drink a glass of water with salt and sugar mixed in it as this replaces the lost sodium andglycogen. Sports drinks can achieve the same effect but drinking plain water and sports drinks is recommended.

It is also recommended that while you drink you drink a full glass of water for every glass or 3 shots of alcohol you drink. This is a good preventive measure that works wonders. This slows down drinking, and gives your body more time to deal with the alcohol. The body only processes 3/4 of an ounce of alcohol per hour any more than that becomes toxic and generally will cause hangover symptoms the next day, or induce vomiting while drinking.

Fruit Juice

Fructose or fruit sugar in fruit juice helps to naturally increase the body's energy. Studies have proven that it also speeds up how fast the body gets rid of toxins. Fruit juice is also a good idea the morning after because it is high in Vitamins and supplements that were depleted the night before because of alcohol's diuretic effect. Taking vitamin B and C are best but I recommend you take a high potency multivitamin to replenish your supply holistically.


PreToxx for Hangovers (30 Natural Tim... LES Labs, Inc. ~~$20.00~~ $16.99 View on Amazon	Drinkin Mate Feel Better the Next Da... Drinkin' Mate ~~$19.98~~ $9.75 View on Amazon	Source Naturals Hangover Formula, 120... Source Naturals ~~$35.98~~ $19.08 View on Amazon

Spirit Science RU-21 20 Tablets Spirit Science Only $14.99 View on Amazon	Chaser Plus, Freedom from Hangovers 4... Living Essentials Only $26.99 View on Amazon	Knock Knock Hangover Recovery Kit Knock Knock ~~$13.27~~ $8.88 View on Amazon

We Revisit The Hangover Pills In More Detail

OTC (Over the counter) Hangover Pills

The over the counter hangover relief tablets work by way of a filtering effect of charcoal. Chaser and Sob'r-K Hangover Stopper, which claim carbon as their main ingredient are only two of several versions of this. These over-the-counter remedies are taken prior to drinking. Manufacturers claim that the activated charcoal in the pills "attracts" congeners The carbon/charcoal found on burnt toast is not the same as activated charcoal, nor is it the equivalent of taking an OTC hangover remedy.

The OTC hangover remedies also have vitamins and protein and such in an attempt to give your body more of a chance of maintaining enough of its lost supply, but this doesn't always work.

Chaser, Sob'r-K Hangover Stopper, RU-21, Berocca and Rebound all work but contain drastically different sets of ingredients. Some are the same like active carbon. Their effectiveness varies based on ingredients. They are considered dietary supplements, meaning:

They contain vitamins and minerals.
no prescription necessary
They are usually taken as pills.

Sob'r-K Hangover Stopper is the cheapest yet best based on a study, compared to the others, uses the highest-grade carbon and the concoction is patented therefore, Hangover Review deemed it the smartest choice.

It's been said that since the pills are required to be taken through out the night with a tall glass of water, that the water more than the pills themselves is the real reason you don't get a hangover, however the congeners are absorbed by the activated charcoal so they do have another function other than replenishing vitamins.

Time

No matter what you do time is the real cure.. the other remedies help to speed up the body's progress and make you feel comfortable in the process but the body has to mop up the toxins the alcohol left and stimulated from the liver so you have to wait it out sometimes but the body always takes care of it in due time.

Conclusion

I hope after reading this you know a whole heck of a lot more than you did about alcohol metabolism and hangover symptoms, real cures, and can actually make an informed decision about what hangover cures are real and what seems more like badly relayed information (likely from a drunk person babbling haha!).

I worked hard to bring you as much information as possible (sorry for the length but at least it's thorough and entertaining right?).

My goal was to present you with the facts as I found them. I leave it up to you to deepen your biological research as we have a rule on this site that I can't dispense medical advice so I tried to keep it as topical as possible since I'm no doctor! Thank you for reading!

What A Hangover Is Like (Comedy)

Updated: 05/02/2012, Jerrico_Usher

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t on 10/15/2014

Awesome article.. thank you

Jerrico_Usher on 11/23/2012

Thanks Katie, I created this because people around me needed it lol, someone asked how they could live through a party without being hung over, I told them to not drink (duh), or maybe I'd write an article to cover all the basis... and years later did (on hubpages)... it's much better here, I cleaned it up and added more information in 2012 (written originally in 2008). Thanks for reading and passing it on!

katiem2 on 11/22/2012

This is fantastic, I'm going to remember this for the upcoming new years festivities, sharing it today with a tweet and again during New Years for sure. Quality stuff here for curing and or avoiding a hangover. :)K

Jerrico_Usher on 05/06/2012

Thank you Moonbeam, glad you found it useful :)