This morning of January 1, you just woke up suddenly with a big problem: the light tears your retina, the slightest sound is torture and your head has obviously served as a balloon for the XV of France while you sleep. You remember then that you drank the equivalent of the Seine in champagne the night before and you quickly conclude that … you have a hangover.
To avoid living in a disaster scenario, the first principle, on New Year’s Eve, is … to drink in moderation, of course. But also to take a gourd with you (let’s not forget the barrier gestures) to also drink water, throughout the evening. This will allow you to water the evening without suffering too much the next day.
However, if this basic principle seems difficult to apply and you think you are drinking more than you need to, know that there are also other preventive tips to avoid having a too difficult awakening the day after Christmas Eve. Be careful, however, remember that alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health and if you have to get behind the wheel, limit yourself to a drink or have someone take you home.
What to do BEFORE
5 tips to avoid a hangover
- Remember to hydrate, drink at least 1 liter of water. She will be your main ally of the evening! Better, if you can supplement your consumption with alcohol with fruit juice, you will optimize your chances of success. Indeed, the fruits contain fructose, a natural sugar which facilitates the transformation and therefore the elimination of alcohol.
- With the same idea, consume honey. The latter belongs to the foods that have the most fructose. The simple act of swallowing a spoonful or two of honey at the end of a meal will relieve your battered stomach and restore your energy.
- On the gastric level, some plant extracts, such as artichoke or boldo (leaf from a shrub in Chile) will help you avoid painful heartburn.
- Finally, before going to bed, do not hesitate to take 1 g of paracetamol. If you just take your pill when you wake up, it will be less effective.
- Regarding historical remedies, tablespoon style of olive oil, large glass of squeezed lemon, milk or even boiled water with garlic, bay leaf, sage, egg yolk and even bread, no effect positive has not yet been scientifically proven.
What to do AFTER
With all of these precautions, you shouldn’t be prone to hangovers. However, you will never be completely safe! It is therefore time to discuss the remedies … anti-hangover.
- Drink water. Lots of water ! Know this: alcohol may be liquid, but it dehydrates you. Particularly diuretic, it can thus push your body to eliminate several liters of water in a few hours (and a few glasses.) Desperate, your body will therefore draw it wherever it can find it, and in particular in your brain. So look no further for the origin of your headaches, even if your liver, by transforming alcohol into a toxic compound (acetaldehyde), does not help matters.
- Watch out for effervescent aspirin! This medicine can make your gastritis (inflammation of the stomach) worse and even increase gastric bleeding. Nothing good then.
- Against indigestion, trust the traditional and highly effective betaine citrate. It optimizes gastrointestinal motor skills and digestive secretions, often absent after rich meals. Last tip, plan for the next day with a light meal like broth and a good restful sleep.
Read also: 12 tips to avoid a liver attack
Hangover: what exactly is it?
Headache, dry and mushy mouth, nausea, want to vomit are the unpleasant consequences of too much alcohol. But what action do they result from?
The main reason is called acetaldehyde. This substance, thirty times more toxic than alcohol, comes from the transformation of alcohol in our metabolism. During a complex process, the alcohol becomes in fact acetaldehyde, then acetate to complete its elimination in carbon dioxide plus water.
The other explanation for a hangover comes from methanol, present in alcohol. This element makes it possible to classify alcohols according to their capacity to give more or less the “hangover”.
Brandy, red wine, rum, white wine, gin and vodka can thus be classified in descending order of methanol content. A “baked” with vodka should therefore be less painful than with brandy.
Remember that methanol can be used as fuel by some racing cars! Imagine how much work your liver and kidneys must do to remove these substances.
How do you get rid of alcohol?
The liver, through several enzymes, has a major role in the detoxification of alcohol (the action of suppressing the harmful effects): know that it It takes him about 1h30 to get rid of the equivalent of a glass. For their part, the kidneys are responsible for eliminating this toxicant using mainly water. This is why, when you drink more than you need to, you are subject to an increase in your diuresis (the volume of urine) and to a fairly strong dehydration resulting in thirst and headaches. Nausea and vomiting, on the other hand, results from alcoholic gastritis, which is a direct toxic effect of alcohol on the stomach.
Finally, know that your propensity to endure alcohol depends on your usual consumption, your weight and … your sex since women are 2 to 3 times more sensitive than men to the effects of alcohol.
Read also :
Infographic: the effects of alcohol on the body
Covid-19 and New Year’s Eve: what to remember
