You may not want to hear this but a hangover is your body’s way of letting you know that it is struggling to cope with what it’s been fed! 🙁
And yes, you’re not imagining it, hangovers do get worse with age, regardless of the amount consumed – Quite simply, a young healthy body is more resilient and capable of healing itself – We can all remember the days of getting to bed at 4am and bouncing out of bed by 8am to go to work, not a bother.
Of course when it comes to hangovers, the saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ rings annoyingly true, but, as you know, good intentions can go awry, so, below are my top tips for limiting the damage the day before and the day after 🙂
HANGOVER PREVENTION
Hydrate – always drink a glass of water before you start drinking and ideally one in-between each alcoholic beverage. This will help dilute the alcohol in your bloodstream.
Line the Stomach – eating a balanced and substantial meal before/whilst drinking alcohol is important. Including some fat before imbibing can reduce your risk of a hangover because fats line your stomach for longer and slow down the absorption of alcohol. Healthy fat options include eggs, olive oil, salmon or avocadoes.
Milk Thistle – the active compound found in this herbal remedy supports liver function which will help your body break down the alcohol. Take it before you head out and right before bed.
Breakfast Cures
Ditch the fry up – cooked fats are difficult to digest and hard on the liver, your body does not need additional work whilst it’s trying to heal itself. Instead, opt for a breakfast which contains foods that will help repair the damage.
Porridge with chopped banana is a good hangover food as both contain crucial B vitamins which help reduce the stress your body is under. The banana will also help restore lost potassium.
Eggs on wholegrain toast is another good option. Egg yolks contain large amounts of cysteine, which breaks down acetaldehyde, one of the culprits behind a hangover.
Fruit Smoothie made up from natural yogurt, banana and berries is a great hangover cure because dairy is another good source of cysteine and works well paired with high vitamin C fruit.
