The holiday season is here. Despite promising you’d take it easy, ‘one drink’ on Christmas Eve can swiftly turn into more than a few embarrassing selfies with Aunt Maureen and a banging headache in the morning. For many of us, the winter break means roast dinner, plenty of gravy, lots of booze – and the consequences that come with it. So, how do we survive the holiday period?
Why do we get hangovers?
Before talking about how to deal with hangovers, it’s important to understand what causes a hangover in the first place.
1. Alcohol acts as a poison.
Harsh but true, unfortunately: when you drink, enzymes in your body break down alcohol to form acetaldehyde, a poison and a carcinogen. The body eliminates it quickly, although some people have genetic makeup resulting in slower breakdown of this toxin (this is particularly common in people of East Asian origin, causing the ‘Asian flush’, a flushed complexion and increased adverse effects of alcohol). The slower the breakdown of acetaldehyde, the worse you feel.
2. Dark alcoholic drinks contain congeners.
Holiday favourites like red wine, whisky, and brandy contain congeners: compounds that typically darken beverages, these intensify flavour but potentially worsen hangover symptoms by competing with ethanol during the breakdown process, impeding alcohol breakdown speed.
3. Alcohol affects your brain.
Two vital neurotransmitters are glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). You can think of glutamate as the ‘on-switch’ and GABA as the ‘off-switch’ for your brain. Drinking alcohol stimulates GABA, initially making you feel relaxed, but soon switching off areas of the brain responsible for judgement, inhibition and, eventually, consciousness. Alcohol also inhibits glutamate receptors, turning off the ‘on-switch’ and making it harder for the brain to store memories.
4. Alcohol harms the gut.
Alcohol can eliminate organic matter, hence why alcohol-based gels and sanitisers are extensively used. Predictably, pouring alcohol into your digestive system damages the gut lining, resulting in localised inflammation, nausea, and vomiting – and triggers widespread inflammation, leading to symptoms such as headaches, confusion and tremors.
How to prevent and ‘cure’ a hangover
The foolproof way to evade the consequences of drinking is, predictably, not to drink. However, in the incredibly improbable scenario that you do, here are some tips to consider:
Before drinking:
- Line your stomach – you’ve all heard it before, but this has a scientific basis; protecting the gut lining can decrease the effects of alcohol such as nausea.
- Make it as easy as possible for yourself to get home for some proper recuperation
While drinking:
- Pace yourself – it takes around an hour to metabolise one unit of alcohol. The slower your drinking pace, the better your chances of your body coping with the alcohol in your system.
- Avoid drinks heavy in congeners (usually dark drinks) – stick to clear drinks such as white wine and clear spirits (excluding tequila!)
- Drink water – dehydration is a major contributing factor to a hangover
Before bed:
- More water – keep a large bottle of water by your bed to avoid the 5 am trip to the kitchen
- Take antacids if you are prone to reflux.
The day after:
- Yet again – drink more water. Dehydration caused by alcohol is a major factor in your hangover.
- Have a high-protein, vitamin-rich breakfast – research has shown that alcohol prevents your body from absorbing certain amino acids as well. Resupplying your body with these amino acids by eating a protein-rich meal can help with the recovery period. Alcohol consumption generally decreases the effectiveness of vitamins in your body, so eating fruit and veg or taking a vitamin supplement can quickly help to speed up recuperation.
What to avoid the day after
Extensive research has shown that the following hangover ‘remedies’ are nothing but popular myths:
- Coffee – while coffee may wake you up, it also increases dehydration.
- Sweating it out – excessive exercise can cause (you guessed it) dehydration. If you do feel up to exercising, ensure you drink plenty of fluids.
- A greasy fry-up – while some evidence suggests that greasy food slows the absorption of alcohol in the blood, this only has the potential to be effective when eaten before drinking alcohol. Eating greasy food the morning after can upset the digestive system when it’s at its most sensitive, making the hangover worse. However, psychologically this might help – so you wouldn’t be blamed for trying this one anyway.
Hopefully, this hangover guide will help you out this festive season – and if not, there’s always next year, right?