How to Prevent a Hangover

Posted on October 27th, 2009 by Carmelia

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

No Comments (Post Comment)

Republish

Hangovers are a pain to deal with, but being teased as a teetotaler among your circle of friends can also be excruciating too. Here’s how you can still have that drink and show up in work on time and totally sober. Read on for more.

Eat before you drink. One surefire way to prevent a hangover is to make sure you don’t drink on an empty stomach. Drinking on empty stomach will make the alcohol metabolize very quickly, which in turn release the byproducts that cause hangovers. Carbohydrates and food with a high percentage of fat can help slow down and ease the rate of absorption in your body.
Pace yourself. Don’t drink more than three drinks in an hour, and limit yourself to a total of five drinks for the night. These numbers can vary, depending on your weight, height and alcohol tolerance. For small and petite women, it’s recommended to even drink less to prevent getting a hangover.
Avoid sweet alcoholic drinks. Cocktails and other similar alcoholic drinks can be deceiving because they mask the alcohol taste and induce you to drink more. Avoid them when you can.
Take vitamin C. Before going out for drinks, pop two tablets of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps with the better breakdown of alcoholic drinks, hence lessening your chances of a hangover.
Drink milk. Drinking a glass or half a glass of milk will coat your stomach and help slow down the alcohol absorption.
Choose light alcohol over dark alcohol. Generally speaking, light alcohol is alcohol with a light color while dark alcohol is the opposite. Light alcohol has less congeners, which are the alcohol byproducts that cause hangovers.
Water it up. One trick to drink less beer without being obvious about it is to drink beer with lots of ice. Let the ice melt in the beer mug with your beer, and it will look like you’re drinking just as much beer as everyone else, even though you really aren’t. The added water should also help keep you hydrated.
Drink less concentrated alcohol. Say no to concentrated alcohol shots, like whiskey shots or anything similar.
Don’t drink carbonated drinks. Avoid carbonated drinks, whether they’re alcoholic or not. Carbonated drinks speed up the absorption process in your body, leading to hangovers.
Don’t mix it up. If you really want to play it safe and avoid hangover, better choose one kind of alcoholic drink, and stick with it. No mixing of alcoholic beverages.
Alternate with non-alcoholic drinks. Alternating with non-alcoholic drinks, especially water, is a sneaky way to still keep drinking but not inviting a hangover at the same time.
Avoid drinking coffee. Coffee seems like a sensible way to get out of your alcohol-induced daze, but it’s actually a culprit in hangovers. Avoid diuretics, since they can flush out the water in your body.
Drink water before you go to bed. If you can, drink as much water before you go to sleep. Being well-hydrated is your number one protection against hangovers.
Eat a banana. Bananas contain B-6, which is said to be a good component in preventing hangovers.
Don’t drink while depressed. Studies show that you’re more likely to drink more than you can handle when you’re drinking with a negative attitude. So avoid going out for drinks when you’re feeling a little emotionally crushed.