You’re enjoying beer, cocktails or some bubbly with friends, and before you know it, night turns into day, and you wake up with a massive hangover.
You’re not alone. About 76% of adults may experience some type of hangover after a drinking session.
Hangover symptoms include fatigue, dehydration, a headache or muscle ache, dizziness, shakiness, rapid heartbeat. That feeling is the worse!
“just in the previous decade, we are seeing more sophisticated clinical and preclinical research advance our understanding of all that is involved in a hangover,” said Laure Veach, director of specialized counseling intervention services and associate professor at wake forest school of medicine.
“Briefly, we have indications that the immune system and an inflammation response is involved when that hangover alarm goes out, from the central nervous system, when the blood alcohol concentration finally gets to zero,” she said. “The absence of alcohol in the body at that point is often where the hangover symptoms are at their worst.”
So what can be done to both prevent and treat hangovers? It starts with being mindful of what you’re drinking and eating.
Of course, the best way to ward off a hangover is to not drink, or to drink in moderation, and to be aware of the risks that come with consuming a lot of alcohol.
“Most of the trauma patients I see on daily basis, who have alcohol-related traumatic injuries, have not heard of risky drinking guidelines,” Veach said.
Yet some studies suggest that the type of alcohol you consume also may affect the severity of your headache.
Compounds associated with alcohol fermentation, called congeners, are linked to increased hanger over symptoms. They are found in larger amounts in dark liquors, such as bourbon and whiskey, than in light colored liquors, such as vodka or lighter beers. So a darker drink might result in a harsher hangover.
Also, experts recommend not drinking on an empty stomach, which could worsen a hangover.
“Food helps to slow down the rate at which your body absorbs alcohol, “said Dr. Arielle Levitan, a Chicago based internal medicine physician and co-author of the book “The Vitamin Solution.”
Since alcohol can impair your body’s absorption of certain nutrients, heavy drinking has been linked in some studies to a decline in levels of vitamin A, B, zinc, potassium another key nutrients. But eating the right foods can play a role in replacing them.
Vitamin A can be found in eggs, meat, fish and orange. While Vitamin B can be found in sweet potatoes, chicken or fish.
It’s also important to stay hydrated. If you wake up with a hangover, drink a generous amount of water right away.
Experts even recommend having a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks for preventing a hangover and in turn, it may help you drink less alcohol and decrease dehydration.