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BeerTutor Hangover Remedies

As most people know hangovers are due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol. This occurs because Alcohol is a diuretic, however, there are other ingredients in some forms of alcohol that also contribute to a hangover. These are called cogeners and are found in dark drinks such as Brandy, Red Wine, Whiskey, etc. Beer is on the low end of the hangover spectrum, although it can still cause a pretty terrible hangover...if you do it right.

In this article, we are going to go through some hangover remedies as well as prevention techniques that will hopefully help you get through the day after a good bender. Obviously, not drinking in the first place is the best way to prevent a hangover, but it is also a stupid thing to do and not something I would ever recommend. Below are some much better options.

Hangover Prevention

Nicotine - If you smoke, quitting will cut your hangovers in half. I know this from personal experience as well as that of others.

Water Treatment - Drinking water between drinks seems to be a very good hangover prevention technique. You may spend your entire night in the bathroom, but might be worth it if you are prone to painful hangovers.

Painkillers - A lot of people will take an aspirin or other pain killer before they go to bed after a good binge session. The problem with this is that alcohol and pain killers (especially acetominophen/Tylenol) mixed are very bad for your kidneys.. or is it liver.. who cares, it may help prevent a hangover, but its REALLY bad for you.

Hangover Pills - There are a ton of pills on the market that claim to prevent hangovers if taken before you start drinking. There is much debate as to whether these work. A lot of them are just aspirin and vitamins mixed together. Some commonly found pills are RU-21 and Chaser.

Food - If you are going to get your drink on, there are 2 very important times to eat - before and after. For you pukers, eating after might be tough, but if it makes you puke, that is probably a good thing.

Eject.. Eject - I find puking to be for the feeble and weak, but for those of you with substandard intestinal fortitude, this is your body trying to tell you something. It will certainly help minimize your hangover the next day.

Mixing Drink Types - The old saying goes, "Liquor before beer, never fear. Beer before liquor, never sicker". To me this is BS witchcraft psychobabble, but if you are superstitious then you might want to follow the "rules".

Drink Beer - For the most part, beer will cause less severe hangovers than other drinks. If you want some liquor, drink light colored liquors such as Gin, Vodka, etc. I don't care what anyone says, red wine is piss and will give you the hangover of a lifetime - it will literally turn you into the living dead. If you are so fancy that you need to drink Brandy, then you deserve a hangover. The only thing that will help you is to start drinking like a sane person - for the love of god have some beer.

Hangover Remedies

If you are reading this section, it means that the damage is already done and you have wrecked yourself. Fortunately, all hope is not lost.

Sleep - Feel like shit? Why not sleep until you don't anymore. C'mon people, its just common sense. If you have to be awake for some reason, try some of the others below.

Painkillers - NOW is the time for painkillers, not the night before.

Hair of the Dog - This saying refers to an ancient notion that if you are bit by a dog, you should put a hair of the dog in the wound and it will heal faster. The general premise is that "more of what ails you will heal you". So in application to hangovers, you should drink through it. Personally, this is the method that works best for me. From a scientific perspective, it makes little sense as to why this works because you are further dehydrating yourself. I think that it really has more to do with alcohol's magical ability to "take the edge off" just about anything. It should be noted that you don't want to drink as much as you did the night before or you will wake up right where you left off. I try to complete about half of my previous night's work. Red Beer, Bloody Marys, and Hefmosas are all good options.

Sugar - Your body needs sugar to break down the alcohol that you still have in your system.

Pedialyte - Pedialyte is a formula containing electrolytes and carbohydrates designed specifically to rehydrate babies. It apparently works wonders on hangovers in adults (or children). I have never tried this, nor have I met anyone that can stomach this crap. I hear the popsicles are easier to get down.

Gatorade - Don't waste your time with water. It takes too damn long to rehydrate that way. Gatorade contains electrolytes and is designed to rehydrate athletic types. During my career as a beer athlete, I have had some pretty good success with Gatorade. Lime flavor seems to be the least offensive to a weak stomach.

Sweat It Out - Here is another one that defies science, however, if you excercise or do some yard work with a hangover, you will sweat it away. It makes no sense since you are further dehydrating yourself, but it works well for me and many others. The problem with this one, is that being active is about the last thing you want to do with a hangover. You really have to force yourself to pull this off. Here is some incentive - after you work up a disgusting, rotten alcohol smelling sweat, go to the store and stand really close to people and see if you can get a reaction. If you haven't brushed your teeth yet, try striking up some conversations.

IV - The absolute best and most elusive hangover cure is an IV. I hear this is a common trick among med students who give themself and IV for an hour and they are completely rehydrated.

Vitamins - The best vitamin for a hangover is B1 (Thiamine). You can find B1 in rice, beans, nuts, etc. Potassium is another important one which can be found in Bananas.

Juice - Juice contains a lot of vitamins and is a faster, better tasting way to rehydrate yourself than water.

Cysteine - This is an amino acid that helps remove toxins from your body. You can buy pills or it can be found in eggs, which supports breakfast theories.

Freeze Therapy - Fill your bathtub with cold water and some ice. Jump in and stay in as long as you can take it. Repeat as necessary. If you are near a cold river or glacier runoff, this will work too. I have tried this and it does work for a while. It is hard to feel your hangover if you can't feel anything at all.

Peace Pipe - If you have glaucoma, get really drunk and wake up with a hangover, smoke some of your legally prescribed medicinal marijuana. You will soon become hungry, which makes a nice opportunity to have some eggs, a banana and some juice for breakfast. As you fall headlong into the door jamb, you will realize that your hangover is completely gone.

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