Hungover from last night? Before you reach for that bottle of painkillers, strong cup of coffee or that toast, listen up. When it comes to hangover cure or prevention, not one of the usual urban myths we hear all the time seem to get it right. As a matter of fact, some of these go-to remedies are just awfully bad.
Below are 8 hangover myths you should immediately stop believing and what you should do instead.
4) The hair of the dog is all you need.
Although it may seem like it gets rid of the hangover after a night of boozing, having an alcoholic drink in the morning only actually delays your inevitable hangover. Why? Because you are medicating with the substance that caused you to feel sick to begin with.
So why do some people insist on the effectiveness of a Mimosa or a Bloody Mary? Well, since alcohol has a depressant effect, it can temporarily alleviate some of the hangover symptoms. This calming effect does not last long though. Once the alcohol leaves your system, the relaxed feeling quickly turns into anxiety. Although it can relieve your hangover for a little while, drinking the morning after a binge will not only cause more damage to your liver and brain, it will also make your headache much, much worse later on.
3) Popping two painkillers before bedtime will set you straight in the morning.
Did you ever had those friends who swore that two aspirins are the ultimate defense against hangovers? Well, they are a bit right. As your body uses up a lot of water to process alcohol, too many drinks and too little water can result to headache-inducing dehydration by the end of the night. As aspirin and ibuprofen are anti-inflammatory, they kind of help since alcohol inflames both liver and brain but they are not really considered a cure since they still cannot prevent a hangover. It is also not recommended to pop Tylenol (acetaminophen) while drinking as it could cause damage to your already overworked liver.
2) The best hangover medicine is a greasy diner breakfast.
Forget the bacon and grab a few saltines. Loading a queasy stomach with fries, sausages and eggs certainly won’t help. You want to go for simple carbohydrates like crackers and bread which are easy to digest and can quickly raise your blood sugar levels. In normal conditions, our liver usually generates glucose from our stored carbohydrates whenever our blood sugar dips. But whenever we are drinking, the liver is busy metabolizing all the alcohol and will have a hard time regulating our blood sugar, leaving us drained of energy and moody.
1) Eating bread before drinking soaks up the alcohol.
Contrary to what some people say, bread does not act like a sponge in your stomach. It does not hurt though to have a bite to eat before and while drinking as having food in your stomach (whether it is bread or not), slows down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. In fact, this is the perfect time for some greasy diner meal as fat tends to slow stomach movement. Although it is not something that you want to happen, having fatty food in your stomach actually helps if you are drinking heavily as it blocks the absorption of alcohol longer than other types of food.
