Within moderation, alcohol has little effect on the body; however, when taken in excess, alcohol can have detrimental effects and leave an individual with unpleasant symptoms well into the following day. A hangover is the result of consuming too much alcohol which may include feeling ill, lacking focus and performing poorly at work. Typically, the more alcohol that is consumed, the worse the hangover an individual will experience. Yet, this relationship between drinking and its effects is not necessarily true for everyone.
A hangover typically occurs the day after an individual has consumed a greater than normal amount of alcohol. While different individuals experience different side effects of drinking too much, several common symptoms have been identified. Depending on the type and amount of alcohol that was consumed, individuals may experience excessive fatigue, increased thirst, headache and muscle ache. Additional symptoms include nausea, vomiting, poor sleep, sensitivity to light and sound, dizziness and rapid heartbeat. Some individuals may even experience shakiness, inability to concentrate, bloodshot eyes, and changes in mood.
A hangover is caused by consuming too much alcohol; however, many factors contribute to the issue. Alcohol’s various characteristics are problematic for many individuals, leading to adverse effects. Alcohol increases urine production, triggers inflammatory responses, irritates the lining of the stomach, causes a drop in blood sugar, makes the blood vessels expand and triggers sleepiness. All of these factors combined contribute to the day after feeling.
Home Remedies for Hangovers
While avoiding the overconsumption of alcohol is the best way to prevent hangovers, many hangover remedies are available to diminish the symptoms of the condition. Activated charcoal, increased water intake, vitamin b-complex supplements, thiamine and asparagus are all singular treatments that aid in reducing hangover side effects. Blackstrap molasses, honey, milk thistle, sea buckthorn and green tea are also good treatments.
Additionally, chlorella mixed into a smoothie serves as an effective hangover cure drink as well as a hangover preventer.
Continue reading below for feedback from Earth Clinic readers on which remedies worked effectively to treat hangovers!
HI U OLE PATOOTS, , , , , , , , since some of you will be having libations during the holidays, I caution you not to get high on wood alcohol.
Up until this incident, I would have said that pine chip fumes were more dangerous than hardwood chip fumes. Not so, and here is a story that I experienced in the 70's as superintendent of a pulp mill.
We always built extremely large chip storage piles to prepare for the wet winters. That year it was too large and covered all the chip tunnel ventilation. A utility man's job was to clean under the chip conveyors in the tunnel.
I got a call from the digester operator saying that he got a weird call and then silence. He thought it was the utility man cleaning the chip tunnel. We rushed out there and he was out cold in the tunnel. We got him to the hospital and the doctor concluded that he passed out drunk on hardwood chip fumes. This is wood alcohol or methanol and can cause you to go blind or permanently affect your brain.
Luckily , the doctor was a country boy and had some common sense. He brought him down slowly using vodka for three days. He had one heck of a hang-over. The kid's eye sight was not affected, but his personality was to an extent.
ATS======ORH=======
Activated Charcoal is the ticket!
Take 2 Charcocaps Prior to drinking, 2 during and 2 before going home/passing out; drink a BIG glass of water with the last charcocaps. You will be right as rain in the morning=) The 2 before/after are most important, no worries if you forget the middle dose. I'm much older & don't go partying anymore like I did in my twenties. I was wrapping Christmas presents & sipping Prosecco while listening to Christmas music & before I knew it the bottle was EMPTY! I drank it by myself!!!!! STUPID
Charco caps saved me. I felt a little more tired than usual the next day, but NO HANGOVER.
*CAUTION: activated charcoal will sweep (remove) your entire system of EVERYTHING including medications, & nutrients (don't waste your vitamins, save for the AM after w/breakfast;)
I'm not promoting alcoholism here; take it easy folks. Eat well before drinking, pace yourself & have water in between if it will be a long night. Don't drink & drive=)
There is a video on YouTube where a chiropractor explains that drinking activated charcoal beforehand prevents hangover. Not only for hangovers but food poisoning, gas, nausea etc.
The two things that are missing that cause hangovers are sugar and water. Biological fact: Alcohol lowers your blood sugar and dehydrates you. Your headache is because it can’t get enough glucose, and your low energy/drag is because you are dehydrated. When sugar cant get to your brain, it can’t function properly = bad judgement and headache. Fruit salad, fresh or canned, fresh is preferable but canned also works, will make your headache go away without medicine. You can also substitute a diabetic glucose beverage or any liquid with real sugar (not corn syrup which is much less bioavailable and taxes your liver) if fruit salad isnt’ available. Glucose works unbelievably fast and will also increase your alertness. A glass of water and some glucose (chewed tablets or beverage) will get you the fastest results, fructose and water as with fruit salad the next fastest. Water in any instance. Prevention: You can reduce the severity of one significantly by having a tall glass of water before bed and upon waking. No fancy weird concoctions needed.
Chlorella works wonders for hangovers. What I do is take 3 grams (1 tsp powdered chlorella, can be found at any natural food store) in a smoothie before a night out drinking, then 3 grams before bed. Make sure to get “broken cell wall” chlorella. This ensures easier digestability and absorbtion. If you forget to take it the night before, you can also try 3-6 grams the next morning. It won’t work as well but will definitely improve your hangover. I get the WORST hangovers ever, and this is the ONLY remedy that has ever worked for me!
Never posted here before but took 6 grams before drinking and again before bed, had a 15 hour drinking session, 6 hours sleep then went for a run and got back on it again. A Night out usually wrecks the next few days for me but not anymore this stuff is gold
Ah, the dreaded hangover. After a night of punishing your poor body with alcohol, your body finally gets to punish you back!
The morning after, if you wake up and you’re still a little drunk, or the nausea hasn’t set in yet, this is your golden opportunity to take action before things start to get REALLY bad. I think you know what I’m talking about. Get something in your stomach as soon as you can to help your body absorb the alcohol and toxins in your system. I hate to say it, but grease and carbs are the best things you can put in your body at the first stage of a hangover, for whatever reason, it really helps! (This is the only time I’d ever advocate eating fast food! ). If your stomach churns at the thought of eating McDonalds, make yourself something with lots of grease and carbs – maybe a pizza, some spaghetti with butter or something similar. After you’ve eaten the greasy food, take an ibuprofen if you think your stomach can handle it (don’t take more than you need, and never take Tylenol, it’s very hard on your liver and can be potentially deadly mixed with alcohol.)
After you got some food in your stomach, spend the next 24 hours on a detox diet. Fruit juices, tomato juice (like V8), milkshakes with banana and honey, or a vegetable soup like gazpacho are all very helpful to replenish all the vitamins and potassium your body lost and to help gently detox the alcohol out of your system. Keep drinking water or a sports drink throughout the day to rehydrate your body.
Your body will also recover more quickly if you take a nap than if you try to tough it out all day. If you were intoxicated when you went to sleep the night before, then you probably didn’t get enough restful sleep – even if you went to sleep for 8 hours. When you feel good enough, go for a run, go in a sauna or steam room or take a hot shower to help your body sweat out the toxins (just follow up with lots of water afterwards, because whether you realize it or not, you are really dehydrated! )
If you woke up and there’s no chance you’re going to be able to keep some food down, make some ginger or peppermint tea and sip it SLOWLY. The ginger tea is a powerful nausea reliever and you will rehydrate your body in the process. If you’re really nauseous you can double up the tea bags. Once the nausea has been relieved and you think you can keep some food down, follow the steps above.
Here’s a few helpful things you can do for next time to prevent a hangover:
– There are ‘hangover prevention’ type pills you can find over-the-counter at the drugstore that contain B vitamins and vegetable carbon. They really work if you take them as directed. If you’re going somewhere where you feel like you might really be tying one on, pick these up first!
– Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Aim to drink at least one glass of water between every drink you have.
– Never drink on an empty stomach.
– Don’t drink too much too quickly, 1 drink per hour is enough for most people. You need to give your body time to process the alcohol.
– Sometimes eating before you sleep is helpful.
– Don’t mix alcohols. Also, stick with the top-shelf liquors over the rail liqours.
– With wines and champagnes, beware sulfates and carbonation – they both cause headaches in sensitive people.
– Always drink in moderation. We all make mistakes, but remember that everytime you binge on alcohol, you are doing damage to your brain, your heart, your liver and your kidneys. And most importantly, please get help if you think you’re having trouble controlling your drinking.
For immediate relief of hangovers, I found the following juice will relieve all my hangovers in fifteen minutes. Make a natural juice out of carrot, pawpaw, apple, pineapple, tomato, orange plus any other fruit to taste.(Each to be the size of say 1/2 an apple), and drink all at once. (should be enough to fill say an 8oz glass). Wait for 15 minutes or so. Your hangover will be completely gone and you should be ready for another day.
YES agreed. My best hangover cure is a green smoothie – filtered water, lots of leafy greens and fresh fruit. I add chia seeds too. It doesn’t do miracles after a huge night but it definitely helps. Goes great with a home-made BLT! X
Hangover Remedy – this from Dr. Weil….
avoid alcohol in the first place. However, if you do overdo it, drinking plenty of water and taking a B-complex vitamin supplement plus extra thiamine (100 mg) to counter the B-vitamin depletion caused by alcohol can help, as can… asparagus? Researchers at the Institute of Medical Science and Jeju National University in South Korea recently conducted a study that linked the amino acids and trace minerals in asparagus extract with reduced hangover symptoms.
While more research needs to be done before asparagus can be touted as a reliable hangover cure, if you drank too much the night before, eating asparagus at breakfast can’t hurt – it is a nutrient-dense vegetable, among the richest food sources of folate, and a good source of fiber, vitamins A, B6 and C, and potassium.
Thumbs up for Milk Thistle
testing out a combination Milk Thistle and Sea Buckthorn combo (from Germany). I was surprised that I didn’t suffer the usual ill effects this morning from a few beers the evening before. (shakiness, headache…I rarely drink)
I attribute it to the Milk Thistle…decided it will be a regular on my supplement shelf.
If you drink one cup of green tea in the morning it will cure a hangover due to the concentrated amount of antioxidants that it contains. It also will not hurt to up your water consumption, as you are bound to be dehydrated. It works!
Hangover Prevention
Depending on how much and how long you will be drinking in a night depends on this method, but it works for me. All you have to do is eat.
On a light drinking night, Eat at least a little bit 4 hours before or up to the point you start drinking.
Eat a moderate sized meal after drinking. I suggest having a balanced meal of maybe some breads, milk, meat, fruits and veges, but also with some junk food too. Keep away from a lot of sugary foods. I myself, might eat a sandwich, and some chips with a glass of milk, or 2 eggs on toast with milk.
On a moderate drinking night, Eat a moderate meal 4 hours before or up to the point you start drinking.
Eat a moderate /heavy meal after drinking. I suggest having a balanced meal of maybe some breads, milk, meat, fruits and veges, but also with some junk food too. Keep away from a lot of sugary foods. I myself, might eat a sandwich, a bowl of cereal, and 2 ice cream sandwiches.
On a heavy drinking night, Eat a moderate meal 4 hours before or up to the point you start drinking. Eat a heavy meal after drinking. I suggest having a balanced meal of maybe some breads, milk, meat, fruits and veges, but also with some junk food too. Keep away from a lot of sugary foods. I myself, might eat a burger and fries, a sandwich, 2 glasses of milk, and some strawberries.
If you going to be drinking over a period of time such as 6 hours or more, I suggest having a snack in the middle of drinking or a light meal. Pasta or noodles of some sort seems to be the best for these types of meals.
This has worked for me for a couple years, and I haven’t woke up with a hang over yet from doing this, good luck to everyone!
The foods you list to prevent a hangover seems to contain a lot of junk foods and sugary foods. My question is: Why do you need to prevent hangovers? If you can’t take a drink or two and stop before getting drunk (which causes hangovers), it is time to quit drinking at all. Why let alcohol rule your life?
A while back I had the worst hangover of my life. Pretty much very thing I smelled, looked at or thought about was making me want to vomit. It lasted a good 5 hours, until I was so hungry that I just had to eat even though I was positive I would not be able to keep it down. All I had was some 3 day old greasy Chinese leftovers, but I heated them up and ate it. I felt better within minutes! The nausea was relieved and then totally gone within an hour.
Much to my pleasant surprise I stumbled on a hang over remedy. I started taking a daily multivitamin sometime around June 20th just because I thought I would be good for me. I attended a good friend’s wedding on June 28th, and had plenty of wine. There’s no question that I should have NOT been well the next morning. I woke up the next day and had ZERO hang over. No head ache, no nausea, no laying in bed all day, nothing. I was floored. I couldn’t imagine why. After discovering this website, I realized that it is the MultiVitamin (which I have continued to take) that is preventing me from having hang overs. I haven’t had a hang over since early June and I do ‘my share’ of drinking. The Vitamins that I’m replacing are doing their job. I usually take the vitamin at lunch time, so they have enough time to circulate and build up the supply before an evening of happy hour festivities. Thank you Costco for your Kirkland Brand, Once a day, Multivitamin, and thank you Earth Clinic for the many remedies I’ve been reading about. (Banana Peels for warts really works)
You wont believe this. I thought I discovered a cure for hangovers A FEW YEARS AGO.and I don’t know of many people who have used this recipe and didn’t swear by its benefits.
Liquid Chlorophyll, water- soluable vitamins, potassium, calcium carbonate.
Activated charcoal.
These, taken with 1,000 militers of H20 will prevent 90% of hangovers.
MORE SPECIFIC:
Water Soluable Vitamins: Small dose b complex.(large doses make you puke.)
Vitamin C- Detoxifies the aldahyde biproducts. Used buffered form or use regular VIT. c with extra tums.
Calcium carbonate
Tums- take three or four.
Protects stomach. Adds calcium ions to blood stream. Protects kidneys from phosphates.
Potassium- Depleated by diuretics.
black strap molasses, potassium supplements, three bananas, gatorade/powerade.
Chlorophyll:
Detoxifies
by binding to and/or absorbtion.
Well documented properties!
Activated charcoal.
Absorbs alcohol that’s remaining in your stomach.Blocks it from your blood stream and liver. Excreted through feces.
Water:
Very important. Alcohol is diuretic. You become dehydrated and your electrolytes are off. So, replenish water and lytes is good strategy.
Nobody, goes out and buys all this different stuff just to treat hangovers. But when they do they are glad they did. If after all this, you wake up to urinate in the middle of the morning, if you still have a headach,…take benadryl 25 mg.
WARNING:
Do not take aspirin, tylenol for hangovers. Tylenol can cause liver damage. Aspirin can cause G.I. bleeding.
Hangover Prevention: This is a prevention techique that I discovered on my own a while back just from reading other articles on the internet. Something I found that that works great and works great for everyone I’ve told about it is this: Right before bed, drink a 12 oz can of Vegetable juice and a 16oz bottle of sports drink. Don’t worry about taking any pain medication until morning time. Most of the time you won’t need it. I also avoid eating that “late night” dinner after drinking. In my opinion it just puts more junk in your body that has to be processed in addition to the alcohol. I find just downing the vegetable juice and sports drink is all I need to curve my appetite enough to get to sleep.
First of all I would like to say that I am glad I “literally” stumbled upon this site much to my amazement and delight. I look forward to trying this particular potion this very evening. I will post at a later date if it relieved ANY of my self indulged ministrations. One thing which I would like to add is this remedy for bleeding which worked on me. It is a simple bible verse: Ezekiel 16:6. A woman must read it if a man is bleeding and a man must read it for a woman; and for burns read Song of Soloman 8:6 Gotta go, Vodka’s working!!! Oh yes, why are all the other submissions like, “OLD”???
In my experience, I think on a night (or day)where you have polished off a few too many its hard to think about anything but sleep. So my hangover cure is Coconut Water in the morning. Not Coconut juice filled with sugar and junk, my personal favorite is Blue Mokey Coconut Water. But I am still trying others. It replaces electrolytes like the sport drink, but with out the other stuff that comes with sport drinks. A nice chilled one, shake it and enjoy. It hydrates and gives you a good amount of energy to have a productive day.
The two main ingredients of a hangover are: 1) depletion of vitamins and 2) lack of restful sleep (even if you sleep 8 hours). This is what I do when I’ve had plenty, and it works every time to eliminate or at least minimize the effects. I take a B complex vitamin and/or a regular multivitamin and I take ONE Tylenol PM before I go to sleep. You’ll wake up feeling good, without that tired, nervous feeling you get when you’ve really tied one on.
Please tell all your readers NOT to take any acetominiphine (Tylenol) products when drinking. It really stresses your liver even more than already stressed from the alcohol. Take plain old aspirin or ibuprophen instead!
Acetaminophen can cause severe liver damage in combination with alcohol, and should NOT be taken until all of the alcohol is out of your system! This is written on the bottle. The same warning is found on Ibuprofen products.
I don’t drink a lot but once in awhile I binge drink. I make sure prior to drinking to hydrate with filtered water all day long and maybe a Vitamin C or multi. It also helps to drink top shelf vs/ well (cheaper liquor can have more additives/preservatives). Also when you’re drinking, get a glass of water to drink too. I could have three to four Long Island Iced Teas (over 4-6 hours) after not drinking for many months and wake up without a hangover in my 30s.
Honestly, I don’t recommend binge drinking but I get shy when I go out and sometimes it happens. I know myself and make sure I drink the water. I think much of a hangover comes from dehydration and not listening to the body. I haven’t got sick in half-a-dozen years. My b/f drinks regularly and still get sicks, because he doesn’t listen to the body when it says stop or don’t eat greasy food on top of all the drinking.
Yes please do not take acetaminophen if you drink alchohol, especially if you are a heavy or binge drinker. Not only does it damage your liver but my daughter’s friend’s Mother, who was a binge drinker died from her organs shutting down. And it was because she took, that night acetaminophen. Confirmed by the doctors. I am sure this is a severe case but why take the chance.
There are actually pre-mixed supplement capsules on the market that have proved for thirty years to prevent hangovers by supplying various antioxidants and liver-protective ingredients. They are even named as some kind of hangover preventative or anti-alcohol antioxidant blend. The main key ingredients are always Vitamins C, E, and the amino acid “NAC”, or n-acetyl cysteine. Then there are up to a dozen others in the mix. NAC is readily recognizable as the one key nutrient used by hospitals to save people admitted from kidney and liver failure from overdose of acetaminophen! Some of those others are chlorophyllin, selenium, zinc, copper, barley grass, thiamin, etc. Here is a quote from one page of a long article explaining why booze can hurt so badly after over-consumption! :
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been associated with acute ethanol-induced liver damage. A study published in the journal Artery confirmed a specific toxic metabolite of alcohol (acetaldehyde) and identified an antidote (N-acetyl-cysteine): “All known pathways of ethanol metabolism result in the production of acetaldehyde, a highly reactive compound. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), an analogue of the dietary amino acid cysteine, binds acetaldehyde, thus preventing its damaging effect on physiological proteins. “45 NAC is a glutathione precursor and direct antioxidant. Pretreatment with or co-administration of NAC helps to inhibit acute ethanol-induced liver damage via counteracting ethanol-induced oxidative stress
I was a hungover today so I spent some time in the sauna at the gym. This was 2 hours ago and now I’m cured! This always works for me. They say the skin is the 3rd kidney, and if you ever sweat out a hangover, you’ll agree. What works best for me is sauna followed by shower, then repeat.
A hangover is simply dehydration caused by alcohol drawing water out of your system. As a former bartender I learned this simple method of always avoiding a hangover and if I already have it releving it quickly. Drink lots of water and take aspirin before going to bed. The water rehydrates the body and the aspirin thins the blood to get the alchol through the blood system and out more quickly. The only problem with this is you will be getting up a few times during the night to go to the bathroom but I prefer this to the hangover.
It is very dangerous to take asprin (or any pharmaceuticals) when drinking. The combination of medicine and alcohol can cause liver damage.
Also, a hangover is not simply dehydration, but a lack of nutrients that have been used up while breaking down the alcohol.
I would therefore recommend, for dehydration, a banana, because the potassium in the banana replaces the salts lost to dehydration.
Eggs and fruit juice will help replenish lost nutrients.
I have peri oral dermatitis, Gilberts Syndrome and I.C. All three are pretty much incurable (for me anyway) and i’ve lived with them forever. Today was day 2 of my oil pulling and something is definately working. I’m doing it just once in the morning. Yesterday i awoke feeling okay, oil pulled with sunflower oil and the second i spat it out my head felt like it was going to explode! had the headache all day. But I noticed my bladder was no longer as uncomfortable, and my skin, I think it looks a bit better..?.. Last night i had a bit of a drinking session because it was my sisters birthday and I awoke with a cracking hangover! Feeling very ill I went downstairs and sat at the dining table with the oil and after a minute or so with the oil in my mouth, I became brighter and more…WELL feeling. I even got up and started tidying! Guys, my hangover DISAPPEARED. whats going on here? I dont understand how this is working, but I am SURE it’s not in my mind, I am feeling better! I will post again after a week. Cant wait to see if anything else happens.
Oil Pulling works. I agree that I don’t understand how it works but, I got drunk the night before and when I woke up I was feeling groggy and had a slight headache. I oil pulled and felt great. Now I try to oil pull everyday… Drinking or not.
It really does work. Sometimes you forget the difference between hangovers in your twenties and hangovers in your thirties. I will be 33 next month. Last night I forgot and, though my husband and I had a great time, this morning was a painful reminder that we are not in our twenties. I don’t drink often, but when I do, my hangovers are miserable. Pounding head, dry heaving all day long, etc. This morning was no exception. I got on earth clinic hoping to find a cure. I stumbled upon the oil pulling, which I’ve done only once before and not for a hangover. I had nothing to lose, so I swished while I was in the (cool) shower with Sesame Oil. By the time my 15 minute shower was complete, I felt just fine. No headache, no nausea. Just tired. I’m amazed. I followed up my OP with tons of water, an asprin and a swig of aloe vera juice.
Honey is a good one but take it before you drink or whilst boozing. Honey on toast is a great way to prepare the body for a drinking session. Eat several slices (more if you’re really going to town) and the honey helps break down the consumed alcohol and hey presto a good night with no hangover.
If you take a tablespoon of Black Strap Molasses after a night of drinks and then one in the morning, the effects don’t seem as bad. I’m thinking it’s the potassiuim that is the helper. This molasses has a lot of potassiuim. My husband tried it and he agreed that he felt much better in the morning. I at first recommended the molasses to my mother who was iron low and had a hard time with iron pills. Her iron was normal a few weeks later at her scheduled doctor apptmt. I read the bottle and noticed the potassium percentage and decided to try it after a cocktail party and was amazed!
Worked like a dream! But it was very difficult to get anything down let alone water, try it!
If you take a tablespoon of Black Strap Molasses after a night of drinks and then one in the morning, the effects don’t seem as bad. I’m thinking it’s the potassium that is the helper. This molasses has a lot of potassium. My husband tried it and he agreed that he felt much better in the morning. I at first recommended the molasses to my mother who was iron low and had a hard time with iron pills. Her iron was normal a few weeks later at her scheduled doctor apptmt. I read the bottle and noticed the potassium percentage and decided to try it after a cocktail party and was amazed!
i am a severe drinker, but had been on wagon for 1 month then went on a major drinking episode. i took 2 tablespoons of honey every hour when shaking and sick and felt calm and good did this for 5 hours and was like new next day.
I tried the honey for a hangover after discovering your website by chance last week. I am not a heavy drinker but last night had a little too much red-wine. I woke up this morning with a slight hangover so I took two tbsp. of local raw honey I keep in my pantry; at first I had heartburn and a burning sensation in my throat but then after about an hour I felt much better. I hope to use this site for more often for insight on natural cures than taking the usual Tylenol or asprins I usually take for just too much of a good thing. Thanks for our Global friends who want to share natures remedies.
I was reading all the wonderful things about cold showers so I had to try it. It isn’t the greatest feeling in the world at all, especially living in not-so-hot climate. Once you get out of the shower, you feel like you have unlimited energy and feel absolutely great. I actually had a hangover today, took a cold shower and felt a lot better after and my head ache was gone also and I’m at work feeling great.
Yea on this. I just took a cold shower for my hangover headache and it worked immediately. Thank you.
Thanks for this, it works! I felt so bad this morning and I even vomited. I dragged myself in the shower and stood under the cold water for as long as I could stand. I was shivering when I got out, but feel fine now, just 20 minutes later.
My shower is broken and only does hot, but when you first switch it on you can get about 20 seconds of cold. I went for it and can say that my headache was significantly improved, just wish I could have had a bit more time, it felt like it would have done me more good.
I was told that if you want to prevent the unpleasant effects of a hangover you can take an activated charcoal capsule with each alcoholic beverage which will absorb the harmful elements in the alcohol which cause the hangover.
This remedy DOES work!