Hangover Central

How many New Years have you rung in? How many New Years have you awakened with your head “ringing” as if you were the clapper INSIDE the bell welcoming the new year? This is Hangover Central, a destination from which I can speak with authority, because, well, I’ve been there. Found out the hard way, recuperating from “the big one” New Years celebration hangover, can be gnarly, yeah. So, when I found “Tips to Alleviate a New Years Hangover” (I suspect they will work for any hangover, though), I knew I should share them as a service to anyone who might, with whatever intent, find themselves in need of comfort January 1, 2012.

Chug a sports drink. It replenishes the electrolyte the body depletes while metabolizing libations. But please resist the come lately practice of mixing it with more alcohol. That just defeats the rationale.

Drinking lots of water when you wake up will make you re-drunk has been validated as an incorrect...um, I was going to say “old wives’ tale,” but hey, this is the second decade of the Third Millennium. But it drinking water won't cause a re-drunk. It’s an easy physiologic fact - alcohol dehydrates you. That is one BIG cause of that splitting headache. So, as you consider getting tanked, tank up with good old water. Then, tank up again when you wake up; if you forget to when you lay me down to sleep it off. .

When you do, er, wake from your slumber, go easy on the coffee. The caffeine in it is a vascular restrictor which can boost blood pressure and make you feel worse.

But if you do have a little coffee, it might give you the boost you need to exercise; which is likely the last thing on your mind at that moment but moderate to vigorous exercise dilates blood vessels to help metabolize your intake.

Drink a banana and honey milkshake. Bananas, rich in electrolytes soothe the stomach; honey rebuilds depleted blood sugar, milk rehydrates. Take Vitamin B…it aids alcohol metabolization, take one before…or as soon as you wake up from sleeping it off.

Eat Eggs. Some observations conclude it’s the cystine in eggs that helps rid your body of some alcoholic toxins. Yeah. But other that that, no one is quite sure why it helps.

Try a BLOWFISH…alka seltzer, by brand…it’s the ONLY FDA approved hangover remedy. But avoid – “The hair of the dog that bit you;” it might help you feel better in the short term, but it’s just putting off the inevitable …and we all know how bad THAT feels.