10 Tips for Staving off the Dreaded Hangover!

Hangovers.... We've pretty much all had them. And a bit like child birth, despite knowing how painful they can be, we seem to conveniently forget when the next big night out comes along....

But why do hangovers happen? In a nutshell, and without getting too technical, it's all to do with the overload on your liver, and it’s capacity to detoxify the alcohol. So, anything you can do to support it and reduce the load will help to reduce the horrific morning after symptoms...a throbbing head, sickness/nausea...low mood...and so on. Here are some tips on things you can do to reduce the symptoms…

1. Make sur you are well hydrated AHEAD of the boozy night. Drink lots of water and herbal teas throughout the day. If you start drinking when you’re already hydrated, you’re asking for a banging headache the following day!
2. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Yes, it’s true, it does make a difference. Why? Because food slows the absorption time of the alcohol, plus lines the stomach to help reduce gut lining irritation. A nice meal of protein, slow release carbs and some good fats is the best meal to have before you hit the hard stuff.
3. Dilute your drinks as much as you can e.g. a white wine spritzer and spirits with mixers is one way to do this. Try to avoid sugary mixers like tonics and cokes etc. If you prefer wine on its own, or bubbles, make sure you pace yourself by having a glass of water between each alcoholic one. Nothing new but yes, it really does help!
4. As far as which drink to choose, the cleanest (and lowest GL) drink you can have is a vodka, fresh lime and soda. Darker spirits will definitely affect more than white ones such as gin and vodka. If you’re going for wine, choose good quality ones and go lighter rather than darker. A good quality white is going to contain less toxins than a cheap red for example. And choose organic if its available. Speaking from experience, the effects are far less when you have a cleaner wine!
5. Yes, you’ve heard it before but it really is true…. Mixing your drinks will make you feel much worse the next day. Choose your drink and try to stick to it.
6. I often get asked about supplements and hangovers.... Vitamin C helps your liver to do its job of detoxifying. So before heading for bed, have a large glass of water with 1000mg of Vitamin C. On waking, do the same again.  It’s also a good idea to take a good quality multivitamin / mineral supplement to top up on other nutrients that are likely to be depleted.
7. Topping up on potassium is another good idea. When we drink and get dehydrated we also lose electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium. Bananas and spinach are a good offset for this. A smoothie with banana, spinach, blueberries, flaxseeds and some almond or oat milk is the perfect drink when you first wake up, rather than coffee or tea.
8. And on that note, avoiding caffeine in general is always advised as this will just add to your dehydration levels and load the liver more. This goes for coke too. Whilst you might think it helps the stomach, it actually just aggravates it.
9. Make sure you have a good solid breakfast, without too much saturated fat in the morning. Your blood sugar is likely to be low so a combination of slow release carbs with some good protein and fats will definitely help. A huge fry up is only going to add to the liver’s already difficult job – much better to have some scrambled eggs on wilted spinach and whole grain toast with grilled tomatoes and some avocado slices. 
10. Before reaching for the painkillers, do all of the above first to see if it helps. Painkillers just add to the liver's job again. Lots of water and a good breakfast will often put you straight. If things are just too far gone and you need painkillers, better to opt for paracetamol than ibuprofen or aspirin which can irritate the stomach even more. 

​Enjoy your night! Vee xx