Hangovers!

It’s January 1st.  How do you feel?

If you find yourself not feeling your best it could be because of a few different reasons.

The main cause of hangovers is dehydration.  It is important to drink water before, and while, you are drinking alcohol.  Yes, you will go to the restroom a lot, but this is a small price to pay to not suffer a throbbing headache in the morning.  (or have the dreaded spinning bed!)

You also maybe had too many drinks.  Your body can only process a certain amount of alcohol per hour.  That amount changes depending on your age, gender, body type, tolerance and a handful of other factors.  But not matter what, if you drink too much then you are guaranteed to feel like junk the next day.  It’s pretty simple.  Anytime you are drinking you need to be in control of what you are drinking and how much.   Do not let other people continuously refill your cup or glass.

Another culprit we tend to overlook is sugar.  Your body digests sugar in a similar manner it does alcohol.   The more sweets you have in your system will cause a delay in processing the alcohol, which makes you feel worse and causes more dehydration.  Try to avoid sweets when drinking.

A major problem with sweets is that more and more drinks have high sugar contents.  Cheap tequila, fruity mixed drinks, low end sparkling wines and a lot of red wine blends have high levels of sugar in them.  I have heard from a lot of people that sparkling wines give them headaches and hangovers.  I ask when that happens the most and the normal answer is weddings and New Years Eve.

Consider this: you are at a party/wedding, have been drinking for a few hours, and then at the end of the evening you are given a glass of not-the-best-champagne and possibly some cake.  This is the last thing you are putting in your body before you go to sleep.  Of course you are going to feel bad.   At a wedding the bride and groom bought a special bottle just for themselves.  The party hosts have a great bottle hidden in the kitchen for them.   Everyone else gets cheap plonk.  I’ve been to a lot of weddings and NYE parties and I pay attention to what is being served.  It usually isn’t the best.  That is unless you were at my wedding, or the parties I throw.  Then you are in the clear.

If you find yourself not feeling well, there is not a magical cure. No pills, no charcoal tablets, etc… Drink some water and take a few ibuprofen,  but then again, the hair-of-the-dog never hurt either!