What helps against a hangover? Tips and home remedies for drinking too much alcohol

A hangover is often the result of a night of drinking. We’ll tell you what helps against a hangover and how you can combat alcohol-related headaches and nausea.

One glass of alcohol too many and it happens: nausea, dizziness, severe headaches – and the urgent question: What helps against a hangover?

A hangover is the result of too much alcohol, because it irritates the stomach lining and dilates the blood vessels in the brain. This means that less of the hormone vasopressin, which regulates our fluid balance, is released. As a result, our body loses more fluid than when we are fasting. The next day, this dehydration leads to a headache.

The liver also converts alcohol into acetaldehyde. This toxic waste product is a cell poison. As the breakdown process continues, it is converted into acetic acid, which can cause nausea. The acetic acid can only be excreted through the bladder – so you have to cure the hangover. To make matters worse, severe intoxication damages and suppresses our immune system. During this period we become more susceptible to pathogens.

These home remedies help against hangovers

A hangover is quite annoying – but you can at least alleviate it somewhat with home remedies. The following tips and tricks can help against a hangover:

1. You should continue drinking the morning after your intoxication – but without alcohol. The body is dehydrated and needs fluids. Juice spritzers replenish the mineral balance. For the sake of your stomach, you should drink still water, because carbon dioxide only further irritates the already damaged stomach lining.
2. Herbal tea can help against nausea; it calms the stomach. The varieties fennel, anise and caraway have proven to be effective as teas against nausea. Ginger tea also has a soothing effect.
3. A walk in the fresh air can help fight a hangover: your circulation gets going again and the fresh air relieves headaches. But you shouldn’t expect too much from yourself: exercise for a hangover is not a miracle cure that allows you to “sweat out” the hangover.
4. Because of alcohol consumption, the body loses electrolytes. By eating pretzel sticks, pickles or tomato juice with salt and pepper, you can fight the hangover. Vegetable broth can also compensate for the loss of fluid and electrolytes. Electrolyte replacements that are taken while drinking can also help with hangovers. But there have been repeated shortages of these products in the past, because the electrolyte replacement products are actually intended for people who suffer from diarrhea.

These common anti-hangover measures don’t help:

• A “counter beer” the day after only delays the hangover symptoms instead of helping against them.

• Painkillers such as paracetamol can relieve symptoms such as headaches. However, their ingredients also irritate the already damaged stomach lining and liver. This is counterproductive if you feel sick.

What helps against a hangover? Prevent symptoms from the start

Before you find yourself dealing with a hangover, you can also try to prevent it before or during drinking. You can do it like this:

1. Be sure to avoid smoking, as this will only make your headache worse the next day. In addition, alcohol and nicotine have an interaction: When you smoke, the desire for alcohol usually increases.
2. Alcoholic drinks with a lot of sugar also increase the risk of a hangover because sugar accelerates and intensifies the effects of alcohol.

3. Clear drinks like vodka also cause a hangover – but this is milder because such drinks contain fewer accompanying substances. Accompanying substances in alcohol are all ingredients except ethanol and water. Beer, for example, contains many accompanying substances, which is why headaches the next day are often the result.

4. Stick to one type of alcohol and avoid drinking mixed.
5. Drink a glass of water every now and then. In this way you counteract the dehydration of the body right from the start.
6. At the end of the evening, a glass of water with a calcium or magnesium effervescent tablet can have a preventative effect. This gives the body back the trace elements lost due to intoxication.

Help with a hangover: The most effective way is to avoid alcohol

Although home remedies and tricks can help against a hangover in the morning, the only true hangover cure is to avoid alcohol. In doing so, you are generally doing something good for your health: According to a new alcohol recommendation, every sip is harmful to your body. If you want to drink less alcohol, there are some tips. You can also practice abstaining from alcohol with Dry January.

However, if you can’t give it up completely, it’s best to treat yourself to a glass of organic wine or an organic beer. This will at least prevent unnecessary pollutants from entering the drinks.

Read more at Techzle\.com:

• Film tear: This is how an alcohol-induced blackout occurs
• Alcohol in the heat: Why it’s not a good idea
• These home remedies help with nausea and vomiting

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