6 Tips for Curing your Thanksgiving Eve Hangover

Posted Nov 5 2012 - 12:00am

Tagged With: bar, drinking, hangover, thanksgiving

Now that Halloween has officially passed, its time to prepare ourselves for the next big American holiday: Thanksgiving! Sitting around with your family watching football and stuffing your face all day, what could be better than that? However as we all know, the night before thanksgiving is one of the biggest bar nights of the year. One of the best parts about being home for the holidays is of getting to see all your best friends from high school. But as usual, what comes with reminiscing with old friends? Yep, you guessed it… drinking, a lot.

Although it may be a fun night, what’s enjoyable about Thanksgiving if you can’t even stomach turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie? To avoid an afternoon of hugging the porcelain throne, here are 6 tips for curing your post Thanksgiving Eve hangover:

Tip #6: Sodium

Drinking also causes the body to lose a lot of salt, which is a key electrolyte. This is why sports drinks and coconut water are such a good hangover cure. According to Time Magazine, coconut water "contains the same five electrolytes found in human blood (Gatorade has only two)." It’s the best and easiest way to get fluid into your system. Another tip: if your Gatorade tastes good, you need to drink more of it but once it starts tasting unappealing, you’ve had enough, you’re rehydrated.

Tip #5: Bananas

As well as causing dehydration, alcohol forces your body to drain a lot of important nutrients, especially potassium. An easy go-to for potassium is bananas. But you can also branch with things you might actually want to eat with a hangover, such as potato chips, orange juice, and avocados.

Tip #4: Exercise

Before the day begins, see if you can sneak in a quick work out. Although it may be the last thing you want to do, the endorphin release could boost your mood. And burning off a few calories may ease your guilt about how much you drank and give you an excuse to have that second helping of dessert. Make sure you have a water bottle handy to avoid becoming even more dehydrated.

Tip #3: Pain Meds

Ease your pounding headache with a pill or two, but remember to stick to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, NOT an acetaminophen like Tylenol. "While it's OK for a headache, when combined with a liver that's working overtime to metabolize alcohol, it can cause liver damage or be deadly," says Dena Davidson, Ph.D., former associate professor of psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Tip #2: Toast and Crackers

Remember when your mom gave you saltines as a kid when you couldn't keep anything down? This happens to be great for hung over mornings too. Before you dive into the appetizers, try some crackers or toast with your Gatorade because carbs can help bring your blood sugar levels back up the morning after.

Tip #1: Water and Gatorade

Alcohol is a diuretic, and most of what you lose when you pee is water. Therefore, hydration is a must. It may be hard to avoid jumping into your bed after stumbling in from the bar, but its important to drink at least 16 to 20 ounces of water before you go to sleep. To save yourself the trip to the kitchen, put a water bottle next to your bed before going out. Drinking may also cause your body to lose electrolytes. Stock up on some Gatorade or PowerAde for the next morning too.

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