The festive period means time for family, Christmas parties and time off work, which can often equates to an increase in the flow of alcohol – ‘tis the season to be jolly after all. The problem with all the merriment over this time of year is trying to cope with the inevitable hangovers which can cause nausea, headaches and a general willingness to curl up into a ball and shut the world out, but there are methods to prevent and ease your hangover and luckily for us, Dr. Pedram Kordrostami shares his tips for avoiding one with us.
-
Prepare for drinking If you know that you’ve got a night ahead of you on the booze, there are certain pre-emptive measures you can take that can soften the effects of the hangover the next day. First of all, make sure that you eat a good meal before going out, to ensure that there is food in your stomach. It doesn’t particularly matter what it is, but eating anything before a night out is really helpful as having food in your stomach will slow down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream. As well as eating, ensure you drink as much water as possible before you hit the town, because staying hydrated is key.
-
Stay off the dark stuff This if your choice of course, but in general the darker your drink the worse your hangover will be the next day, so you may want to choose a lighter option. Darker drinks tend to contain more ‘congeners’, which are created from the fermenting of the alcohol. The more congeners in a drink, the worse the hangover, so if you want to avoid that stinking feeling the next day, think about switching your tipple to a lighter option.
-
Stay hydrated It’s commonly known that dehydration is one of the biggest causes of a bad hangover, particularly the headache you experience. Drinking alcohol causes you to urinate more than the fluid you drink, and for every pint you consume you lose about 280 millilitres of fluid. There are steps you can take to help stay hydrated, and if you try to drink a glass of water with each alcoholic drink you have it will help your hangover massively. Alternating between booze and water on a night out is therefore a great step to take.
-
Take it steady The severity of a hangover is directly affected by how quickly you consume alcohol, and the faster you drink the worse your hangover is likely to be. This is because your liver is only able to break down a certain amount of alcohol every hour, and when this is exceeded you begin to feel drunk. Drinking a high amount in a short period of time means the excess of alcohol in your blood travels around your body and causes damage to the cells that it meets. If you do plan on enjoying a few drinks, try to spread the drinks out and drink over a long period of time, rather than having a lot in a short period.
-
Ditch the takeaway A takeaway after a night out maybe be tempting but it’s doing your hangover no favours. Foods high in fat and protein are difficult to digest and will do so slowly, which means that your takeaway will leave you feeling bloated for a long time. Switch up your chips or kebab with some dried fruit however, and you’re on to a winner. Dried fruit has high levels of fructose, which has been shown to increase the breakdown of alcohol by up to 80 percent, so you can rid your body of the alcohol in your system quicker than usual, helping to alleviate your hangover.
-
Support your body’s natural recovery Breaking down alcohol in your body creates extremely reactive molecules that cause harm to any cells that they come into contact with, and are known as ‘reactive oxygen species’. Your body’s natural antioxidant system fights these harmful by-products and helps to keep them in check, but drinking alcohol produces too many reactive oxygen species for your body to deal with. Vitamins B,C and E help your body produce antioxidants, so taking a multivitamin including these before you go to bed can help to reverse some of the damage caused by drinking. To help with the feelings of nausea, ginger is the only natural remedy for sickness that is backed by research, and is very effective at tackling the symptoms of nausea caused by drinking.
Pedram Kordrostami has created a natural health supplement called AfterDrink, which is designed to relieve the symptoms of a hangover. The health supplement combines 25 premium ingredients, including natural vitamins, amino acids and more traditional herbal remedies; to create an all-in-one solution designed to battle the symptoms of a hangover. Even the most minimal amount of alcohol can cause toxins to build up in the body, contributing to the symptoms most commonly associated with hangovers, such as nausea and lack of concentration.
So, does it work?
Back in my university days which seem like a lifetime ago now, I would never suffer with a hangover and could get up with my 9am lectures the next day, no problem. However, these days it is quite a different story, so I of course jumped at the chance to try a supplement (and a natural one at that) that claimed to ease my sickness the following day. The pack instructs you to take three supplements before bed and then three again in the following morning. In all honestly at first, I found this an excessive amount yet after checking the ingredients I felt re-assured that I wasn’t putting any strange chemicals in my body. I must admit that although I was dubious, I didn’t feel as nauseous and happily ate my breakfast the next day without feeling like I could be sick. Also, I didn’t suffer with a foggy head either. Although it’s no replacement for a solid eight hours blissful sleep, it’s a huge help to revive your body and they will be my go-to throughout the festive season.
