On St. Patrick's Day, as hoards of people enjoy Irish Car Bombs, countless cups of green beer and any number of shots of whiskey, many drinkers will experience the inevitable the following morning: a killer hangover.
But we want to help you turn all of that around, so we've come up with a guide to sussing out the facts from the fictions when it comes to beating hangovers.
Most of us know the drill: dehydration, a throbbing headache and nausea among a slew of other uncomfortable symptoms.
"When you're drinking you dump a lot of water that would normally be recycled into your body," said Howstuffworks.com founder Marshall Brain. "Most folks who have been drinking a lot get dehydrated, and that's one of the big factors in creating a hangover."
But, is it possible to avoid this painful fate without passing up the bottle? Brain helps us break down the science behind popular hangover remedies, but first a word about prevention.
You can help to lessen your chances of the hangover with some prevention products such as Xo3, made by Phoenix-based Dietblends, Inc. This supplement contains multiple mineral complexes and Glutathione, a peptide that is essential to the liver in accelerating detoxification and eliminating toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism, which cause hangovers. But Dietblends owner Peter Dobler says his product doesn't replace the liquids lost to alcohol dehydration, it can help.
"The term hangover cure is oxymoronic because there is no real cure for a hangover," he says. "We're trying to prevent it from happening. Once you have the hangover it's going to take time, rest and nutrition to bounce back."
But Xo3 is just one of countless supplemental, vitamin-filled waters and juices marketed to help drinkers recover.
But if you didn't hydrate last night, you've got a tough road ahead. Here's a look at the effectiveness of other hangover-fighting food and drink:
Fatty foods: True/false—Eating fatty foods is all about the timing. Chow down before you start drinking to prevent a hangover. Fatty foods stick to the stomach lining and slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. But gorging on fatty foods the morning after could upset your stomach further.
Eggs: True—Eggs provide energy and contain large amount of cysteine, which breaks down toxins that cause hangovers. So, it's possible a serving can aid the symptoms.
Bananas: True —The popular fruit does harness hangover-cutting power. Bananas replenish electrolytes and potassium, which are keys to recovery. Kiwi fruit and sports drinks have a similar effect.
Juice or water? Both—Not all liquids are created equal. Water fights dehydration and dilutes its byproducts. It's best to alternate alcoholic drinks with water during the night, as opposed to chugging it all in the morning. That might make you sick.
Juices high in vitamins can also give the body a boost of energy, and studies have proven that it also increases the rate at the body gets rid of toxins. Brain says it's best to opt for juices high in electrolytes such as orange.
Painkillers: True—Over-the-counter painkillers can ease hangovers, but choose carefully. If you're plagued by a headache, Excedrin may be good.
However, Excedrin combines acetaminophen with caffeine. A prolonged combination of alcohol and acetaminophen has been shown to cause liver damage. Plus, caffeine is a diuretic that can dehydrate you. Aspirin, on the other hand, is a non-caffeinated pain reliever, but if you have a sensitive stomach, it could make that worse.
Over-the-counter remedies: Not great—Remedies such as Chaser, Sob'r-K Hangover Stopper, RU-21, Berocca and Rebound are considered dietary supplements and their ingredients vary greatly. The remedies that include carbon, like Sob'r-K, are said to reduce the number of impurities the body has to process. This is a different carbon than the kind found in burnt toast, which is not proven to aid hangovers. Other supplements include different kinds and amounts of vitamins. They're basically multivitamins.
"You would be better off eating a big meal and drinking liquids," said Brain.
Hair of the dog: False—Brain says that drinking alcohol to make it through a hangover may temporarily mask the side effects, but the liver still needs to break down the toxins, and drinking more prolongs the time your system needs to clear itself.
Burnt Toast: False—This so-called remedy is actually based on scientific facts, yet Howstuffworks.com explains why the cure itself is fiction. It's been said the carbon in the charred bread acts like a filter. While it is true that activated charcoal, which is a treated form of carbon, is used to treat some types of poisonings, it's not used to treat alcohol poisoning. Plus, the carbon/charcoal found in burnt toast is not the same as activated charcoal.
Black coffee: False—Coffee is loaded with caffeine, which will keep you awake, but once the caffeine wears off, you'll be ready to climb back into bed. Caffeine can help alleviate a pounding headache because it reduces the size of blood vessels, reversing the swelling effect alcohol has on vessels. But caffeine is also a diuretic and as such can dehydrate you further. So really, coffee can make hangovers worse.
Editor Megan Finnerty contributed to this story.
