CAN YOU REALLY CURE A HANGOVER?

George Bernard Shaw once said, “alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life,” and while this may be true for some of us — since the pandemic began, alcohol consumption has been on the rise — there is a price to pay for over-imbibing. It's called a hangover, and it gets worse as we age. Nick Beare explains.

What's a hangover?

The hangover is rumoured to have gotten its name from Victorian-era homeless people in London who would sleep while literally bent over — or hung over — a rope. Some places would charge two pence for this luxury, which gave rise to the term “two-penny hangover.”

A hangover refers to the mental and physical symptoms that result after drinking too much alcohol. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, inflammation, gastrointestinal problems, low blood sugar and disrupted sleep are all a result of excessive alcohol consumption and contribute to the not-so-stellar way we feel the day after. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a hangover is also a mild form of alcohol withdrawal. The nervous system adjusts to the calming and happy effects alcohol can have, but when those effects wear off, we are left feeling anxious and irritable as the nervous system readjusts.

What causes them?

Essentially, we don't really know if the symptoms of a hangover are due to the direct effects of booze on the body, its aftereffects, or both. There are, however, some theories, about which booze causes worse hangovers than others — apparently drinks with more congeners (chemicals produced during the fermentation or aging of alcohol) such as brandy, whiskey, tequila and wine tend to cause worse hangovers than those with lower congener content, like vodka and gin.

We do know however know the symptoms of a hangover — depression, anxiety or irritability, dizziness, headache, red eyes, increased pulse and blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches and sensitivity to light and sound among others — and approximately how much booze it takes to cause one.

According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, “five to seven standard cocktails” consumed over a four-to-six-hour period almost always results in hangover symptoms in men.

For women, since they tend to metabolize alcohol differently than men, the number is three to five.

Healing a hangover

Prevention is the easiest way to ward off a hangover. But if you choose to partake, eating before or while drinking slows the absorption of alcohol, which can help ease the next day's effects. Sticking to one type of alcohol can also help prevent a bad hangover.

As for how to ease a hangover, there are a lot of anecdotal “cures,” such as consuming bananas, barley grass, vegemite on toast or taking an aspirin (acetaminophen can cause liver damage if there is still alcohol in your system, or if you regularly drink excessively), but there is no scientific evidence that any of these and other popular hangover treatments were effective. And in case you are thinking that downing more booze — also known as hair of the dog — helps to dull the pain of a hangover, that's more of a ill-fated myth. “Hair of the dog will make you feel better temporarily because you feel that euphoria,” Dr. Deep Bhatt told Everyday Health.“You'll basically forget you're hungover, but that's going to lead to a cumulative effect so you'll actually feel worse in the long run.”

So what to do. Well, there's water. While it won't cure the ill-effects of too much alcohol, making sure you are hydrated is always a good idea. Booze tends to stick around in your blood, affecting the fluid balance and contributing to dehydration, which can make a hangover even more hellish. Consuming electrolytes through sports drinks is also a good option.

Other ways to ease a hangover include eating food that's high in carbs and sugar. Since too much alcohol can slow the body's metabolism of glucose, exercise physiologist Pete McCall recommends a snack like toast and honey, which “can help elevate blood sugar and provide some immediate energy.”