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One reason many of us feel so bad the morning after a drinking
session is because alcohol depletes your system of essential
nutrients, including B vitamins. A lack of B
vitamins can cause anxiety and depression, so try
munching on Marmite - a rich source of the vitamin B complex - to
lift your mood. As an added benefit, Marmite has a high
sodium content which can help replace the salts
lost through drinking alcohol. Try the savoury spread on toast for
an added fix of carbs.
Not only does alcohol deplete your body of nutrients, it can
also lead to low blood sugar levels, which may
leave you feeling weak and shaky. To counteract this, try snacking
on watermelon, which is not only high in fructose
but is also water-rich to boost hydration. On top
of this, watermelon is high in many essential nutrients, including
vitamin C, B-vitamins and magnesium.
If too much alcohol has you feeling queasy, ginger is the
perfect food to help settle your stomach and relieve
nausea. While you may not feel much like chewing on the
food in its original form, you could try adding some grated ginger
to hot water for a ginger tea, blending into a
fresh fruit or vegetable juice, or snacking on
ginger biscuits for a stomach-soothing treat.
Scrambled, fried or boiled, eggs are a popular hangover
breakfast, and the good news is they are a great choice for beating
the nastiest of hangovers. Firstly, eggs are extremely rich in
protein, which helps raise mood-boosting
serotonin levels as well as helping to reduce nausea.
Furthermore, eggs are rich in an amino acid called
cystine, which helps fight against the
alcohol-induced toxins that contribute to your
hangover.
Bananas are packed with potassium and
magnesium, two of the minerals often depleted in
our bodies when alcohol is consumed. A lack of potassium in the
body can lead to nausea, weakness and tiredness,
so stocking up on bananas can help reduce these classic hangover
symptoms. As an added bonus, bananas are natural
antacids so great for reducing stomach acid, and are good
for providing a boost of energy if you have a busy day ahead.
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One of the most important steps for beating a hangover is
getting your body rehydrated, and this can be done through what you
eat as much as what you drink. To up your fluids and sodium
levels and get a shot of nutrients all at once, try some
health-boosting vegetable or miso soup. As an
added benefit, soup is easy on the stomach so good if you're
feeling a bit queasy.
Due to the diuretic effects of alcohol, the body loses many
essential minerals and vitamins during a heavy drinking session.
Luckily, oats can provide you with many of these nutrients,
including B vitamins (good for the liver and mood)
and essential minerals magnesium,
calcium and iron. On top of this,
oats can help neutralise acidity levels in the
body, cleanse the liver, absorb
toxins and slowly raise blood sugar
levels, making a bowl of porridge the perfect hangover
breakfast.
If you're feeling a bit queasy at the thought of food, then this
is the cure for you. While it's great to line your stomach with
food if you can, to replace lost vitamins, raise
blood sugar levels and rehydrate your
body, you can't do much better than a glass of fresh
juice. Not only is juice good for immediate relief, the fructose
will also help speed up the removal of alcohol
from your blood.
If you're craving something savoury, sardines on toast could be
the perfect morning-after breakfast. A major cause of hangovers is
an imbalance of electrolytes, and sardines are
rich in many of these vital minerals, including sodium, chloride,
potassium, magnesium and calcium. In addition to this, sardines are
high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for
protecting the liver as well as lifting
the mood.
Many hangover sufferers swear by sports drinks as a way to
hydrate the body and help rebalance
electrolytes. However, sports drinks are often carbonated,
which can irritate the stomach, and packed with refined sugars. For
a natural alternative to sports drinks, try sipping on some coconut
water, which contains essential electrolytes (including calcium,
potassium and magnesium) to boost hydration, and is also
soothing for the stomach.
