7 hangover helpers

Your head is throbbing, your mouth is dry and the sun is painfully peeking in through the window. Slowly, you recall last night's events and that one drink that took your alcohol intake to one glass too many. Even for the most self-controlled individual, rampant holiday socializing can cloud your judgment. Here are some easy remedies and tips to get you off the bathroom floor and out of your hangover slump.

How your body reacts to too much alcohol
Eight to 10 hours after you down your last drink, hangover symptoms appear. "The symptoms are multifaceted, but the main ones are thirst, lethargy, sensitivity to sunlight and noise, and headache," says Dr. Michael Evans, an associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dehydration, defined as a loss of greater than three per cent of your body's water weight, is the most common consequence of an alcohol binge. "Alcohol is a diuretic, thereby causing stomach lining irritation, severe dehydration and low blood sugar," says Wende Wood, a psychiatric pharmacist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.

Common symptoms of dehydration are dry mouth, low urine output with concentrated urine, sunken eyes, muscle fatigue, shortness of breath and headaches. "The only hangover cure that seems to work is rehydration," says Evans.

Ease your hangover hurt
Here are seven ways to deal with your symptoms.

1. Mix up a homemade cure
Losing electrolytes after a night of heavy drinking can leave you feeling shaky and weak. Energy drinks like Gatorade contain key electrolytes such as minerals sodium, potassium and chloride, but may make you lose more water as your body tries to dilute sugars with its water supply. Julie Zepp, doctor of naturopathic medicine at the Regina Rehab and Family Medical Clinic, suggests avoiding products that list glucose, sucrose or fructose as a first ingredient. She recommends drinking a homemade mixture of water, honey, baking soda, salt and lemon juice or combining sea salt with pure unsweetened fruit juice.

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2. Avoid the hair of the dog
Many frequent imbibers swear by a morning swig of alcohol, also known as "hair of the dog." However, Wood and Evans agree that hair of the dog simply puts off the inevitable, so don't down another glass of wine. "Drinking alcohol the day after a binge does not help with a hangover," says Wood. "But it does prolong the process of metabolizing the alcohol." Your liver attacks poisons in a certain order: ethanol first, then methanol. Adding more alcohol to your body disrupts this process and further delays your hangover recovery.

3. Cut caffeine
Others may choose to knock out a hangover with a strong cup of coffee, but you may be doing more harm than good when you're gulping that java. "Caffeine may help temporarily reduce headaches associated with hangovers by constricting the blood vessels that may be dilated in the head and causing pain, but it is not a great remedy due to its dehydrating effects on the body," says Zepp.

4. Take care with painkillers
Mild painkillers, such as Aspirin or ibuprofen, may help, but be sure to carefully follow the dosage because these pills may be hard on an already upset stomach. Some even claim that taking painkillers with alcohol can actually cause liver and kidney damage. Wood recommends taking a mild painkiller in the recommended dose the morning after.

5. Fry up breakfast
During an alcohol binge, free radicals can wreak havoc on your liver. Many imbibers rely on a traditional English breakfast (fried bacon, sausage, mushroom, eggs and tomato), which contains free-radical fighters that act as powerful antioxidants. So go ahead and order that big fried breakfast.

6. Fruit and nut bars are your friends
Alcohol attacks your body's store of glycogen, an important energy source in your liver, breaking it down to glucose. For an energy boost, Zepp recommends fruit and nut bars, available at health food stores, for their ideal mixture of complex carbohydrates and protein. Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, also destroys free radicals and supports your liver.

7. Drink ginger tea
Ginger tea helps to calm an upset stomach. "Grate 1 tsp. of ginger or less into a saucepan with water and let it simmer for 15 minutes," advises Zepp. "Remove from heat and add a dash of honey to taste."

Most important, when you're fighting the effects of too much alcohol, rest, drink lots of fluids and don't worry -- in 24 hours you'll be feeling like yourself again.

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