hangover help

Congratulations, you’ve made it through another year!  What better way to celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of a new one than with a party?  Perhaps, this party includes beverages of the alcoholic variety.  It’s no secret that a bit a booze can help loosen and liven up a party but who wants that nasty next day feeling?

Alcohol, or ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is the intoxicating ingredient found in wine, beer and hard liquor.  Alcohol arises naturally from carbohydrates when certain micro-organisms metabolize them in the absence of oxygen, a process called fermentation.¹

When we consume alcohol, our bodies make metabolizing it a priority, meaning the body will stop metabolizing anything else and metabolized the alcohol first.  Once alcohol enters your stomach, about 20% of it is directly absorbed and travels through small blood vessels into the bloodstream.  The remaining alcohol is absorbed through the small intestine.  A small amount is excreted through sweat, saliva, urine and your breath.²

Your liver is the main site for alcohol metabolism where enzymes break it down.  Alcohol is detoxified and removed from the blood through a process called oxidation which prevents the alcohol from accumulating and destroying cells and organs.³

Some interesting facts why men and women process alcohol  differently⁴:

• Women have less water in their bodies, meaning a man’s body will automatically dilute more alcohol even if they weight the same amount.
• Women have less dehydrogenase, a liver enzyme that breaks down alcohol. So a woman’s body will break down alcohol more slowly than a man’s.
• Birth control pills or other medication with estrogen will slow down the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the body.

The best way to prevent a hangover is drinking in moderation or abstaining from alcohol altogether.  If this isn’t in the cards, try these tips for hangover prevention:

• Don’t drink on an empty stomach, this helps to prevent us from getting ill.
• Our alcohol blood level is affected by how much and how fast we drink and absorb.⁵  The only time it’s ever appropriate to down five shots of tequila in a row is Spring Break.  Drink slowly.
• Alternate between an alcoholic beverage and a glass of water.  Dehydration is responsible for many effects of a hangover.
• Before you go to bed, drink plenty of water with lemon.  Vitamin C speeds up the metabolism of alcohol by the liver.⁶
• Fat and protein snacks help decrease alcohol absorption and reduce drunkenness and hangovers.⁷

And when you wake up the morning after, try this…

Hangover Help Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana 
1/2 cup blueberries 
2 cups coconut water
1 tbsp E3Live or spirulina
1 tsp Camu Camu Berry Powder
25 drops Milk Thistle tincture (caution – check with Medical Professional before using)

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients and serve chilled

References
1. “Alcohol and Your Health.”  Health Check Systems. 2011.  30 Dec 11. <http://www.healthchecksystems.com/alcohol.htm>
2. Kovacs, Betty.  “Alcohol and Nutrition.”  MedicineNet.com.  Date unknown. 30 Dec 11. <http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/article.htm>
3. Kovacs, Betty. “Alcohol and Nutrition.” MedicineNet.com. Date unknown. 30 Dec 11. <http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/article.htm>
4. “Alcohol and Your Body.”  Health Education, Brown University.  Date unknown. 30 Dec 11. <http://brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/alcohol,_tobacco,_&_other_drugs/alcohol/alcohol_&_your_body.php>
5. Haas, Elson.  Staying Healthy with Nutrition.  New York: Celestial Arts, 2006.
6. Hicks, Rob Dr. “Hangovers.” BBC Health. 2011. 30 Dec 11. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/hangover1.shtml>
7. Haas, Elson. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. New York: Celestial Arts, 2006.