Drink Smart -Avoid Hangover

~~~~~~~~~~~~HANGOVER HELPERS~~~~~~~~~~

Try to eat because food will reduce the irritation to you stomach lining. Soups are good for replacing salt and potassium depleted by alcohol, and fruits and vegetables can help replenish lost nutrients.

You can take pain relief medications such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium to reduce your headache and muscle aches as long as your stomach isn’t upset and you have no history of ulcers or bleeding problems. Antacids can help ease nausea and gastritis.

Drink a glass of water in between drinks containing alcohol. This will help you drink less alcohol, and will also decrease the dehydration associated with drinking alcohol.

Also, avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages. Caffeine does not speed up the body’s metabolism of alcohol. All it does is prevent you from falling asleep, which is one of the best ways to escape a hangover, she said.

Drinking lighter-colored alcohol and higher brands of alcohol may reduce the severity of a hangover. That’s because lighter-colored drinks, such as vodka, gin and white wine, have fewer congeners — a toxic byproduct of fermentation and aging — than darker-colored drinks such as whisky, brandy and red wine.

Eat while you drink, because food in your stomach slows the absorption of alcohol. But don’t munch on salty snacks because they’ll just make you thirsty and likely to drink more.

Source: Excerpt from Yahoo Health News Hangover Helpers - Yahoo! News