No sore heads here on New Year’s Day! (Picture: Getty Images)
Be honest, who’s used the phrase, ‘I’m never drinking again’, multiple times over the last week? I have, and yet I’m toying with the idea of mixing a martini as I write this. A clementine martini though, as my body’s a temple.
Look, I’m sure many of us would be fine with the idea of ‘drinking in moderation’ if we actually knew what that was. Am I right? Here’s a shortcut for those who don’t: it takes the liver an hour to break down one standard drink without feeling like a human trash bag in the morning.
All the while this is taking place though, the liver can’t get on with its main job of helping with digestion and metabolising vitamins and minerals, so sticking to a drink an hour is helpful.
Midlife drinkers, I’m talking to you now. You suffer the effects of a hangover more than the youngsters, and here’s why.
There’s an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) which helps us break down alcohol in the liver, flushing it from our body.
From the age of 50, we lose ADH, and what remains gets less efficient leaving more aldehyde in our bodies, which are toxic.
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How to join – and save on your first case
Purchase any Metro Drinks Club case and you’re in the club, though you can opt out at any time.
Read more here.
Follow the link to Metro Drinks Club at Naked Wines to join and purchase your case.
So, assuming we’re kidding ourselves by swearing off alcohol altogether, aside from obvious advice like ‘drink more water’, what steps can we take before, during and after having a drink?
Pre-drinking
Eat avocado
Grab an avocado on toast or nachos with guacamole as fatty foods are great for delaying the body’s absorption of alcohol.
Eat popcorn
Brussel sprouts, lentils and popcorn, or anything with a high fibre content breaks down alcohol and absorbs it, preventing it from reaching the bloodstream so quickly.
Eat anything
On an empty stomach, alcohol goes straight to your intestines where it’s quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. Eating beforehand makes sure your blood alcohol stays lower. Anything rich in zinc and nicotinic acid have been shown to work best against hangovers – think red meat, chicken, avocado, mushrooms and whole grains.
Metro’s Drinks Editor Rob Buckhaven has unearthed a top tip or two (Picture: Natasha Pszenicki)
Keep your bedroom cool
Your liver will be working overtime to get rid of alcohol, ramping up your body temperature overnight. Keeping a cool room could counteract this to some degree.
While drinking
Start drinking later
The earlier you start, the more likely you are to feel the hangover before you head to bed. No one wants that, so day drinking is out.
Avoid dark-coloured drinks
Dark-coloured drinks like rum or whisky have a higher concentration of congeners than clear spirits. What are those? Congeners are compounds created by the production process, responsible for giving the drinks their flavour. Drinks high in congeners have higher levels of methanol, which is toxic to humans. Note to self, Bourbon has the highest level while vodka has effectively zero.
More from Metro Drinks Club
Down a glass of water between drinks
Alcohol makes you pee as it’s a diuretic. Given that dehydration has a part to play in a hangover, chugging a glass of water between drinks is a good trick, as is downing a few glasses of water before bed. Careful though, avoid sugary mixers like orange juice or Red Bull, these can apparently lead to ethanol-related liver damage.
After drinking
Have a fry up
No one wants hypoglycaemia, aka low blood sugar. Alcohol can reduce blood sugar levels for hours, disrupting the release of glucose into the bloodstream by the liver. Make sure baked beans are on the menu though, the saltiness will make you drink more water and legume vegetables nourish our good bacteria.
Don’t be tempted by hair of the dog
Disclaimer: read to the end on this one.
Having a drink the next day may have some scientific backing, and here’s why. After drinking, your body converts methanol into formaldehyde, a highly toxic substance partly to blame for hangover symptoms. Having a snifter in the morning can stop this conversion process, preventing formaldehyde from forming. Instead, methanol is got rid of harmlessly through your breath and urine, that’s why alcohol is used to counter methanol poisoning. Trouble is, your body will have new alcohol in its system to get rid of, so you’re only delaying the inevitable. Don’t do it.
Don’t try the TikTok ‘cold plunge’ method
Faceplanting into a bowl of iced water for as long as you can take it is meant to trigger our mammalian diving reflex. The body is supposed to shut down to conserve energy, thus inhibiting the hangover symptoms that are tormenting us. It may refresh you, slow your heart a little and with that, your digestion, but it’s not worth the anguish.
Eat cucumber
This hack went viral on TikTok and does actually have some basis in science. Cucumber has sugar, B-vitamins, and electrolytes to replenish you after a night out. You can even munch some pre-drinking, though don’t base your full recovery on it.
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Some top tips here to read before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st.
