How To Cure a Hangover

Tyler Lafleur

cure hangover 

Mardi Gras is here.  This season usually hammers this year's healthy New Year's Resolution's coffin shut.

You may have been tinkering back and forth on and off the wagon with your healthy eating, but Mardi Gras usually shoves most southerners off of the ledge with vengeance!

In previous years, I have provided ways of mitigating the damage caused by your reckless imbibing and limitless consumption of king cake and beer:

 1. "Nah I Ain't Sayin To Avoid Liquor; But She Ain't Messin' With No Broke Liver"

2. "Everything You Need To Know To Survive Mardi Gras"

3. "How To Drink And Thrive"

But this year, as opposed to attempting to getting you to prep before "drunking" (since down south we do not drink in moderation) such as adhering to the following formula to keep fat at bay during the holiday:

Hangover cure

(Because who is actually going to do that over the weekend?)

But seriously, the problem may not be that you don't WANT to do those things the following morning to prepare for your next day drinking rally, it is more than likely because you CAN'T because you are hungover.

hangover cure functional medicine

So, this year, instead of helping you indirectly by giving you advice on what not to do over the Mardi Gras weekend, I will attempt to help you directly by giving you some hacks to mitigate your hangovers.

And all God's Mardi Gras lovin', south Louisiana people said?

AMEN!

Let's dive in!

What To Eat To Cure A Hangover

Anything is better than nothing at all.

Alcohol creeps into the bloodstream from the stomach lining so if there is something inside of your stomach before you start drinking, the slower it will get into your system. 

Do Eat

Protein and greens. Why?

For one: the protein takes longer to digest and along with the greens helps the liver's detox capacity.

And second: because it is probably the healthiest thing you will eat all day. Aside from the fact that no one craves a salad when they are drunk or hungover.

Do not drink

Yes, no Bangs, energy drinks, or coffee.

What you don't want to do is drink a bunch of coffee (because you practice habitual fasting) then jump right into day drinking.

That's like pounding a red bull and vodka prior to your Monday morning meeting. You will be the one that your friends will have to carry back to the car and have you rest your nauseated head out of the window. 

HPHI Kill Carb Cravings

What Supplements Can I Take To Prevent A Hangover?

Ah yes, the meat of the article.

I will first list out three of the top supplements currently on the market, then I will give you the breakdown of why they work and how you could make shift your own concoction like my wife and I do prior to date nights!

Cheers (formerly Thrive)

Drink and thrive

You would look to take this one on your Uber ride home or with a tall glass of water right before bed once you have finished drinking.

Quicksilver's Hangover Prevention Bundle (Not cheap, but effective)

Hangover cure supplement quicksilver

Les Labs Hangover Prevention

Hangover cure supplement detoxx

How Supplements Help Cure a Hangover

These supplements are all great. But, let's briefly discuss WHY they are great.

We could get super technical in what happens during a hangover or why they happen in the first place, but we won't for two reasons:

1. I don't feel like explaining such science-y jargon in this post.

2. You don't care.

So, I will be brief.

Essentially you are drinking poison, and as with any poison, your liver is responsible for for detoxing it. You drastically increase your liver's ability to process alcohol by providing it with the fuel for doing so. In steps the B vitamins and Vitamin C. 

Most of these supplements contain one or both of these. You could just as well take one B-complex vitamin and 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every 60-120 minutes of drinking, along with 8-16oz of water and you would more than likely mitigate any chance of a hangover.

Also, most of these supplements contain liver aids in the form of Milk Thistle, N-acetyl Cysteine, and Prickly Pear. All of which are powerful antioxidants for the liver.

Think of these as the coaches in the corner of the boxing ring. Each round that your liver has to fight your alcohol consumption, these antioxidants wait in the corner for the bell, then they start massages, hydrating, and pep talking your liver for the next round of poison.

How To Supplement A Hangover

"But, Tyler, can you give us a scenario or an example of how you would take these?"

Why yes... yes I can.

But first: note that I am not a doctor. None of this info should be misconstrue as medical advice. Speak to your physician prior to poisoning yourself.

Here's how I would utilize the advice above in an actual scenario, along with a bonus supplement:

(Plan is to start drinking around 2 pm)

  • Wake up and drink 32 oz of water.
  • Sip coffee while I fry three whole eggs and a full bag of spinach.
  • While eggs cool, go for a bike ride or 2 mile run.
  • Eat eggs upon return.
  • Mid Morning drink 32 oz of water again.
  • Eat lunch (meat and lots of veggies again).
  • 1:45 pm take hangover supplement with 8-10 oz of water.
  • 2:00pm start drinking.
  • After first drink, take 1 activated charcoal pill (bonus supplement: charcoal soaks up unwanted toxins from the body. They should not be taken with medication or other supplements because they will prevent absorption of those as well. Hence why I split them up from my vitamins and hangover supplements.)
  • After second drink, I take another dose of hangover pills with 8 oz of water.
  • After third drink, another charcoal tablet.
  • I then ask my wife to remind me to take my last dose of hangover prevention pills after my 4th drink.
  • Get home and take 2 Advil liquid gels along with 16-20 oz of water.
  • Wake up maybe a little tired but NOT hungover.
Is this a lot of preparation just to avoid feeling hungover?

Yes, to some it could seem that way.

But is it worth it to wake up and get to parent your kids without having to carry a trash bag with you around the house all day? Yes indeed!

If you want to simply utilize your existing B vitamins and vitamin C for your holiday but want to get in on a few other Hangover supplements:

Hurry into O2 Face and Body to pick up a packet of Blowfish for Hangovers or a Bytox patch and simply follow the formula above with your current supplements.

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