Three Hangover Cures you might not know about.

“woof, what happened last night…” -anyone who drinks too much sometimes

I think it’s safe to say outright, that hangovers are the worst. Sure, we all want to have a good time, a stiff drink (or several) sometimes and make some questionable decisions. Hey, that’s life! But the aftermath of a big night out has only gotten more brutal as the years go by.

Of course, we know it’s just something to deal with. “Power through”, yadda yadda. But, can’t a gurl just want to feel better and move on with their life without a nagging headache and unbearable nausea?!

I needed to find some better ways to at least help prevent and stifle that post-drunk tide, that aren’t just slamming a Pedialyte or bugging my nurse friends for a banana IV bag. I mean, Pedialyte is just…..so gross. And I’ve always found myself leaning towards more natural and slightly witchy remedies anyway. (*Kicks small cauldron and eye of newt out of frame)

Here’s just a few quick and easy preventatives and remedies that I’ve found are pretty damn good.

Ginger “spice of life”

Yes, that side that you might throw away or feverishly look forward to when ordering sushi. Ginger puts the “super” in superfood.

Getting some ginger into your system when you have a hangover is life changing. Not only is it spicy and delicious. But contains tons of antioxidants, is a natural anti-inflammatory, and nausea reducing miracle. It is a great way to settle the stomach after a long night of debauchery. All these aspects of this powerful root are guaranteed to speed up that recovery process.

Seriously, it’ll snap you back to reality faster than you’ll ever know.

And, if you really wana get nerdy about it’s health benefits, Healthline has a great article all about the niddy-griddy details.

A little kick of ginger in any food, or a little extract added to a glass of water, can drastically help claw anyone out of the depths of Hell which is the seventeen shots of vodka you had last night, Brenda.

Bitters and Soda

A lot of great bartenders will start the night off with one of these bad boi’s. That’s because, you guessed it. They’re hungover.

I once sat at a bar to meet with a friend, desperately needing a way to ease back into….well, drinking. The bartender, detecting my current hangover leans in and goes “You need a bitters and soda, dontcha.” The zombified nod I gave him was more than enough. A fresh crack of club soda and and a few aggressive dashes of Angostura bitters later and I was back in fighting form, so to speak.

This clever combination has been romanticized by the drinking community for decades with always promising results.

Specifically, Angostura, has been making cocktail bitters for years (Since around 1824 to be more specific). A true staple of any great bar. But, it was originally made with a wide variety of herbs and botanicals, with a little high proof alcohol, as a stomach remedy. Boom! Right there, the first part of a hangover we need to solve.

The bitters also help with the “Hair of the Dog” aspect of curing a hangover, but are hard to drink on their own. That’s where the soda comes in.

Club soda is there to hydrate, an essential in fighting back the pounding headache. The bubbles, my friend, also ease the stomach. Ding ding, we have a winner.

And if you want to get really fancy with this one, add some ginger extract or syrup and lemon. That’s next level stuff though.

Melatonin (sleep it off)

Hear me out. You’ve gotten this far, so might as well keep considering this advice. a good night sleep is essential for battling the hangover process. So, to make sure this happens, a little planning is needed.

Place a dose of melatonin and a HUGE glass of water near your bed.

Pray to the gods of alcohol that you make it home (if that’s your goal, wink wink) in one piece after this intended night of shenanigans.

Take previously mentioned melatonin and literally all the water before bed.

Your body naturally produces melatonin to help regulate your sleep. Drinking to much, sort of messes this up. Yeah, alcohol will knock you out, and you’ll absolutely fall asleep hard. But your body is working to metabolize and process all that alcohol instead of resting. Getting some real rest is the key to eliminating a hangover.

Melatonin can definitely help re-establish your sleep cycle after a long night and ease that hangover. Because it’s sold over the counter and is all natural, it’s definitely better than popping a bunch of Ibuprofen and hoping for the best.

Hopefully this gives you some better strategies to combat those nasty headaches after a long and well deserved night. And if it doesn’t, maybe take it easy next time, Karen.