How to Cure Bad Hangovers

A recent survey found that three out of every five college students have engaged in binge drinking. Binge drinking completely thrashes your liver and kidneys, not to mention putting you at risk of death via alcohol overdose. But you don't need a lecture--you know that massive drinking is bad because Mother Nature tells you so.

A nasty hangover is Mother Nature's way of telling you, "I thought I told you not to drink so much. Now you're going to pay." Hangovers can completely incapacitate you, giving you an upset stomach, a huge headache, a gross-tasting mouth and a guilty conscience. What you need are some tips for easing the pain and curing that hangover. And if you find you need to refer to these tips every weekend, contact Alcoholics Anonymous right away. People (especially those in their 20s) usually revel in binge drinking, but it really can be life-threatening.

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Instructions

Understand What Alcohol Does to Your Body

• They don't call it intoxication for nothing: Alcohol is poisonous. Put enough of it into your body and you die. What should concern you here, however, is not so much alcohol itself, but the by-products of alcohol, and especially one particularly nasty chemical by the name of acetaldehyde. The latest research suggests that it may be responsible for the worst of your hangover.

  After you ingest alcohol, your body breaks it down into (among other things) acetaldehyde, before converting it into less harmful substances. The acetaldehyde messes with your brain at the same time as a host of depleted minerals are short-circuiting your nervous system, and that's in addition to low blood sugar and the classic headache-and-dry-mouth symptoms caused by dehydration. The result: nausea, twitchy nerves, unpleasantness, pessimism, terrible brain pain and a temporary suspension of the laws of gravity.

  The severity of a hangover varies according to the amount you've guzzled in a given period of time, your own innate enzymatic capacity to deal with the poisons, and your age. Translation: The more you drink in a short amount of time, the more you'll feel the alcohol. Your weight is also a factor (the less you weigh, the more you'll feel it), as is a genetic predisposition. Finally, the older you get, the more you'll feel the alcohol the next morning.

Next: Prepare for the Night Out

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