How to Avoid Hangovers After Drinking

Small amounts of alcohol have a relaxing effect on drinkers, typically increasing camaraderie and contributing to an overall friendly atmosphere. According to the American Heart Association, one glass of red wine a day may even help prevent heart disease. On the other hand, drinking large amounts of alcohol has a detrimental effect on your health. Stomach, liver and kidney damage are all too easily achieved with too much alcohol in your system, not to mention the painful and oftentimes even debilitating effects of a hangover that follow soon after.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat prior to drinking. A full meal is more beneficial than a quick snack and helps reduce the amount of acetaldehyde, a naturally occurring chemical compound in alcohol that is widely held to be the main cause of hangovers. Dense foods such as pasta take longer to digest and help absorb alcohol in the stomach.

• 2

  Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks. One of the causes of common hangover symptoms such as a splitting headache or nausea is dehydration. By drinking water or juice between alcoholic beverages, you can help replace the amount of fluid disappearing from your body as a result of consuming alcohol. Milk will also help slow alcoholic absorption into your body.

• 3

  Avoid mixing different types of drinks. If you start with beer, switching to hard liquor or wine introduces many different quantities of alcohol in a short period of time. Your body will have trouble metabolizing this amount of alcohol, and a hangover will be almost certain.

• 4

  Know your limits and drink within them. Pay attention to your body and how you react to a certain number of drinks in a set period of time. The general rule of thumb is one beer, one glass of wine or one shot of hard liquor per hour in order to allow your body to metabolize the alcohol properly. If you've had more than this, slow down by drinking water or a non-alcoholic beverage to give your body a break.

• 5

  Take vitamins before you go to sleep, especially vitamins B and C, if you haven't had any juice. Juices high in vitamins will help replace the vitamins that alcohol depleted from your body.