Having just one more drink seems like a good idea at the time, but overindulging in it can seriously question your judgment in the morning. Headache, nausea, fatigue, and a mushy mouthfeel can make even the most party-goer give up drinking more. In addition to not drinking at all, your best option is to indulge responsibly, but effective damage control the next morning is also possible.
Alcohol interferes with the absorption of B vitamins and depletes them in your system, so taking B vitamins before drinking will not help you avoid a hangover.
Why do we have a hangover?
That horrible feeling is the result of various effects of alcohol on your body. Alcohol is a diuretic, so drinking too much causes dehydration . This shrinks the dura, which is the membrane that surrounds your brain, causing a headache. It also depletes the B vitamins in your body, which leads to fatigue . It can irritate the stomach and intestines, contributing to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Vitamin B to relieve symptoms
Taking vitamin B-12 before drinking alcohol will have no effect on whether or not you can avoid a hangover. Alcohol inhibits your body's ability to absorb B vitamins and also filters the B vitamins from your body, so taking a large dose before drinking does not help prevent a hangover.
With that said, there are actually several steps you can take to alleviate the effects of drinking alcohol.
- Make sure to eat before a night of bingeing . A carbohydrate-based meal like whole grains, pasta, or bread is a good idea, as carbohydrates help slow the absorption of alcohol. Eating fruit can help you with hydration.
- Your body can process about one drink per hour, so take it easy.
- Alternate between alcoholic beverages and water or soda to help avoid alcohol intoxication.
- Go for light alcohols like gin , vodka , white rum , or white wine . All alcohol contains impurities created during the fermentation process. These are known to aggravate hangover symptoms and are present in higher concentrations in darker alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, scotch, and red wine.
The best vitamins for hangovers
Although there are many so-called miracle cures on the market, no B-12 hangover cure has been shown to work, and that includes B-12 injections. Replenishing lost B vitamins by taking a B complex the next morning may alleviate some of the symptoms, but the only real cure for a hangover is time . However, there are things you can do to relieve symptoms.
Drink lots of water . Sports drinks can also help, as can ginger tea or clear soup . Eating carbohydrates like crackers, bread, or pasta can help raise your blood sugar levels without causing an upset stomach.
Light exercise combined with aggressive hydration can also help speed up your recovery time, so you can take a good long walk, and perhaps ponder how to do it a little better next time.
