Is there a cure for a hangover?
Dr. Oz says avoiding a hangover starts the night before when you are drinking. "You never really want to have alcohol without water next to it. You need the water to flush it through your system. That's pretty simple," he says. "But the alcohol you drink should be the color of water, ideally, as well." Dr. Oz says this is because darker alcohols contain more congeners, which he says are what causes hangovers.
If you wake up with a hangover, Dr. Oz says to eat something—especially eggs. "Eggs are effective because the eggs, in their yolk, have something called N-acetyl-cysteine," he says. "What it really is, is a way of giving your body antioxidants, and those antioxidants are critically important to your liver that's going to battle right now trying to cleanse all the junk that's left over."
Dr. Oz says taking aspirin can help reduce the inflammation caused by drinking. A cup of Joe doesn't hurt either. "Coffee's pretty effective, because alcohol is a depressant. Alcohol takes you down," he says. Unfortunately, when you sleep after drinking alcohol, Dr. Oz says it's not "good sleep." "[Alcohol] just sort of gets you into a sleepy period, and you're depressed all night long. Coffee's a stimulant, so it gets you going again in the morning."
Published 01/01/2006
As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.
