by Thomas Kurkoski

Created on: December 26, 2008

Ah yes, the fun of a hangover. Nobody likes them and certainly nobody wants one. Nevertheless, if one is to consume copious amounts of grain alcohols in a single sitting, one is bound to arise the following morning (or early afternoon) with a hangover.

Booze, being a diuretic, does not allow the bodies natural enzymes to absorb and utilize water through a biological wonder called the Krebs Cycle. Now, I am not a biologist, just a recovering alcoholic, so I don't know the specifics behind it exactly. What I do however, is that in order to prevent a hangover or nurse oneself out of it, the over-indulgent individual must consume, on average, two glasses of water per shot of whiskey, mixed drink, glass of wine (five ounces), or ale (12 ounces) drank. That's a lot of water, and realistically, who is going to do that between beverages? No one! So we wake up the following day with a hangover.

To rid oneself of this uncomfortable reminder of the previous nights fun the first thing to do is to drink water. Just plain water. But do not chug it down, it needs to be consumed slowly so it can effectively be absorbed by the stomach. Drinking too much too fast will further aggravate an already angry stomach. No one wants to drink a bunch of water and then vomit it all back up! Go slow at first. As a preventative measure, when enjoying the famous after-bar breakfast, drink water or decaf coffee. This will help ones body to rehydrate while sleeping.

Most people have taken to drinking a glass of water and taking some sort of pain killer before passing out at home. Water: good. Painkiller: bad! When intoxicated, one should not take Tylenol, aspirin, or anything of the sort. Alcohol tends to interact negatively with such things as they are being processed together through the liver, usually causing more damage, and in rare cases causing jaundice.

In order to prevent mild delirium tremens, or DT's, the following day food is a must. I would recommend not eating before one goes to bed, as that can incite vomiting the next day, rather wait until the nausea induced by dehydration has passed. A belly full of food, and healthy well-rounded foods, will take the edge of the shaking as well as help put down that pounding in the head. If one must take a painkiller, do it after eating.

The thing to remember is that a hangover is caused by dehydration, and the only way to prevent one or "cure" one is to remain hydrated or gently rehydrate as soon as possible the following day.

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