How to prevent alcohol hangover?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Preventing or minimizing hangover after drinking alcohol

You may also refer to my articles on what is hangover,  causes of alcohol hangover as well as treatment of hangover.

First of all, the only absolute way to prevent alcohol hangover is not to drink at all. Most of us ignore this warning especially since it is known to be good for health also. So let us be realistic especially during the Holiday season since alcohol drinking especially at social gatherings may be a fact of life for most of us.

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1. Take a nap in the afternoon before going out for the night.
2. Take a multivitamin tablet before going out.
3. Ladies, don't try to act macho and compete with the guys. I am not being sexist here. Just that biologically speaking, men can tolerate more alcohol than women can, even if they are of same height and weight.
4. Do not mix different types of drinks.
5. Do not drink on empty stomach. Food in the stomach prevents rapid absorption of alcohol into the blood stream. Thus, the more food you have before and during drinking, the less the impact of alcohol.
6. As much as possible, drink "clear" spirits or alcohol. Dark or colored alcohols have small quantities of other toxic substances or congeners that are created during the fermentation process. Congeners are implicated in the causation of hangovers. These congeners include methyl alcohol, aldehydes, histamine, tannins, iron, lead and cobalt.One study showed that for the same amount of alcohol ingested, 33% of bourbon drinkers suffered hangovers, compared to only 3% of those who drank vodka. Brandy, red wine, tequila and rum are more likely to cause hangover than white wine, vodka and gin.
7. Beer lovers have an advantage somewhat. Beer has lesser amount of congeners, although the heavier the beer, the more the congeners.
8. Drink slow. No more than one drink per hour would be a good strategy.
9. Drink plenty of water while drinking alcohol. A simple rule of thumb is to drink one glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have.
10. Avoid coffee while or after drinking. It has diuretic effects and can contribute to dehydration.
11. Do not drink while using sauna. Saunas and alcohol do not mix well together and lead to increased health risk.
12. Make sure to drink water or other fluids such as apple juice or Gatorade before going to sleep, in order to prevent dehydration.
13. Drink less than your normal at high altitudes or when flying in an airplane since you are more likely to get hungover as compared to drinking at sea level.
14. Many hangover prevention pills are on the market but there is limited data to support the use. Artichoke despite the notoriety has not been found to be helpful in controlled studies.
15. Consuming Korean pear prior to alcohol intake reduces hangover symptoms like memory, concentration, sensitivity to light etc.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Positive studies of interest (Review article: Pittler et al)

1. Rosiglitazone (Avandia) has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of ethanol-induced hangover in rats.
2. One study examined the use of prophylaxis with tolfenamic acid, an inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis. Subjects consumed alcohol at their own pace. However, they did not measure the amount of alcohol and food ingested.. The intervention group had lower scores of headache, nausea, vomiting, thirst, dry mouth, tremor, and irritation as compared to placebo.
3. Prophylactic use of extract of the Opuntia ficus indica (OFI) plant has also shown promising results. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial involving 64 healthy, young subjects, the investigators found that the symptoms of nausea, dry mouth, and anorexia-were significantly reduced by prophylactic use of 1600 I.U. of OFI. The risk of severe hangover was also reduced by half.
4. Prophylactic use of pyritinol (similar to vitamin B6) reduces the symptoms of a hangover by about 50 percent.
5. Use of a combination preparation containing 250 mg dried yeast, 0.5 mg thiamine nitrate, 0.5 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride, and 0.5 mg riboflavin per tablet has been tested in subjects who consumed vodka equivalent to a total of 100 g absolute alcohol. The yeast preparation resulted in lesser discomfort, restlessness, and impatience.

 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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