How to Get Rid of a Hangover: The Ultimate Guide

#1 Drink lots of water.

This might sound a little anti-climatic after that build-up in the intro, but this is the best cure for a killer hangover.

Why? Because alcohol dehydrates your body, which makes it very difficult for your body to get rid of the toxins you ingested last night.

So keep a jug of water close and chug down glasses of it to the best of your ability. Your headache should ease in an hour or so.

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#2 Eat bananas.

Alcohol doesn't just dehydrate your body. It also drains your body's stock of electrolytes as it frantically tries to get rid of the toxins in your liver.

That's why you should not only drink lots of water but also eat bananas to replenish the lost electrolytes. Don't you know bananas are packed with potassium?

#3 Drink coconut water.

We are not suggesting you buy a brown coconut and smash it against the floor and slurp whatever water you can salvage from the ruins.

By coconut water, we mean the water contained within green coconuts.

This is because fresh coconut water is packed with electrolytes and is, therefore, the perfect alternative to the hangover remedy of water + bananas.

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#4 Drink lime water.

Lemon juice is known to flush out toxins from your liver. That's why you should definitely buy some lemons and keep them in your fridge before you head out to party. This way when you wake up with a killer hangover, you can easily heat up a glass of water until it is lukewarm, squeeze in one lemon, add a spoonful of honey and a pinch of salt and then enjoy your detox drink.

Have lime water three times on the day of your hangover for best results.

#5 Have ginger tea or ale.

Ginger is famous for its nausea-relieving properties. Therefore, it's the perfect cure for your dry heaves and constant urge to vomit.

All you need to do is grate an inch of ginger and add it to the kettle along with tea leaves before you brew yourself a cup of chai.

And if you are not a tea-drinker, just add some grated ginger to a glass of orange juice or lemonade to make yourself some ginger ale at home!

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#6 Have semi-solid food the entire day.

You have abused your stomach and liver quite enough. So it's best to lay low the next day and have only soups and porridge to fill your stomach.

This is because, the day after heavy drinking, your body tends to divert most of its fuel to the liver so it can successfully get rid of all the alcoholic toxins. And eating a heavy meal just gets in the way of that because digesting a lot of food requires a lot of energy.

So stick to the simple and semi-solid and give your body the break it deserves!

#7 Have tomato juice or soup.

Like lemon, the tomato is great at flushing out toxins from your body because it has a lot of vitamin C in it.
So it's a great idea to make some tomato soup and have it on the day of your hangover.

Alternatively, you can even juice a few fresh tomatoes in a blender with a dash of lime, mint leaves, and sea salt and then have this refreshing drink a few times.

P.S. It's better to delegate the actual task of blending to a good Samaritan friend since the noise can potentially intensify your headache.

#8 Have a fruit + vegetable smoothie.

Another great way of getting rid of your hangover is by consuming a lot of vegetable and fruit juices. Just make sure you blend the whole fruit/vegetable and not just squeeze out the juice.

This way you will be restocking your body with much-needed electrolytes and water, and also would keep your stomach occupied with fibers.

#9 Have a large meal before you binge drink.

I admit, this is not exactly a cure for a hangover as much as a way to prevent most of the intense symptoms of it. But the principle behind this remedy is solid.

When you eat a large meal, especially one with a lot of proteins in it, you slow down your digestive system and thus reduce your blood-alcohol level once you start drinking. This is a great of protecting yourself from the worst effects of a hangover!

#10 Drink prickly pear extract a few hours before you drink alcohol.

Again, this is not a cure as much as a method of prevention. But it works very well.

In fact, studies have shown that consuming the extract of the prickly pear cactus is very effective at reducing the inflammation caused by alcohol, and thus great at reducing the effect of a hangover or preventing it altogether.

#11 Drink clear alcohol.

Dark alcohols, like regular rum, whiskey, and tequila, leave you with a worse hangover compared to the clear alcohols like vodka, gin, and white rum.

So if you are a whiskey drinker, bad luck. Your friend who likes gin and tonic will have a better time the next day.

#12 Don’t smoke while you drink.

Walk into a pub on Friday night and you will end up breathing less oxygen and more passive smoke. Unfortunately, while passive smoking does affect your hangovers to some extent, the worst effects are seen when you actively smoke a few drags while you are throwing down your drinks.

This is because smoking messes up your sleep. And the stress that causes your brain is the perfect recipe for a killer hangover the next day!

#13 Don’t take Paracetamol!

Stop right there! A pounding head might make you reach for those simple white paracetamol pills (a.k.a painkillers), but if you fear for your life you would refrain from doing so.

This is because paracetamol is the generic name of a class of drugs that contain acetaminophen in them. And this compound is poisonous for your liver. Especially after a wild night.

So do yourself a favor and skip the OTC painkillers and try the natural remedies we listed above to get rid of your hangover or restrict yourself to aspirin for your pounding headache.