No one can really explain how horrible hangovers are until you have one. The pounding headache, nausea, and upset stomach, it’s enough to make you never want to drink again (even though you will).
We’ll do absolutely anything to avoid or prevent that nasty feeling. So it’s no surprise that according to Google trend data, searches for “hangover cure” increased by 400% after the Easter bank holiday.
With another bank holiday just around the corner, the experts at Boozy have gathered the very best hangover cures, from trending TikTok hacks to tricks that
celebrities swear by, so you can be prepared for the next long weekend of
celebrations.
Six-step plan
@drjoe_md is an emergency medicine doctor and has hundreds of videos with
medical advice. He shares this six-step plan that has been medically proven to cure hangovers.
The first step is to avoid drinking dark alcohols like whiskey or red wine, as these have been shown to cause worse hangovers than clear spirits like vodka or gin.
Drink a bottle of water before you go to sleep and when you wake up the next morning, eat a lot of carbohydrates, which will replete your sugar levels.
Drinking caffeine will boost energy levels and taking vitamin B and zinc supplements have been shown to improve the symptoms of the hangover.
Vitamin B is often a popular choice for beating a hangover, as it helps with the breakdown and elimination of the alcohol in your body, and the enzymes that do this are assisted by the zinc so they can work quicker. Zinc also helps decrease inflammation and boosts your immune system.
The oral IV
A banana bag IV, also known as a Myers Cocktail IV, is used to treat dehydration, reduce fatigue, eliminate toxins from the body.
@thewellnesspharm says the first thing to do is to take a B-complex vitamin, which includes both vitamin B1, thiamine, and B2, riboflavin – this converts your food into cellular energy and helps support cell function. It’s also what gives it the name ‘banana bag’, as the vitamin B2 turns the liquid neon yellow.
She also suggests taking folic acid, which is important for brain function and your nervous system and aids your body in getting over the hangover. Additionally magnesium will help relax your muscles and help regulate your neurotransmitters. Finally, add some watend electrolytes - you can sprinkle some Himalayan salt into water to help replace the electrolytes.
Vitamins and squash
This video demonstrates a similar method to the oral IV, but with ingredients that you probably already have at home.
She pours water into a glass - she suggests a fancy glass to feel like you’ve ve got your life together - and adds a Berocca, Alka-Seltzer, squash, and a pinch of salt.
The Berocca contains vitamins B1 and B2, as well as zinc, and vitamin C. The Alka-Seltzer relieves your headache, and the salt and sugar replace electrolytes.
Recovery lemonade
This dietician makes a ‘recovery lemonade’ after she’s had a rough weekend. She adds about three tablespoons of lemon juice to a glass of water, followed by two or three teaspoons of ginger.
She uses ginger paste from a tube but suggests using fresh ginger. Finally, she adds a sachet of a turmeric sweetener, before stirring and straining over ice.
The lemon and the sweetener work together to settle the stomach and help replete lost sugar levels, and the ginger and turmeric have inflammatory properties which break down the alcohol detoxify your liver and the rest of your body.
Ice-cold dive reflex
This method is said to get rid of a hangover in as little as thirty seconds.
Fill a bowl with water and ice cubes, and submerge your face into the water for as long as you can… and that’s it!
The hack works by triggering your “mammalian dive reflex,” which is a series of changes that take place in your body when holding your breath underwater.
This includes decreased heart rate and decreased blood flow to the muscles, which reduces puffiness. It’s only a short-term fix, but it can certainly help reduce the nausea and headache, and as it’s also a trick used to help with panic attacks, it might help with the hangxiety too.
Celebrity hangover cures
Gwyneth Paltrow, the queen of wellness, suggests alternating between a very hot bath and an icy cold shower – sort of like a full body equivalent of the face in ice water method.
She says to run a bath that is as hot as you can stand it, sprinkle in some baking soda and Epsom salts, and soak for twenty minutes before hopping into a freezing cold shower for one minute – and repeat.
I don’t know if I’d have the energy to run myself a bath when I’m hungover but who am I to question Gwyneth Paltrow?
Paris Hilton has a much simpler method to cure a hangover – “a Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries”, and according to an Instagram story, Victoria Beckham relies on a large fizzy drink.
Nigella Lawson swears by prairie oysters – and you’ll need a strong stomach to give it a go. It consists of egg yolk, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and brandy, all swallowed in one mouthful.
Kendall Jenner goes for something a little more soothing – Martha Stewart’s recipe for mac and cheese.
It’s comfort in a bowl, involving bacon, gouda, gruyere, parmesan, and
breadcrumbs - a little more effort than you might want to summon up when hungover, so Kendall suggests making it the day before and reheating it when it’s required.