You will always pay for binge drinking but here’s some tips to relieve the pain

Most of our alcohol intake occurs during binge sessions. Is there any hope for the next day asks Jonathan deBurca Butler.

IN his first novel Lucky Jim, the English writer, Kingsley Amis, describes the moment the book’s hero, Jim Dixon, awakens after a night out on the town.

“The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did... A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by secret police. He felt bad.”

According to another wise man, a hangover is where “you wake up in the morning and for the first 30 seconds you think you are dead. You then spend the rest of the day wishing you were.”

It has been around for milennia. Ancient civilizations wrote about and dealt with over-indulgence as much as we do today.

The Assyrians used a compound of birds’ beaks and myrrh to counter the effects of too much drink. The ancient Romans who got plastered to honour the god Bacchus used to water down their treacle-like red wine, but even that could not prevent them from suffering what they called crapulae the next morning. To treat their thumping heads, some Romans swore by a good helping of roasted canary, while others found rubbing pasted snail into the forehead did the trick. In England in the Middle Ages, eel was the medicine of choice. Since we first distilled alcohol, mankind has been looking for a cure for the hangover. None has been found.

“Forget the urban legends about miracle hangover cures,” says Nick Flynn of the Hollyhill Medical Centre in Cork. “From cold showers or scalp massage through to high doses of vitamin C, there is no scientific evidence that alternative remedies help hangover symptoms. The only one way to avoid a hangover is not to drink too much.”

Of course, over the Christmas period, especially in a country where 75% of all alcohol is consumed as part of a binge-drinking session, it’s unlikely that everyone will control or moderate their drinking. Catching up with friends and family often means chatting in one place for long periods and, in Ireland, whether you like it or not, that is often done in the pub. So are there any preventative measures you can take to avoid feeling (or getting a dose of) crapulae the next day?

“Eat before you start drinking to reduce the speed you absorb alcohol,” says Dr Flynn. “Alternate alcoholic with soft drinks or, better still, water. You could opt for shandy or wine spritzer rather than beer or wine and, if you can, avoid dark alcohol such as port, red wine, dark spirits. These are high in congeners that contribute to hangovers.”

If you have over-indulged, Dr Flynn strongly advises against that well-known urban myth, the hair of the dog, and points out that it just delays the inevitable. To deal with the morning after the night before, your best bet is to eat something, such as a banana, go back to bed, and maybe take an over-the-counter pain killer.

Hangovers attack their victims on two fronts. The first is severe dehydration due to increases in urine production from the amount of alcohol we consume. This is what gives us the headaches and the dry mouth.

The second relates to the liver’s reaction to how we treat it. While it can process a certain amount of toxins, the liver can basically decide that it has had enough and turns excess alcohol into poison, which it then shovels back into your system with vengeful glee.

Karen Ward, a nutrionist based in Kinsale, says that a proper meal with the correct combination of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and healthy fats can help with, but not alleviate, the effects of festive toping.

“Alcohol depletes the body’s reserves of zinc, vitamin A, and protein,” she explains. “So eating a meal rich in these compounds before heading out will help replace many of the nutrients lost while drinking. So something like poached eggs are good. Cysteine is a protein that is especially important in helping the liver detox the toxins in alcohol and it is found in abundance in eggs. Add half a ripe avocado and have some beetroot, that’s packed with iron, calcium, betaine, B vitamins and antioxidants.”

Ms Ward also recommends avoiding crisps or nuts, as they only increases salt levels and lead to dehydration. As for post-indulgence remedies, the nutrionist’s Christmas hymn sheet is very much the same as Dr Flynn’s.

“There’s no cure, I’m afraid,” she says, “but ensuring you eat liver- healthy foods each day will go a long way to supporting your poor liver when it does have to deal with the toxins in alcohol. The best liver-supporting foods are beetroot, lemons and limes, the spice turmeric, grapefruit, garlic, apples, and brassica vegetables like brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, kale, and cabbage.

“As for foods the next day, if you wake up feeling nauseous, make a juice with a thumb of ginger, a carrot, a beetroot, half a lemon, a cup of chopped pineapple or apple, and some dark leafy greens. You can also cut ginger in slices and add it to hot water and lemon to soothe your tummy.”

Although Ms Ward says there are some benefits to sports drinks, she believes coconut water is much more beneficial.

“Alcohol molecules love water, so whatever alcohol you take in will grab water,” she says. “The result is your whole body — brain included — is sucked dry. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Sports drinks do contain the electrolytes you need but they also often contain ingredients like artificial food dyes and sweeteners that don’t do your brain cells any favours. Coconut water contains just as many electrolytes as a sports drink so make this your drink of choice the morning after.”

HERE'S A SMOOTHIE CURE FOR THAT HANGOVER

Karen Ward has a multitude of helpful hints and recipes for those who overdo it over the festive season. Here she shows us a smoothie that might go some way to bringing you back to earth.

This smoothie by Krystelle Fournier a writer for Mind Body Green, contains a multitude of nutrients that work to pre-hydrate the body and load it with liver supporting nutrients.

It won’t prevent a hangover but can go some way to offsetting some of the deleterious effects of alcohol by getting you ultra hydrated. The base of this smoothie is water, but you could also use coconut water, available in all supermarkets and health shops. Cucumbers and lemons provide electrolytes , avocado provides healthy fats, proteins and fibre; frozen mango gives beta-carotene, as well as bringing some natural sweetness and creaminess to the smoothie; raw honey is optional. Coconut oil is extremely nourishing and will help to balance blood sugar, just as cinnamon will. Ginger helps to reduce motion sickness and inflammation in the gut.

Unprocessed sea salt will add extra minerals and trace elements to the smoothie, and the greens will help to alkalize and detoxify the body even more, as well as provide quality vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:

½ cup water or coconut water

½ small cucumber

½ avocado

½ lemon, juice

1 cup frozen mangoes

1 Tbsp raw honey, optional

1 tsp extra-virgin coconut oil

Small knob of ginger

Pinch cinnamon

Pinch Himalayan or sea salt

Big handful of spinach (or kale if you prefer)

Directions:

In a high-speed blender, starting with the liquids, put everything together and blend until nice and smooth