Hard drinks are part of socializing. If you are a social butterfly and party animal, you would be into alcohol. Though parties are fun, the aftermath could be disturbing.
Moreover, these alcohol hangovers are painful and affect the next day’s work and daily chores. How to overcome it? Which drinks can counteract the next morning’s ill effects of alcohol?
Alcohol and alcohol hangovers
Alcohol is part of social gatherings. Parties invariably have these drinks and people enjoy them. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in the last 2 to 2.5 years, social partying was banned.
Hence, there were not many social gatherings or events. Alcohol consumption was less at parties though people did still enjoy the drinks at home in moderation.
Now, socializing has begun again. And, people tend to overdrink at parties since it is free there and at the expense of the host.
Alcohol hangovers are distressing (Source: Chemistry world)But what follows in an alcohol hangover? It is an unpleasant and disagreeable physical effect of excessive alcohol consumption. And it comes the next morning after a night of heavy drinking.
Furthermore, it comes after the body metabolizes and excretes the alcohol from the body. In this, there is a severe headache and a sick feeling with nausea, thirstiness, weakness, muscle pains, vertigo, light and sound sensitivity, irritability, anxiety, increased sweating, and maybe raised blood pressure as well.
These symptoms can last for many hours and sometimes as long as 24 hours.
Treatment of hangovers
Many remedies are mentioned for these alcohol hangovers. But the outcomes are variable. The best remedy is to avoid excess alcohol.
Drink in moderation or none at all to avoid it. Additionally, there are some commercial products available in the market in South Korea.
1. Condition from South Korean pharmaceutical company HK in no. N.
It has oriental raisins in it called Hovenia Dulci’s nuts and alcoholics traditionally use them to manage hangovers. The company states:
“The drink provides a clear easing effect on hangovers, with the help of 100 percent Korean-grown oriental raisins and substances patented for their anti-hangover effects.”
Natural remedies for hangovers (Source: Pinterest)2. Dawn 808
Nam Jong-hyun, the late founder of the beverage company Glami invented this drink. It has ingredients to break down alcohol in the blood and protects the liver.
There are similar drinks in other countries of the world as well.
Are these drinks effective?
These drinks have no clinical studies to back them. Hence their efficacy is not certain. Doctor Cho Young-guy from the Department of Family Medicine at Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital says:
“These are commercialized products made of ingredients used as folk remedies in the past. They are being sold in the market without analyzing their effectiveness, making it hard to say whether they work.”
Cho did a clinical trial of raisins in such hangover cases and found it did not help relieve the symptoms. He feels that coffee is better and more effective. He added:
“Coffee has been receiving attention as a hangover cure as of late, not only helping fight a hangover but also improving liver function and even preventing liver cancer.”
”I drink coffee the next morning myself (after drinking),“
Read more: Your non-alcoholic alternative drinks at parties!
Avoidance of alcohol, drinking in moderation, nibbles and water can prevent hangovers (Source: Pinterest)Urologist Pack Sung-Hyun of Konkuk University Medical Center feels that nibbles and water with alcohol can help prevent a nasty hangover.
A meta-analysis of studies on red ginseng, Korean pear juice, or clove extract as hangover cures has negative outcomes. Dr. Emmert Roberts who did the meta-analysis concludes:
”Our study has found that evidence on these hangover remedies is of very low quality, and a more rigorous assessment is needed. For now, the surest way of preventing hangover symptoms is to abstain from alcohol or drink in moderation,“