A hangover is a really awful experience that should make you promise yourself not to drink anymore, but rarely does, or at least not for long.

Hangovers range from just a tad bad to something for which you could end up needing medical treatment. Sadly, many of us can so easily forget how painful and embarrassing it was that we will end up with another hangover after a friend’s birthday celebration a month from now.

My first hangover experience happened when I was in middle school. I was reviewing my notes for an exam when I got curious at the sight of a bottle of my uncle’s homemade fruit wine. I remember that the bottle had some orange pieces and raisins settling at the bottom and that it smelled sweet. I got a glass and poured it a quarter full, then enjoyed another three—or four; I can’t remember—servings of a similar size.

I do recall that I wasn’t able to finish my review that night and that I felt very sluggish on exam day. I completed the exam as fast as I could, so I could excuse myself from the class afterward. I ended up with a score that was just high enough to pass. That was the first time I made a promise not to drink again, ever.

In my freshman year in college, I was so happy with the warm welcome we got from everybody that my memories of the morning-after effects of alcohol abuse were quickly forgotten. During our first few weeks, most organizations threw a party for all of us new students in the school dormitory, and I took a drink in each room we entered. I still remember throwing up in somebody’s room and even cleaning up my own mess.

The next day, I didn’t go to class because I was too weak to get up. I spent the whole day nursing a bad hangover by sleeping, drinking coffee, and eating Jell-O.

Learning hangover hacks

Thankfully, it was also in college where I first learned how to avoid getting hangovers without leaving the party too soon. As a diuretic, alcohol will send you to the bathroom to pee several times, which may cause dehydration. When you are dehydrated other hangover symptoms like fatigue, dry mouth, headache and thirst can worsen. So, I drank a lot of water between each drink I took. I also tried forcing myself to throw up to get out some of the alcohol out of my stomach before I went to bed. It worked for me.

Aside from water, I also found that drinking other fluids was helpful for avoiding a hangover or managing one. The thing is that sometimes water is not enough to get through a hangover, especially one that is moderate to severe.

Here are some of the hacks I’ve used to avoid getting a hangover or at least get through one:

Electrolytes. Once, at a homecoming party, I had to take my best friend home because she was too drunk to get home by herself. The next morning, she asked me to get her a glass of coconut juice or cook her some bouillon soup. She said anything with lots of electrolytes will help. I got her a bottle of Gatorade. Electrolytes-filled drinks help your body restore the potassium and salt it loses when you pee, every now and then when you were drunk. Potassium is a nutrient and an electrolyte which helps the body conduct electrical impulses and assist in digestion, maintaining blood pressure, pH balance, and nerve impulses.

Eat fatty foods first. There was one time when my college friends and I decided to have a reunion. We all stayed at one friend’s house to enjoy more of our time together. We consumed several bottles of beer, and I was surprised that I didn’t experience a hangover the next day. It turned out that the roasted pork meat we ate for dinner before we started the party was so greasy that it prevented the absorption of alcohol or at least slowed it down. That’s why the Mediterranean trick of taking a teaspoon of olive oil before drinking is actually effective. The trick is to do it before.X

Orange juice in between. If you alternate between drinking fruit juices and alcohol, it helps speed up the body’s metabolism of alcohol, lowering the risk of having a hangover. The fructose found in most fruit juices is what speeds things up. It can also replace the glucose which your body lost and give you a boost of energy.

Get enough sleep. Sleeping is probably the natural inclination for most people who experience a hangover the day after, but getting enough sleep is actually a good way to allow the body to recover. If you plan to sleep the whole day, make sure that you take the time to eat some breakfast—something light and easy to digest—to replenish what your body lost.

Drink in moderation. This reminder is often easier said than done, but it is a fool-proof way to avoid having a hangover. While a glass or two of an alcoholic beverage might have some benefits, it does not remove the risks of drinking. If you cannot totally avoid drinking during parties, always remember to drink in moderation or at least know when to say no when another glass is offered to you.

Best hangover juices recipes

Since some of us find it difficult to remind ourselves to drink in moderation, knowing tricks for how to recover from a hangover the day after a party can be very helpful. Here are some easy-to-prepare juices that will help you get through the day:

Coconut water juice blend

Servings: 1

Ingredients

1 cup fresh coconut water

½ cup apple juice

1 banana

2 kiwis

Honey (optional sweetener)

How to prepare: Peel and slice banana and kiwis. Combine with other ingredients in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add a teaspoon of honey to sweeten.

Why it is good: Coconut water helps a lot in refueling your bodies with electrolytes, while the sweetness of apple juice and honey will give you energy and boost your metabolism to kick out the alcohol toxins from the body. Both bananas and kiwis give a boost of vitamins and potassium to help you break free from the throbbing pain due to a hangover. Banana is an electrolyte needed in many bodily functions.

Recipe source: https://whitneybond.com/tropical-hangover-juice/

Tomato and celery hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

3 small-sized tomatoes

2 celery stalks

1 lemon

1/2-inch cut of ginger

1 Jalapeño pepper

1/4 cucumber

How to prepare: Process all the ingredients with a juicer, then combine. Pour into a glass and drink immediately.

Why it is good: Tomatoes and lemon will help your liver in flushing out the toxins from alcohol. Lemon has d-limonene, an antioxidant, which will help your liver to detox. Tomatoes and celery are also high in antioxidants, and the potassium and sodium will help you get through a throbbing headache.

Recipe source: https://justjuice.org/juicing-for-hangover/

Spinach and apple hangover juice

Servings: 1-2

Ingredients:

3 apples, medium-sized

4 celery stalks

1/2 rind of lemon

1/4 ginger

1 large orange

5 handfuls of spinach leaves

How to prepare: Slice the apples, celery stalks, and ginger. Peel the orange and set aside the segments. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend them.

Why it is good: Celery is a known natural diuretic that will help you flush out the toxins from the body. The vitamins and orange and lemon are also very helpful to give you energy, while ginger can fight off nausea. The key ingredient—spinach—is jam-packed with sulfur, vitamin C, and folic acid which is good for the circulatory system and the brain.

Recipe source: https://justjuice.org/juicing-for-hangover/

Watermelon and basil hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

3 leaves of fresh basil

1 1/2 cups of blueberries

Cayenne pepper

1/2 lime

5 cups watermelon

How to prepare: Place all the ingredients in a blender and add two pinches of cayenne. Blend for 30 seconds. Add honey to sweeten.

Why it is good for you: Watermelon is the main ingredient of this juice and it is made up of 92 percent water that will help hydrate you. It also has glutathione, a detoxifying agent, which boosts liver function. The liver, by the way, is the most worked organ when you drink alcohol. A dash of cayenne pepper will help you rejuvenate and kick out toxins. It is also a natural pain-reliever that will help to get you back on your feet after that headache.

Recipe source: https://justjuice.org/juicing-for-hangover/

Dandelion hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

4 celery ribs

1-2 cups spinach leaves

2 kale leaves

1/4 bunch dandelion greens

1/4 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 carrots

1 cucumber

How to prepare: Cut the vegetables into pieces, place them in a juicer and process them. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Why it is good for you: Dandelion greens are used in traditional Chinese medicine to clear the toxins from the liver. The antioxidants and vitamin C found in celery, carrots, and kale will also support your immune system and relieve your hangover symptoms.

Recipe source: https://urbanremedy.com/natural-hangover-remedies-that-work/

Orange and celery hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

2 carrots

2 oranges

2 celery sticks

1 lemon

1 beet

1-inch size ginger

How to prepare: Place the ingredients in the juicer and process them. Pour into a tall glass and drink before having your breakfast.

Why it is good for you: As I have mentioned, fruits like oranges have fructose that helps you speed up your metabolism and replace the nutrients your body has lost. This juice is very nourishing, and you can never go wrong with the antioxidants and vitamin C from carrots, lemon, and celery.

Recipe source: https://justjuice.org/juicing-for-hangover/

Beets and parsley hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley

3 medium beets

2 apples

1/2 lime

How to prepare: Cut the beets and apples into quarters, place them in the juicer and process them. If you prefer a low-sugar concoction, you may replace the apples with cucumbers instead. Pour into a tall glass and serve.

Why it is good for you: In Poland, they usually use pickled beetroot to replenish the body with important minerals and vitamins. Beets are rich in potassium, nitric oxide, vitamin C, folate and fiber. The nitrates in beets, which transforms into nitric oxide, helps the body maintain healthy blood pressure levels and boosts blood and oxygen flow. Parsley, on the other hand, is rich in chlorophyll, minerals, flavonoids, and antioxidants that kick out harmful toxins from the body.

Recipe source: https://justjuice.org/juicing-for-hangover/

Thomas Kelly’s chili hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 raw egg white

1-1/2 ounces orange juice, freshly squeezed

1/2-ounce lime juice squeezed

1-1/2-ounce vodka

Whole dried chilies

Ice

How to prepare: Use a cocktail shaker to mix chilies, egg white, lime juice, orange juice, and vodka. Fill the shaker with ice and shake for 30 seconds. Strain and top with soda water.

Why it is good for you: This mix was popularized by Chef Thomas Kelly in New York. Kelly said the key to the mix is the chilies, which wake him up. The egg whites may also do the trick since they are rich in an amino acid called cysteine, which helps in breaking down acetaldehyde (the toxin in the liver which causes the hangover).

Recipe source: https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/g2219/how-to-cure-hangovers-remedies/

Cucumber and jalapeño hangover juice

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes, medium

2 celery stalks

1/4 of a large cucumber

1 lemon

1/2-inch size ginger

1 jalapeño pepper

How to prepare: Place the ingredients in a juicer and process them. If you don’t like it too spicy, you may take out the jalapeño seeds before mixing. Juice it and enjoy in a glass.

Why it is good for you: The tomato, lemon, and celery will aid the liver in displacing the toxins brought in by alcohol. Meanwhile, cucumber is rich in B vitamins and electrolytes that will aid in rehydrating the body. The jalapeño also works in speeding up the metabolism.

Recipe source: https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Hangover-Juice-Recipe-25170647

AUTHOR BIO:

Patrick Bailey is a professional writer mainly in the fields of mental health, addiction, and living in recovery. He attempts to stay on top of the latest news in the addiction and the mental health world and enjoy writing about these topics to break the stigma associated with them.

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