Hangover as the Topic of a Wellness Site?

Of course!

We all know that drinking too much (and some would say, taking in alcohol at all) is not a healthy practice.

For many people, there will be that occasion that we do enjoy an alcoholic drink – and sometimes a bit too much!

A hangover is a significant sign that your body is toxic (in-tox-icated). Detoxifying is a specialty in the natural healthy realm…

So, here are some solutions that  you can use to support your body before imbibing, during the festivities and for recovery!

Before:

These tips are general health practices that can be used every day and can generally improve health. A more optimally functioning body can generally handle a heavier toxin load. Yes, alcohol is a toxin which is why when you have too much you are in-tox-i-cated!

• Drink plenty of clean water. Seek spring water ideally that does not come from plastic bottles. Filter your water through a Berkey system (make sure to use the fluoride filters if you have city water) and don’t drink tap water! Drink at least one half of your body weight in ounces of water per day (ex. 150 pound person needs 75 ounces of water per day – about half a gallon!). If you are working out or you know you’ll be having too much alcohol, drink more!
• Take cleansing a nutritive supplements like ChlorOxygen® (made from nettles), chlorella and/or spirulina. The latter two in particular are more like food supplements, providing lots of vital nutrients and plant protein. They help the body to naturally cleanse and detoxify. Each act a bit differently, so test them according to the package directions for your own body. Chlorella has been shown to reduce fasting blood glucose levels – which could indicate its ability to aid in re-regulating blood glucose after high sugar consumption with alcohol.  ChlorOxygen® – If you need natural green food coloring,  ChlorOxygen® should do the trick! This product is made from nettles which are naturally cleansing to the body and nourishing – particular for boosting red blood cells. In this form it acts like medicinal food. Like I said, these act more like medicinal foods, but always check with your pharmacist for any potential reactions with medications.
• Eat! – Most people think you should eat carbs like bread to “soak up” the alcohol (and at a certain level something is better than nothing) but eating protein, fat and complex carbs (read: leafy veggies!) will fill your belly and pre-stabilize your blood sugars so you won’t feel so many of the consequences later. In the old days in the US (and still in some rural areas) and still in Old World pubs you will see proteinaceous foods like peanuts, pickled pigs feet and pickled eggs available to snack on. Sounds like some good fat and protein to balance out all that sugar-laden alcohol to me! Chicken wings anyone!?

During:

• Pace Yourself! Go in with a game plan. Know who your antagonist friends are who will challenge you to drink. Perhaps create a counter challenge for yourself to not give in to their coercing.
• Avoid the green! Foods with artificial food dyes come with advisory labels in the European Union, if they are not entirely banned. The warnings link these colorful additives to hyperactivity in children – indicating their ability to alter brain chemistry. Use  ChlorOxygen® for a natural colorant.
• Alternate with water – There is a particular pace to party drinking and it’s so easy to get caught up in the wave. Make every other drink a glass of water. You’re more likely to stay in that “happy, fun” drunken state more of the night and hopefully avoid black-out or pass-out mode… and worse… the resulting hangover!

After

• Follow any of the above tips!
• Green drinks and shakes – No, not the ones you enjoyed the night before… take a wheat grass shot (if you can keep it down) or make a blended drink.
• Sparkling water and lemon – Let’s face it, simply taking in water may be challenging to keep down at this phase of the game. Try some sparking water with lemon or lime or even crushed sprigs of mint which all are refreshing and naturally support the liver.
• Epsom salt bath – water! I don’t know about you but when I’ve enjoyed too many drinks the night before I feel parched, but simultaneously cannot stand water!- and I normally drink water like it’s going out of style! Soak it up! Draw a bath and add some epsom salts (to replenish your minerals/electrolytes) – especially if you’ve had a meeting with the porcelain god… A cooler bath might feel nice.
• Turmeric – Once you can keep something down load up on anti inflammatory supplements like turmeric. You can find this (and many of the other suggestions here) at your local health food store. Check the supplement section for natural headache relievers with turmeric.
• Spoil your body with healthy foods for the next several days! Eat lots of greens and healthy fats and proteins to get your blood sugars back on track.

Which Body-type Drinking Habit do you have?

Earth-types are true social drinkers. They love being around friends and family and may never drink otherwise, unless they are overcome with sadness. Prone to falling into deep depression Earth-types need to stay on the happy, active side of life.

Fire-types can be Guinness Book of World Records competitive drinkers… get it 😉 Really, this type of person feels it’s their duty to live life to the fullest and party like… well… I’ll let you fill in that blank. This type is also the one who will initiate drinking contests and keep an active pace throughout the nice. These are also the types that when drinking gets out of hand are staunchly dry. They know that one drop can lead them down the rabbit hole.

Air-types enjoy the mental break that alcohol and bring them. Air-types are naturally very slight, through, and therefor cannot handle large amounts of alcohol

Water-types are similar to Earth-types in they enjoy socializing with the people they care about. This clearly can tip them towards being the social-drinker type. Like the Earth-type the Water-type should keep a watchful eye on oneself to monitor that they are not drinking to mask feelings. The Earth and Water-types are emotional by nature and can turn to alcohol or drugs to manage intense emotions.

Wishing you well and be safe! <3 Tara

Clearly you can see that I’m not one to lecture on the cons of drinking. I enjoy a glass or two or sometimes… from time to time also. I do recognize the harm I am causing myself and make a point of treating my body extra good leading up to and following a festive occasion. I believe that heavy drinking binges and regular meditate drinking will be linked to conditions like dementia and Alzheimers some day – similar to how cigarettes have been linked to cancers. (This is not based on any formal study, this is an intuitive and observational hunch.) Let’s enjoy life but also do our best to support our bodies!