Hangover remedies

Means by which hangover symptoms are treated From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Various foods, dishes, and medicines have been described as having a theoretical potential for easing or alleviating symptoms of a hangover.[7]

Rehydrating with drinking water before going to bed or during a hangover may relieve dehydration-associated symptoms such as thirst, dizziness, dry mouth, and headache.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

While recommendations and folk cures for foods and drinks to relieve hangover symptoms abound, hangover foods have not been scientifically proven to function as a remedy or cure for the hangover.[8][9][10][11]

In a review assessing eight randomised controlled trials of propranolol, tropisetron, tolfenamic acid, fructose/glucose, a yeast preparation and supplements containing Borago officinalis, Cynara scolymus and Opuntia ficus-indica, researchers concluded that "no compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing or treating alcohol hangover."[12]

List of hangover foods

Scientific

Asparagus leaf extract showed marginal results in a 2012 study.

Folk cures

Drunken noodles, Thai food
Korean hangover soup
A prairie oyster cocktail
Coconut water
A fry up (full breakfast)
Sports drinks
A torta ahogada

The following foods and dishes have been described as potentially easing hangover symptoms. Hangover foods have not been scientifically proven to function as a remedy or cure for the hangover.[8][9][10][11]

Medicines

History

Various folk medicine remedies exist for hangovers. The ancient Romans, on the authority of Pliny the Elder, favored raw owl's eggs or fried canary as a hangover remedy,[52] while the "prairie oyster" restorative, introduced at the 1878 Paris World Exposition, calls for raw egg yolk mixed with Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper.[53] By 1938, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel provided a hangover remedy in the form of a mixture of Coca-Cola and milk[53] (Coca-Cola itself having been invented, by some accounts,[54] as a hangover remedy). Alcoholic writer Ernest Hemingway relied on tomato juice and beer.[17]

Other purported hangover cures includes more alcohol, for example cocktails such as Bloody Mary or Black Velvet (consisting of equal parts champagne and stout).[17]

A 1957 survey by an American folklorist found widespread belief in the efficacy of heavy fried foods, tomato juice and sexual activity.[35]

"Hangover breakfast" promoted by a restaurant circa 1950

References

Further reading

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