Hangover Remedies That Are Surprisingly Easy

Hot summer days call for testing out those fun alcohol-filled drink concoctions you saw on TikTok and Pinterest. Unfortunately sometimes it also comes with a dreaded next-day hangover (is the room spinning or just me?).

While you may not be able to cure a hangover in mere minutes, there are some ways to prevent the symptoms from lasting longer than they need to. These tips are for everyone…even those who “don’t get hungover” but are fighting off symptoms of fatigue, nausea, and headaches (nope, doesn’t sound like a hangover at all).

Balance Your Fluids

As more alcohol goes in, more essential minerals, also known as electrolytes, get peed out. Low electrolyte levels are to blame for a lot of our hangover symptoms, such as fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle cramps, and low energy. Fermented drinks like kombucha work well because they're rich in minerals and antioxidants. You can also buy electrolyte water so that you can rehydrate and re-electrolyte your body all at the same time.

Also, if you have some extra pickle juice in your fridge (and by extra, I mean the pickle juice that didn’t get thrown away out of pure laziness even though there are no more pickles in the jar), you can try that too! Pickle juice helps replenish some of the sodium your body lost after that epic and blurry night out.

Go Loco For Coco

The headline might be a little extra, but hopefully it got your attention! Besides being a really yummy everyday beverage, coconut water is super beneficial for curing hangovers. It’s chock full of all the good essentials like potassium, calcium, magnesium, antioxidants and amino acids to help kickstart your body’s recovery.

Read This Before Brewing Another Cup Of Coffee

Many will suggest curing hangover symptoms with some caffeine because it takes away the disorientation and grogginess. However, without water and other things to put in your body first, it can also be a potential disaster waiting to happen. Caffeinated drinks are also diuretics, which make you pee more and can end up dehydrating your already dehydrated body. It’s important to rehydrate your body and THEN you can have that delicious coffee.

Choose Cleaner Carbs

Of course giving your zombie-like body some food is a good idea, but what goes into your body can make a huge impact on how quickly or not so quickly your hangover goes away. I’ve always heard that eating greasy foods would help my hangover by soaking up any of the alcohol left in my system. Sadly, this might just be wishful thinking on my part (I still love you, loaded fries). Greasy foods can cause more issues like heartburn and pimples, and that’s the last thing that any of us want when we’re battling a pesky hangover.

Why not replenish your body with food it can actually put to good use? Try healthier, complex carbohydrates like wholegrain bread that are a fantastic source of detoxifying B vitamins and fatty acids that help the liver. Brown rice is another great option and is packed with B vitamins and protein. These types of cleaner carbs will fuel your brain and bring those blood sugar levels back up to normal.

An Apple A Day...

Fruits and vegetables might be the last thing you want to eat with a hangover but they’re what your body need! Fruits like apples and bananas will add some much-needed natural sugars back into your body. Apples also contain minerals like magnesium to help speed up your body’s detoxification process. Bananas are rich in potassium which gets depleted the more dehydrated you get. Vegetables like spinach and asparagus can also be beneficial for your hangover recovery. Spinach gives the liver a helping hand by providing folic acid, Vitamin C and sulphur. Asparagus is said to reduce bloating because of their amino acids and antioxidants.

Sweet & Spicy

Honey and ginger are great remedies for hangover symptoms. I like to make tea with both honey and ginger in the morning (or let’s be honest, it’s more like noon) after a day or night out with a few too many glasses of wine. Honey is full of potassium and toxin-battling antioxidants whereas ginger works to aid your digestive system and ease nausea.

Catch Some More Zzz's

This may seem obvious because who doesn't want to be sleeping off their hangover the day after drinking? What I didn’t realize was how helpful going back to sleep actually is. You won't necessarily “catch up” on all the lost sleep, but going back to bed can help restore your circadian rhythm and make it a lot easier for your body to feel normal again.

When In Doubt, Sweat It Out

The first thing I want to do when I wake up with a hangover is get my butt to the gym…said no one ever. There's a reason why this is last on the list! It may not be the first thing you want to do to cure that hangover, but it can definitely be a useful step in your recovery process. Try something calmer like a slow walk or go outside and sit in the sun if it’s warm out. You’ll be sweating out all the toxins in no time + get some fresh air and Vitamin D. Triple win!