The hangover occurs when waking up from a drunken evening. Violent headaches, great fatigue, pasty mouth, dizziness, nausea… Tips to make it pass faster!
[Mise à jour le 1er janvier 2023 à 10h00] Despite your good resolutions, you abused alcohol yesterday evening ? Do too many mixes? Result : headache, pasty mouth, dizzinessgreat fatigue, nausea… In short, you have a hangover! Tips to make it go faster.
Definition: what is a hangover?
A hangover is a popular term describing a series of unpleasant symptoms felt on waking after heavy ingestion of alcohol : violent headaches, pasty mouth, dizziness, great fatigue, nausea and sometimes vomiting. She is due to an overflow of the body’s capacities – and in particular liver – when eliminating alcohol by the organism. “According to scientists, it manifests itself after consuming a dose greater than 1.5 g alcohol/kg“, emphasizes Sophie Hanania, naturopath. A person affected by a hangover also very thirsty and for good reason: the body’s ability to eliminate alcohol has been exceeded due to excessive absorption. Paracetamol, water and… patience are the hangover cures, to which can be added antiemetics against nausea and antispasmodics. It is also appropriate to eat lightly.
What are the symptoms of a hangover?
“The symptoms of a hangover will vary according to each person and the amount of alcohol ingested“, continues the naturopath. The most common are:
- Headache (impression that the hair grows inside the skull)
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomach pain and diarrhea
- Fatigue and significant weakness
- Tremors
- ill be deep
These symptoms would be due to the elimination of alcohol by the liver. “This elimination leads to the synthesis of a substance: acetaldehyde. This would be the cause of these symptoms. It is then transformed into acetate by the liver and then eliminated“.
What is the average duration of a hangover?
The hangover lasts rarely more than a day. If the symptoms persist the next day, it is advisable to consult your doctor.
What are hangover cures?
“Patience and water remain the simplest solutions within everyone’s reach to fight a hangover”, reminds the naturopath. “Obviously the moderate consumption of alcohol or even abstinence remains the best prevention. In the evening, alternate 2 glasses of water (to hydrate yourself well) for 1 glass of alcohol and do not stay on an empty stomach: eat or at least peck”. There are also natural methods to overcome hangovers and “relieve the liver disturbed by excessive alcohol consumption. The one I recommend is aromatology; the use of essential oils“.
► Pepper mint : by dermal route in slow massage on the temples to relieve migraines; at the rate of one drop of essential oil for 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (macadamia).
► Grapefruit : orally; excellent for the digestion/digestive system when there have been excesses: at the rate of 2 drops in a teaspoon of oil, or honey or on a neutral tablet 3 times a day for 5 to 7 days.
► Lemon : by cutaneous way in massage on the belly on the level of the liver: a fast massage followed by a hot water bottle during 20 minutes. Please note that lemon essential oil is photosensitizing therefore no use before exposure to the sun, so prefer this use in the evening. “Lemon essential oil benefits from hepatoprotective, decongestant and depurative properties, useful in the event of a hangover“, adds a pharmacist from the Lafayette network.
On the other hand, avoid aspirin at all costs (it increases the concentration of alcohol in the blood). “As for paracetamol, be careful if your liver is already very tired, continues the pharmacist: this is transformed by the liver to then act in the body and could trigger drug-induced hepatitis in the case of a liver that is already very overloaded and overworked. My advice : prefer ibuprofen if your headache does not pass or, if you are allergic, then paracetamol is indicated without exceeding the recommended doses“. Do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist for advice.
What to eat when you have a hangover?
“Food is a pillar for health, pay particular attention to what you are going to eat when your body is weakened, recommends the specialist. Eat light during the day, ideally cooked fruits and vegetablesavoiding animal proteins as much as possible for 24 to 48 hours“. The naturopath advises: “Start the day with ½ squeezed lemon juice in a glass of lukewarm water and eat raw vegetables, taking care to chew well, grated carrots with lemon juice for example. Also consume cooked fruit with cinnamon : an applesauce. Apples and carrots represent a winning combo to pamper our intestines damaged by our excesses… If you have a juice extractor, you can also prepare a juice based on fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables with, for example: 2 carrots, ½ lemon , 1 fennel, 1 cucumber, 2 apples and a piece of ginger. Vegetable juices in general are rich in mineral salts and therefore highly recommended to help the body fight. In the evening, consume a vegetables soup made from vegetable peelings, carrots, zucchini, with leeks and onions, some herbs such as, for example, 1 bay leaf, a bouquet garni, a clove “.
Avoid as much as possible:
- saltbecause salt consumption increases dehydration;
- fats and sugarsto relieve the liver which already has a lot to do with purification
What to drink if you have a hangover?
“Prepare yourself a very yellow thyme infusion (well infused) and drink it throughout the day, concludes Sophie Hanania. And drink water regularly (1.5 liters minimum during the day)”.
Thank you to the Pharmacies Lafayette network and to Sophie Hanania, naturopath in Marseille and member of the Médoucine network, and creator of the “Gourmet Capsules”.