Lifestyle

My Top 5 Tips for Avoiding a Hangover

September 9, 2021

I’m approaching 30 this year, and let me tell you, my hangovers are not what they were when I was 21. And there is NOTHING worse than feeling like you’ve lost your day to the night before.

So I take hangover prevention pretty seriously these days – here are my top strategies & supplements to help avoid the dreaded hangover.

My Top 5 Tips for Avoiding a Hangover:

[1] Drink Quality Alcohol & Moderate Consumption

What you drink, and how much you drink, is one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not you’ll wake with a hangover.

At the end of the day, if you drink too much, you’re going to be hungover, end of story. Moderating consumption, including both how many drinks you have in an hour time span, and how many drinks you have total are key in avoiding a hangover the next day.

Another super important factor is WHAT you drink. I think we’ve all experienced the difference in how we feel the next day when we’re drinking cheap alcohol vs top shelf.

And I don’t know about you, but historically wine has been one of the WORST hangover offenders for me (especially rosé). That is, unless I’m drinking a sugar-free, additive-free wine like Usual Wines.

When I first started learning more about the wine industry a couple years ago, I was SHOCKED at what can be added to wine, without any disclosure on the label.

Winemakers can legally add 70+ additives to wine to help improve taste, consistency, even color and sugar content. Winemakers don’t have to disclose most of these on the label, except for a few specific chemicals.

You can check out the official list of accepted wine additives here – they range from added sugar, added yeast, added color from juice, added sulfites, even egg whites. Not all of these are bad, but they’re definitely not all good. Especially when it comes to avoiding a hangover, the fewer additives the better.

When I’m drinking Usual Wines Rosé, I never wake up with the dreaded ‘wine headache’ the next day. I also love that the single serve bottle helps naturally moderate how much I drink – when opening a full bottle of wine, it’s so much easier to fall into the ‘one more glass’ trap.

Another hot tip, if you’re drinking hard liquor, always go for the clear stuff over a dark liquor. Dark liquors contain more congeners, which are known to produce worse hangovers.

[2] Don’t Drink on Empty Stomach

This is a common adage for a reason – unlike macro & micronutrients which have to be broken down in the small intestine to be absorbed into the bloodstream, alcohol can be directly absorbed via the stomach. This means what you have in your stomach when you start drinking MATTERS. With an empty stomach, there is no food there to slow down the absorption of the alcohol, meaning it will hit your system that much faster.

I always recommend a high-protein meal before drinking as the protein slows gastric emptying, which also slows alcohol absorption. Protein also keeps you full, and helps keep your blood sugar stable, which can be thrown out of whack with alcohol, especially sugary cocktails.

[3] Avoid Sugary Drinks!

You guys probably know by now I am a huge advocate of limiting your sugar consumption ALWAYS for your overall health, and it also makes a huge difference when it comes to a hangover!

When the body metabolizes alcohol, it produces Acetaldehyde – this is the toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism that is responsible for much of the ‘hangover’ symptoms. The metabolism of alcohol takes place primarily in the liver. When we consume sugar along with alcohol, our liver has to do overtime, metabolizing both the sugar & the alcohol.

I know personally, I notice a MASSIVE difference in how I feel the next day when I successfully avoid sugar while drinking. This is another reason I LOVE Usual Wines – their wines have 0g (!!) of sugar per bottle. Even their Rosé is sugar free!

While sugar is essential to the fermentation process (fermenting sugar in grapes is how wine is made), residual sugar isn’t. Residual sugar is the sugar leftover after the fermentation process is complete. Many winemakers stop the fermentation process early in order to intentionally keep the residual sugar for a sweeter wine. Usual Wines let’s the fermentation process complete with minimal inventions, resulting in a naturally sugar-free wine.

(image via Unsplash)

[4] Hydrate & Incorporate Electrolytes

A lot of what we feel when we’re hungover is the result of dehydration. Hydration before, during & after drinking is absolutely key!

Aside from the classic rule of thumb – 1 glass of water (at least) per each drink – adding electrolytes into the mix makes a HUGE difference for hangovers.

Electrolytes are key for ensuring proper hydration by making sure all that water you’re guzzling actually ends up in your cells. My favorite brand is LMNT (tastes like gatorade but totally sugar free) which has sodium, potassium & magnesium. You can also add mineral drops to your water.

(image via Unsplash)

[5] Supplement to Support the Liver

Since alcohol is most taxing on the liver, giving your liver some extra love with supplements goes a long way in preventing a hangover the next day. The liver has 2 distinction detox processes, called Phase 1 & Phase 2 detox, and each phase requires specific micronutrients to function optimally. *Disclaimer: Always check with your doctor before adding supplements to your routine

DHM – DMH (dihydromyricetin) is a compound that’s getting a ton of attention recently as a ‘hangover cure’. DHM is derived from the Japanese raisin tree, and helps the body metabolize alcohol more quickly by producing more of the enzymes needed to break it down in the liver. It has also been found to be protective of the liver, and reduce the body’s inflammatory response to alcohol. I take DHM before bed if I have more than 2 drinks.

NAC – Glutathione is the body’s main antioxidant, and plays a major role in liver detox. NAC is the precursor to Glutathione, meaning it helps the body create more Glutathione on its own. I take this NAC daily, but add an extra dose before drinking.

B Vitamins – B Vitamins are major players in both Phase 1 & Phase 2 liver detox, so I always replenish these when drinking. And since they are water soluble, the body can easily excrete any excess. I take this methylated B Complex daily, and add another dose before bed when drinking.

Vitamin C – Another antioxidant powerhouse that plays a role in Phase 2 liver detox. Vitamin C is an easy one to add to your routine when drinking. I love these liposomal Vitamin C packets, or these time-release formulas for convenience.

The Next Morning

If you do still wake up not feeling a couple of my favorite hacks are:

More Electrolytes – Drinking a LMNT in the morning ALWAYS helps.
Bone Broth – Another way to get your electrolytes in & settle your stomach with some gut soothing bone broth.
Ginger – My favorite all-natural nausea relief – I love ginger tea or ginger capsules.
CBD – For the hangover anxiety, I love adding a dropper or 2 of CBD to my routine.
Sweat & fresh air – getting outside & moving my body always help me feel better

Remember, the best hangover cure is preventing one in the first place. If you’re looking for a delicious, sugar-free wine that WON’T give you a headache, I highly recommend Usual Wines!