The holidays are here again. By now, you must have been bracing yourself for endless parties and festivities. For every Christmas party you attend, it’s hard to avoid reaching for more of that glass of champagne, though you know it could possibly lead to the dreaded hangover the following day. A party is not one without those enticing drinks.
When you do have a hangover, there are foods in your kitchen that you can easily reach to give yourself a bit more life. Better yet, before going to any party, stack these foods in your fridge for an easy reach when you do need them.
This is also the best strategy to avoid stuffing your body with anything that can only make your symptoms worse. These easily digestible foods would be your savior this coming holiday seasons.
Banana
When you drink heavily, your body is depleted of potassium, which could lead to nausea, weakness, and tiredness. The easy to digest banana contains potassium and magnesium, the two minerals you’ve lost after you drink.
The antacids in bananas also help in getting rid of the acidity in your stomach. Bananas are also great at boosting your energy levels for another busy day ahead.
Coconut water
It would be tempting to grab a sports drink and hydrate yourself when suffering from a hangover, but this is a big no-no. Sports drinks are loaded with refined sugars and are often carbonated, which could only irritate your stomach more.
The best alternative is sipping on coconut water. This refreshing liquid contains essential electrolytes that boost hydration and soothe your stomach. You can also get the added benefits of calcium, potassium, and magnesium in coconut water.
Dates
Like bananas, dates are rich in potassium and sugar, which make it a friendly food for a hangover. Dates are the best alternative when bananas aren’t available.
Watermelon
Symptoms of a hangover include feeling weak and shaky, which are caused by low blood sugar levels. Snacking on watermelon is best because of its high fructose contents.
Because it’s rich in water, watermelon also helps boost hydration and provide you with other essential nutrients like vitamins B and C, and magnesium.
Eggs
Give yourself the best hangover breakfast with eggs on your plate. Eggs are one of the most popular hangover foods because of the cysteine they contain. Cysteine is an amino acid that helps fight the toxins induced by alcohol consumption. Eggs are also rich in protein that boosts your serotonin levels and helps reduce nausea.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is another great hangover breakfast food. It contains the essential minerals and vitamins that can replenish your body after a heavy drinking session. Oatmeal has vitamin B, magnesium, calcium, and iron and can help neutralize your stomach’s acidity, cleanse your liver, absorb toxins, and normalize your blood sugar levels. Because it’s easy to digest, it can soothe your upset stomach.
Ginger
A hangover gives you an irritated stomach and makes you feel nauseated. The food that can best handle these symptoms is ginger because it contains chemicals that reduce nausea and inflammations.
Since eating fresh ginger might seem hard, the best way to take it is adding grated ginger in a hot water for a ginger tea or adding it to a smoothie or vegetable juice.
Soup
Soup is the best alternative to a queasy stomach that’s brought about by a hangover. A nutrient-packed vegetable or miso soup can help rehydrate your body.
Water
Drinking loads of water after a heavy alcohol consumption is the surest way to stay hydrated. Alcohol is a diuretic that is likely to dehydrate you.
Sardines
Sardines on toast is another good hangover breakfast. Sardines is full of essential minerals such as sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids, which helps protects your liver. Your body needs all these nutrients after losing them with alcohol consumption.
Fruit juice
A glass of fruit juice contains most of the nutrients your body lost in your drinking session. It also contains fructose that helps increase your blood sugar levels and get rid of the toxins from your body while hydrating it.
Pedialyte
Yes, you read it right. This children’s drink is a good hangover drink because of its sugar contents that help improve your blood sugar levels.
Honey
Honey is a good source of fructose too that not only balances your blood sugar levels but quickly washes the alcohol from your system. Honey is easy to consume. Just add a tablespoon to a glass of smoothie or spread it on top of your toast.
Nuts
Nuts are rich in magnesium and snacking on them is good to treat your hangover. They also work best as an added ingredient to a smoothie. Opt for almond, which contains a higher dose of magnesium.
Avocado
AvocadoAvocado is not only rich in fiber, which is good for your upset stomach, but also in potassium, which can help improve your low potassium levels and dehydration. What’s more, avocado is also packed with compounds that can protect your liver from an injury that may result from your heavy alcohol intake.
Blueberries
We may be saying this over and over again, but your body does suffer from the loss of nutrients right after heavy alcohol drinking. Blueberries can compensate for this loss. The pterostilbene compound in blueberries helps improve your compromised immune system while giving you that much-needed energy.
Asparagus
If you’re looking for a mineral and amino acid packed veggie to eliminate your hangover symptoms and protect your liver cells from harmful toxins, reach out for a plate of steamed asparagus. This veggie is a natural diuretic that works great in flushing the excess toxins from your body.
Lemon Water
The lost nutrients and the presence of toxins are what give you those worst hangover symptoms. While eating vitamin and mineral-rich food improves your bodily function, flushing those toxins out of your body should be given due consideration too.
Citrus fruits contain antioxidants that stimulate liver enzymes and help flush those toxins out. Get a full body detox by pairing citrus with other toxin-eliminating foods.
