The 4 best foods to eat to get over a hangover — and 4 to avoid
Happy eww year!
New Year’s Eve is one of the booziest holidays — it’s common to usher in a hangover along with the new year. You’ll typically feel the worst of it — the headaches, muscle aches, nausea and anxiety — the morning after heavy drinking when your blood alcohol concentration is near zero.
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means your body produces more urine than normal, making it easy to get dehydrated. The loss of fluids and essential minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium can significantly worsen hangover symptoms.
“Start drinking water early — a glass of water between drinks,” Stephanie Schiff, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Northwell Huntington Hospital, told The Post. “Later on, replenish lost fluids with coconut water (contains potassium) or an electrolyte drink that contains sodium, potassium and magnesium.”
What you eat is important, too. While no food will magically cure your hangover, Schiff suggests four that may be worth a shot and four to avoid like the plague.
Bananas
Bananas can help restore depleted potassium, which is key for your body to function properly.
The yellow fruit also boasts dietary fiber that aids digestion, natural sugars for quick energy and B vitamins for healthy brain and nerve cell function.
“A healthy diet with fruits and vegetables and low-fat proteins will help to maintain and or replete any water-soluble vitamins, like B vitamins, and minerals that you may have urinated out due to the diuretic effect of alcohol,” Dr. Brenna Farmer, chief of emergency medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, told The Post.
Avocados
Like bananas, avocados are easy to digest and pack a potassium punch, Schiff said.
A whole avocado contains nearly 15% of the daily value of potassium.
Avocados can stabilize blood sugar levels to decrease headaches and help you feel full, which may relieve nausea.
Ginger
Ginger tames nausea by helping to move food more quickly through the stomach.
Schiff said ginger can be consumed freshly grated, dried or in tea.
White toast
Eating bland foods can help with nausea — and the simple carbohydrates in toast can boost low blood sugar.
White toast is particularly easy to digest, Schiff said.
Four to ignore if you are hungover
Fried or greasy foods can irritate your stomach.
Spicy foods can slow digestion and increase the risk of heartburn.
Coffee can jolt you awake, but like alcohol, caffeine acts as a diuretic and can further dehydrate you. The acidity may also bother your stomach.
The hair of the dog is a myth — more alcohol is not recommended to cure a hangover. Instead, it can tax an already struggling liver.
