10 Ways to Treat a Hangover

By Kristen Steagall |
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1. Menudo: A spicy Mexican soup often times made from tripe (cow stomach), Menudo (not to be confused with Menudo, which may make your hangover worse) is supposed to cure even your deadliest hangovers. It is said to stimulate the senses, rejuvenate the insides, and clear the head. Most alcohol scholars, however, claim that the combination of spices in the soup simply distract your mind and body from the hangover.

2. Prickly Pear: If you're hungover in the desert and can't find water, the extract from the prickly pear cactus might just do the trick. It won't curb the headache but it will alleviate nausea, dry mouth and loss of appetite. Extracting the goods yourself may be difficult, but prickly pear can be found in many dietary supplements.

3. Pickle Juice: Could this Eastern European and Russian staple be the perfect hangover cure? Swilling the juice will replenish the electrolytes your body lost the night before and also wake you up a bit. Professional athletes drank it before Gatorade was invented.

4. Go for a jog: Get moving! Doing a little exercise can help flush out toxins, get you to drink more fluids, and distract you from the pounding headache you probably have. Motivation can often be hard to come by the morning after a night of heavy drinking so many suggest finding a workout buddy the night before.

5. Hair of the Dog: Also known as drinking more, the expression is a shortened form of the colloquial English phrase "hair of the dog that bit you." Many people claim a shot in the morning keeps a hangover at bay - I think it just puts off the inevitable. If this sounds like your cup of tea(quila), however, Thomas Abercrombie suggests putting two Alka-Seltzers in a shot of tequila to really nip it in the bud.

6. Quaff: According to soyouwanna.com, the perfect hangover cure is theirs "“ a drink called Quaff. They claim that after it cures your hangover "it might just clear out your nasal passages, shrink your hemorrhoids, and leap out of your body and write your History term paper." The cure includes taking two aspirin, 200mg cysteine, 600mg Vitamin C, and 1 tablet of vitamin B complex and then washing it all down with a milkshake consisting of a banana, V-8, strawberries, honey, OJ, milk, salt, and nutmeg.

7. Hypnosis: A hangover cure can now be downloaded to your desktop! Hypnosisdownloads.com has a 20-minute hypnosis session that will ease your headache and repair the damage done to your body. The session includes the soothing sound of angels and "a mountain stream splashing refreshingly through your mind" that is guaranteed to work.

8. B12: A deficiency of B12 is thought to be one of the causes of a hangover. It can be found in vitamins, meat, eggs, dairy products, or vegetables fortified with B12 (for all you vegans and vegetarians out there like me).

9. A Grand Slam: It seems like everyone has a food item they love when they are hungover. I have friends who swear by a Coca-Cola and a French baguette and others by cold pizza, but the majority of my friends adore Denny's. The 1,000 calories worth of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and butter that comes with a Grand Slam seems to hit the spot. And it's certainly an improvement over the fried canaries that the ancient Romans used to eat to cure their drink-induced ailments.

10. RU-21: Developed in Russia for the purpose of keeping KGB agents sober while their contacts got drunk and divulged state secrets, RU-21 actually ended up being the perfect hangover cure. It entered the US market in 1999 as Cold War relations warmed and has been a staple of the all-night party scene ever since. This is best taken before or while drinking to prevent the morning hangover.