7 Things People Believe About Hangovers That Actually Aren’t True
Hair of the dog, a bedtime aspirin, and more hangover cures that science says aren’t a thing.
byJR Thorpe
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Hangovers are the bane of every drinker's life. You have a few beveraginos with friends, and wake up feeling like you knocked back a Hydroflask of sawdust. Folk remedies for hangovers reach back thousands of years; the ancient Romans recommended swallowing some burned swallow beak to alleviate the morning-after blues. While that's decidedly out of fashion these days, many myths and old wives' tales about hangovers are still around, making your Saturday morning wake-up even more awful.
Tried and true advice about hangovers — like hydrating — aren't up for debate. One good way to heal your hangover in the morning is stocking your fridge, Dr. Jaclyn Tolentino, D.O., a family physician at Parsley Health, tells Bustle. "Your first meal should be something liver-supportive, gentle, and anti-inflammatory, like avocado toast, a banana, a high-quality broth, or eggs," she says. Eggs contain cysteine, a compound that may help break down the acetaldehyde that builds up in the body while drinking.
Other ideas about hangover "cures" are a lot less reliable, though. You can't actually take preventative aspirin, drink half of Niagara Falls, or down a Bloody Mary as soon as you wake up to banish symptoms. As a hangover happens, your body processes your alcohol intake, recovers from dehydration, deals with inflammation, and generally makes your life as miserable as it can. There aren't any hard-and-fast proven shortcuts to a hangover, even if your drinking buddies insist a morning mimosa makes it all better. Here are seven myths about hangovers, and the reality behind them.
Experts:
Dr. Scott Braunstein, M.D.
Dr. Michael Richardson, M.D.
Dr. Jaclyn Tolentino, D.O.
Studies cited:
Verster, J.C., Bervoets, A.C., De Klerk, S. & Kruisselbrink, L.D. (01.09.2015). Alcohol hangover amongst Canadian university students: Can hangover immunity be really claimed?. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25, (pp. 603) (1 p.).