The day after . . .

I’ve done it, you’ve probably done it . . . drank yourself silly with utter disregard to the consequences.  No, I’m not talking about the out-and-out foolishness you subject your fellow partiers too . . . flashing, cursing and unreserved obnoxiousness.  Not that *I* would flash anyone . . . I’m innocent . . . I swear!  Heh . . . I just swore and I’m not even drunk!  And, I don’t need to drink to be obnoxious . . . it just comes naturally to me . . . but drinking sure does enhance my natural attributes . . . oy!

 

The consequences of which I speak are the day after penalty for poisoning your body with alcohol.    Booze can wreak havoc on your system.  Abstinence is the only prevention (yeah, right, like that’s gonna happen) but moderation is the next best alternative.

Non filtered beer contains a large vitamin b complex, which is important to protect your from brain pickling

If, like yours truly, you’ve found yourself in the grips of a hangover  . . . you know  what it feels like  . . .  someone let loose a jackhammer in your head. . . you’re parched but in too much pain to move . . . you move and you feel like you’re going to blow chunks . . . the world is off its axis and spinning wildly out of control . . . yep, you’ve done it . . . it’s a hangover and it’s really REALLY unpleasant, to say the least.

Carbonation speeds up the absorption of alcohol . . . whether it be beer, rum &  coke or gin and tonic . . . giving the body even less time than usual to process the toxins

Besides over indulgence, there are a number of factors that cause hangovers.  Not all booze is created equal . . . purity counts.    As a rule of thumb the clearer the alcohol the less toxins . . .  the darker the alcohol the more congeners it contains.  Congeners are toxic chemicals that are formed during the fermentation process. 

• Vodka has less congeners than gin
• Most scotch whiskey has about four times more congeners than gin 
• Brandy, rum and single-malt scotch have about six times more than gin
• Bourbon has eight times the amount of congeners as gin and 30 times as much as vodka
• Red wine has more congeners than white wine does.

  

You may like your red wines (OMG THE DEVIL!) and your aged whiskey, but things like oak barrel aging add impurities that will kick your butt later.  Yuppers, it’s those things that add depth, character, complexity and flavor are what cause your head to pound in the morning.    Although, as wine ages the impurities neutralize . . . so, older wine, fewer headaches . . .  either pay more for the wine up front or pay later.

Beer before liquor, never sicker -  Liquor before beer, in the clear. . . uhm, don’t you believe it!   Mixing different types of alcohol makes it more difficult for your body to process congeners, because it your body has to identify and neutralize more varieties of congeners. 

  

There is no cure for a hangover . . . you play you pay . . . but there some things you can do to help with your symptoms

"A hair of the dog that bit you" . . . works but doesn’t.  Having a drink helps to ease the symptoms, but you are merely putting off the side effects temporarily.

 . . . drink lots of water to rehydrate your system.  Alcohol dehydrates you.  Its ironic that the more you drink (alcohol) the more dehydrated you get.  Drinking plenty of water before you go to bed and again when you get up the morning will help . . . some.

  . . . drink beverages high in frutctose; like orange and tomato juice.  The fructose in the juice will help accelerate removal of the alcohol still in your system the morning after. 

. . . take an aspirin or ibuprofen but NOT acetominophen (Tylenol).   Acetominophen in combination with alcohol does HORRENDOUS liver damage. Alcohol alone damages the liver; and acetominophen (Tylenol) does a little damage to the liver; but if you mix the two, the damage you incur is EXPONENTIAL. You can literally wreck your liver in a very short time if you mix Tylenol with alcohol.

 . . . drink coffee?   Coffee acts as a vasoconstrictor which reduces the swelling of blood vessels that causes headaches however on the flip-side coffee is also a diuretic which will further dehydrate you . . . it helps but it doesn’t.

 . . . Eat a light, balanced meal to replace nutrients; but no fats or fried foods. Toast, cereal, fruit and yogurt  . . . things that is easy to digest.

When I was much MUCH younger, I drank so much on New Year's Eve that I was sick as a dog for two full days . . . video evidence had to be destroyed and memories erased.  My philosophy on drinking is this . . . if I don’t remember it then it didn’t happen.  It DID NOT happen, I say. 

BTW . . . Scattergories is NOT a drinking game . . . just sayin'.