So you went out hoping to have a wild night of drunken fun with your friends. And you totally did. And then you woke up the next morning. And felt like you were going to die. Yep, we’ve all been there: the lovely hangover.

Nausea, headache, stomachache, you name it. Your day is wasted because you just don’t want to can’t move. Without wanting to vomit. Sitting in your bed all day just seems like the best option. Well, that and eating a big, delicious stack of pancakes. And a bagel. And some pizza you found on your floor.

But what if you have to be somewhere? What are you supposed to do about it? Let’s settle this debate between what really cures a hangover, and what is just making you fat. Read More »

A formula: Margarita + gin and tonic + pint of Yuengling + margarita + Jag Bomb + Jag Bomb + Jag Bomb + pitcher of Yuengling – a good meal – water – sleep – good sense = hangover and/or wish for swift death. Uggghhh.

Unless you have superhuman powers of self-control, or, I don’t know, care about your health or some other sort of crap like that; chances are, you’ve probably found yourself victim to the above equation at some point in your life. But, alas, in the morning you have things to do that require you to perform such difficult tasks as moving and acting like a human being. How to deal?

According to a recent article written by Joan Acocella for The New Yorker, hangovers peak when the last of the alcohol that has been ingested has finally been eliminated from the body and your blood alcohol level returns to zero, leaving you experiencing such bodily issues as thirst, lethargy, light-headedness, muscle weakness, nausea, and general aches and pains. These maladies can also be accompanied by slow reaction times, an inability to focus, and feelings of depression, sadness, regret, shame, and anxiety.

Woo hoo, I’ll drink to that!

But, as we all know, hangovers are tricky things. On a few occasions I’ve had no more than a few glasses of wine and woken up feeling like a pile of garbage; other days, I can take part in something similar to said Equation and leap out of my bed in the morning, ready and raring to go. According to Acocella, how your body processes alcohol can be affected in many ways. For instance, food and water consumption in the hours before drinking can, of course, ease the severity of the effects of alcohol on your body. Also, darker booze can pack more of a hangover punch, as the darker color is an indication of high levels of cogeners, an impurity leftover from the brewing process. Read More »