Hangover SOS
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. We know that you know the best way to cure a hangover: Don't get one in the first place. But sometimes the best intentions get sipped away mid-party and your whole world spins faster than a motorcycle tire ... and then the morning after hits, and your head pounds, your stomach churns and you wish you could just hit "undo."
While there's no magic reset button and no randomized studies to prove it, we can tell you that hangover symptoms seem to be diminished by caffeine and water. So drink a lot of water or fluids that have minerals and electrolytes (like energy drinks) to help alleviate the dehydration that comes with drinking too much alcohol. Caffeine also can help subdue headaches because of its effect on constricting your arteries.
And if morning-after misery isn't enough to make you switch to cranberry juice next time, consider this: Just three drinks interfere with your ability to control behavior (yeah, check Facebook) and disorder the contraction of your heart muscle. And in women, two drinks a day can increase the risk of breast cancer by 32 percent.
If you're not feeling low enough, there's more: Hangovers themselves are linked to memory impairment and decreased visual-spatial skills, making you more prone to accidents even the day after a vodkafest.
Aside from keeping your drinking under control next time, decrease your risk of morning-after disasters by slowing your absorption of alcohol. Simply have some foods with healthy fats -- such as walnuts or avocados -- before your bubbly. Beer nuts do have a benefit.
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: On a Diet." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2009 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.
Read more about By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. at ArcaMax.com.
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