28 Dec Five tips to prevent a hangover

Prevention is better than the cure when it comes to dealing with a hangover.
If you plan on enjoying more than a cocktail or two on New Year’s Eve as countless people certainly will, here are five tips to help prevent a hangover:
1. DON’T OVERDO IT – If you drink more than your liver can process, a hangover will result during the process of your liver clearing the toxins from your body. Different tolerances obviously vary, but many experts recommend not to have more than 1 or 2 drinks in an hour, and cut yourself off after 5 in one night.
2. EAT BEFORE GOING OUT – If you have a healthy meal in your stomach, it will help coat it and also absorb some of the alcohol.
3. DON’T MIX IT UP – You’ve probably heard the saying “beer before liquor, never sicker” or is it “liquor before beer, never sicker?” Actually, I think it’s the first one, but the point is that mixing different types of alcoholic drinks increases the likelihood of a hangover.
4. DRINK LOTS OF WATER – When you consume a lot of alcohol, it makes you urinate more and that can bring on dehydration. By mixing in drinking water before, during and after alcohol, it will keep you better hydrated and also dilute the effects.
When alcohol is broken down in the body it also produces lactic acid and other chemicals, which can block the production of glucose and electrolytes. Drinking sports beverages is a great way to add electrolytes, but avoid drinks with caffeine.
5. EAT ASPARAGUS – A recent study claims that eating asparagus can help provide relief for the liver.
Researchers at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) found that asparagus extracts have the ability to help the body speed up its metabolism of alcohol, according to Medical News Today.
The extracts, found in especially high quantity in the plant’s leaves, contains headache and misery relieving amino acids and minerals.
“Cellular toxicities were significantly alleviated in response to treatment with the extracts of asparagus leaves and shoots,” said South Korean researcher B.Y. Kim. “These results provide evidence of how the biological functions of asparagus can help alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells.”
Have a Happy New Year’s Eve and great 2013! Be safe on Dec. 31 and I hope some of these tips help you start off the New Year with a clear head.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com