Juice Jam is this weekend, and so are the preparations for the unpleasant aftereffects. Use these five scientifically proven tips to make the coming hangovers a little more bearable.

Start preparing days before the actual festival

If avoiding a hangover is the end goal, starting a few days ahead of the event can be an efficient way to minimize the damages.

“The most important thing to consider is to be very well hydrated before you go,” said Jane Burrell Uzcategui, a nutrition professor at Syracuse University. “That means drinking plenty of fluids in the days up to and during that event.”

Make sure to eat a good meal

Don’t forget about the importance of eating nutrient-rich foods as a preventative action, Uzcategui said.

“Hydration is number one. The next is making sure you’re eating some food,” the professor said. “That can help slow down how quickly your body absorbs the alcohol.”

For example, instead of a person’s body taking 30 minutes to absorb the alcohol, it would take an hour. Food can also buffer the toxic irritation alcohol causes the stomach.

Pace yourself

Planning ahead and allowing the body to absorb alcohol at a slower rate keep the buzz lasting longer and allow body to pace itself, Uzcategui said.

But, students need to consider what they are sipping, said Robert Silver, a biology professor.

“Sometimes you’ll find people have this business with moonshine,” Silver said. “It’s not just ethyl alcohol. You’ve got methyl, you’ve got propyl, you’ve got a lot of different compounds that are in there. And they have their effects, which are additive to just the ethyl alcohol.”

It is important to understand what your body is taking in and whether or not it is safe, he said.

Hydrate, sleep, eat, repeat

Friends, parents or relatives might have their “hangover cure” that helped get them through college, but Uzcategui said it just comes down to a few things.

“If you look at a hangover, it’s really three things: sleep deprivation, swelling of the brain and dehydration,” Uzcategui said.

The morning after can be used to manage those negative side effects. Uzcategui said if people eat food that contains nutrients, they are able to lessen effects, like low blood sugar, the next morning.

Taking acetaminophen, like Tylenol, after drinking, can cause damage to or hurt the liver, according to WebMD. So, either let the headache run its course or find alternative pain relief.

Throw in a healthy green juice

Adding a few carbs to the meal plan isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“You want to get plenty of fluids and some carbohydrates so maybe a little fruit or a breakfast that contains some carbs,” Uzcategui said.

Some think that starting a hangover with another alcoholic drink can solve the hangover’s problem, but it only postpones the symptoms, according to WebMD.

Published on September 6, 2017 at 11:16 pm

Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu