Congeners are found in larger amounts in dark liquors, such as brandy and bourbon, than in clear liquors, such as vodka and gin. Congeners are more likely to produce a hangover or increase the severity of a hangover. But drinking too much alcohol of any color can still make you feel bad the next morning.
Dark drinks, like red wine and bourbon, have more congeners than light ones and there are several studies to show that for a given level of blood alcohol, dark drinks produce worse hangovers.
“Vodka is known to be the best alcoholic beverage for the most minimal hangover. Gin, light rum and white wine are runner-ups—with brandy and whiskey being at the bottom of the list.
Bourbon whiskey is exceptionally high in congeners. On the other hand, colorless drinks — like vodka, gin, and rum — have low levels of congeners. You can significantly reduce the severity of hangovers by drinking low-congener beverages, such as vodka, gin, or rum.
But a study by the British Medical Journal found that vodka is actually the least likely drink to give you a hangover: it's so pure that it contains virtually no congeners. Mixing vodka with soda or fruit juice is ideal, as sugary soft drinks can contribute to a headache the morning after the night before. But go easy.
Want to gain an edge over plain old water to treat your hangover? Consider reaching for Gatorade, Pedialyte, Powerade, or a similar nonfizzy sports drink. These drinks are packed with certain minerals called electrolytes — such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium — which help regulate fluid levels in the body.
"When you're hungover, you need to hydrate your body. The way you feel – that headache – it's mostly caused by dehydration. Something like Coca-Cola has lots of sugar and fluids and will put those back into your body to get your energy levels up. The caffeine will also give you an energy boost."
Unfortunately eating greasy food to cure a hangover is a myth, you should actually eat healthy food because the nutrition will help offset the negative effects of alcohol.
“On top of this, a study has shown that even though alcohol tends to be calorie heavy, it also causes a phenomenon that causes your brain to feel like it needs more food. “For the alcohol-influenced mind, junk food provides the perfect solution: salty, stodgy food to make us feel full.”
Replace lost salts
Water will help, but isotonic drinks like Lucozade Sport and Powerade go another step. These can work wonders on hangovers, as they're designed to replace sugars and salts quickly.
Some people have genetic variants of the enzymes that make this breakdown faster or slower. What's known from studying those slow to break down acetaldehyde is how unpleasant it makes people feel — flushed, nauseated, rapid heartbeat — and hangover symptoms may come from the acetaldehyde hanging around in their bodies.
Dark liquors cause worse hangovers than clear liquors.
Dark liquors contain congeners, byproducts of alcohol production found primarily in brandy, red wine, and tequila. Congeners make hangovers more severe and long-lasting. Clear liquors like silver rum, vodka, and gin contain fewer congeners.
(It also found that liquors were more likely to cause hangovers than beer or wine, likely because liquor has higher alcohol concentrations.) Cheaper drinks are more likely to have more congeners, too.
If you drink up to 5 to 6 shots of vodka glasses, you will start feeling drunk. This is your maximum limit. However, if you drank another, you will be completely drunk, and you will surely have a hangover.
Bananas. Packing in 4 grams of fiber per large fruit, bananas are an excellent, portable snack to have on hand before drinking to help slow alcohol absorption into your bloodstream ( 10 ). Plus, they're high in potassium, which may prevent electrolyte imbalances associated with drinking alcohol ( 10 ).
Alcohol detection tests can measure alcohol in the blood for up to 6 hours, on the breath for 12 to 24 hours, urine for 12 to 24 hours (72 or more hours with more advanced detection methods), saliva for 12 to 24 hours, and hair for up to 90 days. The half-life of alcohol is between 4-5 hours.
Forget the coffee or that whole hair-of-the-dog nonsense. Chinese scientists studied 57 drinks—ranging from herbal teas to sodas—and found the best way to ease hangover symptoms may be Sprite.
As mentioned above the electrolyte absorption is very important, specifically sodium because you lose a lot of sodium through sweating. Water contains 6mg of sodium per litre. Most Lucozade types do not contain enough sodium to make them conducive to recovery.
Time is the only sure cure for a hangover. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to help yourself feel better: Fill your water bottle. Sip water or fruit juice to prevent dehydration.
Alcohol lowers your blood sugar and makes you particularly hungry. That's why hungover people crave fat, sugar and carbs (those two are related, of course): they're the most efficient ways to take on calories.
Brushing your teeth with toothpaste can help reduce the smell of alcohol. At the same time, just like with mouthwash, it disturbs all the bad bacteria and flushes it out.