You CAN beat your New Year hangover blues

THE dull headache, the sour taste in your mouth, the cold sweats and that familiar bitter pang of regret. It’s the morning after the year before, and you’ve got that annual first-day-of-January hangover from hell. Your first new year’s resolution, you decide as you stagger repeatedly between the sofa and the bathroom, is that you will never, ever touch a drop of alcohol again.

But before you go making promises to yourself that you will not realistically keep, it’s time to deal with the here and now. So, how to tackle your banging headache, lurching stomach and the onset of the January blues? Like a cure for hiccups, everyone has an opinion on how to rid yourself of that foggy feeling. From chicken soup to a greasy fry-up, there’s a number of sworn-by home remedies out there, but do any of them actually work? I had a friend who swore by downing a pint of warm, flat Irn-Bru the second she woke up. “Even if you feel like you’re going to vomit, force it down,” she would add gleefully. It worked for her. Without going into graphic detail, it didn’t for me.

Others employ preventative measures, from drinking a pint of water for every glass of alcohol before going to sleep, to employing the mantra, “Beer then wine, I feel fine. Wine then beer, I feel queer.” However, if you’re reading this while clutching your throbbing head, or worse, the pressing your head against the porcelain of the toilet bowl, it’s sadly too late for such sage advice.

How, then, do you purge yourself of this evil curse?

THE HAIR OF THE DOG WILL ONLY BITE YOU AGAIN…

“CHRISTMAS and New Year celebrations are as much about rich food as they can be about alcohol, so your body has to detox from more than just wine or beer,” says Nell Nelson, a nutritionist at Neal’s Yard Remedies in Edinburgh. “The most important thing when you’re hungover is to eat. Don’t think about detoxing too dramatically, though, as it will be a shock to your system. It’s chilly, so forget salads and go for complex carbohydrates such as wholegrains or porridge to increase your blood-sugar levels.”

While some people swear by that old favourite “hair of the dog”, it really isn’t an option either. The effect is, sadly, only temporary as the liver tackles poisons in a certain order, starting with ethanol. Once that has been broken down, it starts on any methanol (a contaminant in some cheap drinks), which releases formic acid into your system and makes you feel even worse. If you start drinking again, the liver will slow its processing of methanol and start on the new threat, making you feel better. But it’s got to tackle all the toxins at some point.

“Forget coffee, sugar and especially more alcohol,” says Nelson. “When you’re hungover, your liver is trying to detoxify, and by drinking more, you’re preventing it from doing its job, and just delaying your hangover. Drinking lots of water, or taking a milk thistle herbal remedy, are both good options. Artichoke tincture is another good soother, as globe artichoke increases the flow of bile and is a liver-restorative herb, helping to lower cholesterol and assist the digestion of fats.”

As we all know, one of the main causes of your hangover is severe dehydration. From the headache to the dry mouth, they’re all symptoms of dehydration, so drink plenty of water all day long. If you’re not averse to drugs, Resolve is a stomach settler that contains paracetamol and some antacid chemicals. And the vitamin supplement Berocca is marketed as a “pick-me-up”, but many swear by it as a powerful hangover remedy.

It’s best to avoid paracetamol-based products if you’ve been on a serious bender, though. Excessive alcohol consumption increases the potential toxicity of paracetamol, which increases your chances of liver damage. Instead, go for ibuprofen-based painkillers. If you’re using aspirin, opt for effervescent tablets, which are easier to digest and will help get some fluid into your body.

DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP

OF COURSE, what can be a little more tricky to shift than a fleeting headache is that black shadow of regret as you try desperately to recall what you said and did last night… and in whose company. Personal coach Julia McVey of Glasgow-based U-Can Coaching Services says: “Regardless of how much you remember of your behaviour from the night before, play back the evening in your head like a movie, but replace negative moments with positive ones, to give your brain a more positive message.”

McVey points out that, whatever you’ve done, berating yourself isn’t going to change the situation and only serves to make you feel bad, which is of no help to anyone. “It’s really not the end of the world, and if you dwell on the negative things, your brain will respond accordingly and you’ll feel down.”

She also suggests doing some exercise, or if you can’t face that, absorbing yourself in a productive activity of some kind to prevent the onset of the hangover blues.

“I know it sounds like a horrible idea when you’re curled up under a blanket, but it’s important to change your physiology and get your energy back, no matter how bad you feel. A brisk walk is great or, if you can face it, some gentle exercise at the gym. If you tell your brain that you’re exhausted, it will respond with the symptoms of exhaustion, so if you really can’t face leaving the house, do some tidying or cooking. You need to go into battle against your brain, and trick it into thinking you’ve got loads of energy.”

COMFORT CURES

IF YOU’RE partial to a full Scottish breakfast after a heavy night, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s some truth in the legend of its restorative properties. The sheer number of calories in this mother of all breakfasts gives your body an energy boost in the way that, say, a pizza or bowl of pasta would, but what makes the fry-up a particularly good hangover option is the inclusion of eggs. They are rich in cysteine, an amino acid which helps counteract the poisonous effects of alcohol.

Some 46 per cent of us rely on a slice of toast to rid ourselves of a hangover, and there might actually be some science behind this one. The key is that the toast must be burnt, as the carbon is thought to absorb any remaining booze, similar to the way people admitted to hospital with severe alcohol poisoning get activated carbon pumped into their stomachs.

Another rather eccentric option is to pinch yourself. There is a nerve junction between the thumb and forefinger on your left hand, an “accupressure point” which some claim can release tension in the head and neck if you pinch it quite hard for 30 seconds every five minutes. And, if all else fails, I’ve got my hangover cure down to an exact science: combine a stack of Johnny Depp DVDs with two boxes of chocolate fingers, one duvet, one sofa, a pair of flannel pyjamas and a generous helping of pillows.

NELL NELSON’S CURES

WAKING up with a hangover, it’s unlikely you will bounce out of bed or roll off the sofa with the words, “I’ll just head for the kitchen and whip up some breakfast”, but eating something is vital to combating a hangover and the excesses of the night before.

Any food is better than nothing, as your blood sugar is low first thing in the morning and your body needs an energy kick. A good choice of food to start 1 January and indeed any morning is a slow release carbohydrate combined with a protein, such a wholegrain toast with boiled or poached eggs, porridge oats or muesli with bio live yoghurt. An easier take-back-to-bed-option is a smoothie made with milk and yoghurt (protein) and a handful of oats (slow-release carbohydrate). Oats are also rich in protein and iron which help combat fatigue. Also add to the smoothie bananas (a source of potassium and quick-release energy) and fresh orange juice (for vitamin C). To banish winter blues, foods with mood-boosting properties are nuts, seeds and oily fish which are high in Omega-3 rich fatty acids, said to block chemicals called cytokines which can cause feelings of depression.

Foods rich in vitamin B help increase the production of the mood-booster serotonin, so load up on oats, wholegrains and leafy vegetables. Vitamin C is a great mood-lifter and antidepressant, so eat up the rest of those satsumas and other citrus fruits. Christmas and New Year are stressful times of the year and stress depletes B vitamins and potassium, which is essential for muscle strength and concentration. Eating a couple of dry figs and a banana a day can boost your potassium intake. Both are also a good source of fibre, which helps the body to get rid of toxins that can contribute to depression and fatigue.

NEW YEAR SMOOTHIE

This is a perfect way to start 1 January – or in fact any morning. (Serves two)

Ingredients

5 tbsp bio live natural yoghurt

2 tbsp oats

1 banana

2 tbsp honey

orange juice

Method

Whiz all the ingredients together in a blender and serve immediately

FEEL-GOOD FLAPJACKS

Combining lots of Omega-rich nuts and seeds with anti-fatigue oats and figs to put a spring in your step.

Ingredients

100g butter

100ml sunflower oil

3 tbsp honey

300g oats

200g dried figs, chopped finely

30g sunflower seeds

30g almonds, chopped finely

3 tbsps fresh orange juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12cm square baking tin. Melt butter and oil together, add the honey and heat until runny, then the mix in the oats. Spoon half into the tray, pat down and bake in oven for 5-10 minutes until just golden brown. Meanwhile, simmer the figs, sunflower seeds and almonds in the orange juice until soft, then spoon onto the cooked oats. Spoon the rest of the oats on top of the fig mixture and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, till golden brown and cut into squares.

Nell Nelson is a nutritionist at Neal’s Yard Remedies, www.nellnelsonnutrition.com