As the summer party season continues, it can be useful to have a few old-fashioned hangover cures on hand.
Here are three favourites:
1 Stir 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp baking soda into half a glass of water, then drink.
2 Eat a couple of pieces of toast loaded with Vegemite or Marmite for a dose of vitamin B.
3 Drink a glass of fizzy lemonade. New research shows this soft drink helps to break down alcohol more effectively in the system than others.
How to cure a hangover, according to science:
Researchers believe they may have come up with a way to blitz that banging headache once and for all – and there’s not a Bloody Mary in sight.
According to two new animal studies, which were conducted by the University of Louisville and the University of Houston, the brains of rats and mice they gave alcohol to were “substantially different” after exercising – compared to those of rodents who didn’t.
This has led them to believe that light exercise – such as jogging or a brisk walk – could substantially improve the negative effects of alcohol consumption.
Studies on animals suggest that drinking alcohol reduces the number of neurons in the hippocampus – the brain’s memory centre. It also weakens mitochondria – the brain of cells – in the same area.
And because mitochondria help produce energy for cells, their impairment and weakening can damage or kill off brain cells entirely.
But exercise – it turns out – can help stave off some of the detrimental affects of drinking.
Exercising after heavy drinking is not a way to cancel out the damage done, experts warn, but it is a way to help the brain recover from a night out.
