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العربيةHow can honey help my hangover?
Hangover
A hangover is your body’s reaction to toxicity. When alcohol breaks down in your liver it produces acetaldehyde. This byproduct of alcohol metabolism is more toxic than alcohol itself. Fortunately, its effects on the body are short lived—that is if you only have a few drinks every now and then. Excessive alcohol consumption over a long period of time produces enough acetaldehyde to cause serious liver damage, so drink wisely. Women tend to have longer-lasting hangovers than men as they produce less of the enzyme that breaks down the alcohol. (So ladies, don’t try to match your man drink for drink. He’ll be eating lunch while you’re still hiding in the bathroom.)
Other contributors to the dreaded hangover include lack of deep sleep caused by glutamine rebound. Because it’s a depressant, alcohol inhibits the natural stimulant glutamine, causing the body to increase production of glutamine and causing the brain to remain active even after you have already passed out—hence the fatigue you feel the following day. As for the vomiting, that’s your body’s way of telling you that your stomach is producing too much hydrochloric acid and it’s time to rid the body of some of that alcohol gunking up the works.
How can honey help my hangover?
Because of its antioxidant properties, honey neutralizes the toxins created by consuming alcohol. Dr. John Emsley, UK Popular Science writer and chemistry academic, claims the natural fructose in honey helps the body rapidly metabolize alcohol. According to Dr. Emsley, “the fructose in honey is an essential compound that helps the body break down alcohol into harmless by-products.” The body uses the fructose found in honey to convert the acetaldehyde made during alcohol metabolism into acetic acid, a substance that is “burned up naturally by the body.”
According to a statement made to Reuters Health by the headache expert Dr. Merle Diamond, president and managing director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, eating honey could help you avoid the hangover headache altogether: “Honey on a cracker or piece of toast, before or after drinking, may prevent a hangover. Honey, as opposed to some other sugar stores, has fructose, which competes for the metabolism of alcohol. This competition prevents the rapid change in alcohol levels that causes the ‘bang’ headache in the morning. Tomato juice, another good source of fructose, also helps to burn alcohol faster, but honey works best.”
Nibbling Toast With Honey
This is a traditional method used to treat hangovers, but evidence suggests that any high-carb, high-sugar snack might give you only a temporary boost. “Excessive alcohol consumption can negatively affect the metabolism of glucose, so having a snack like this that is high in carbs and sugars (the fructose in the honey) can help elevate blood sugar and provide some immediate energy,” said McCall.
Honey is one of those miracle foods that has so many applications, and hangover help is one of them! The fructose in the sweet stuff helps your body metabolize the alcohol more and it also contains potassium, just like bananas. If you’re in a bad way, you can take two to six teaspoons of it every 20 minutes or until you feel better or you can combine its healing powers with bananas by using the recipe we linked to above for a double dose of feel-better.