The Best Natural Hangover Remedy (Backed by Science): Plus 5 Ways to Naturally Prevent a Hangover
Author: Millennia TEA’s Official Science Steeper, Allison Tannis MsC RHN
Tis’ the holiday season of festivities, (including the 2 biggest of the year, Christmas & New Year’s Eve), which may mean you’ll be looking for the best natural hangover remedies. If your holiday plans might include a few alcoholic beverages, you will want to know what can keep you feeling your best, according to research. Plus, 5 ways to naturally prevent a hangover, backed by science.
Can You Prevent a Hangover, Naturally?
Cheers! It is possible to prevent a hangover, naturally. Of course, moderation is always the best choice as drinking is an added stress to the cells in the liver. After a few drinks, your liver produces things that stimulate inflammation and collagen fiber formation. It’s a process known to science geeks as liver fibrosis. This can cause the liver to become less healthy. A healthy liver is able to balance the production and breakdown of these fibers. But, if you drink alcohol, the liver could use some help. Studies have shown that polyphenols (healthy plant compounds) found in tea plant leaves have the ability to prevent this fibrous formation in a stressed liver, similar to how it stops the skin and arteries from becoming stiff. Perhaps adding in some fresh tea leaves into your holiday plans could help you prevent a hangover, naturally.
Here are a handful of ways you can prevent a hangover, naturally…
5 Tips to Prevent a Hangover, Naturally
- Drink water before, during, and after your celebrations
- Avoid mixing your alcohol with juice or energy drinks
- Enjoy a green smoothie with fresh tea leaves before you go
- Make green tea part of your routine
- Try soda water or green tea as your mixer
Which Mixer Helps You Avoid a Hangover?
If your preferred alcoholic beverage uses a mixer, you’ll want to know what researchers learned about different ones, and their impact on your body. Some of the most popular mixers, orange juice or energy drinks, were actually found to be concerningly harmful to your liver, with researchers recommending they are not consumed with alcohol. Interestingly, results show to avoid a hangover, you’re best off mixing your alcohol with soda water or green tea.
What Causes a Hangover?
When you drink alcohol, the liver’s job is to break it down into a less harmful compound. During this process, free radicals are formed in the liver. The free radicals hinder your liver’s functioning and health. Some of the most helpful enzymes your healthy liver creates, start to decline, including superoxide dismutase and glutathione. Without those, your liver can’t detoxify - you feel lethargic, unwell, and nauseated. Antioxidants are an excellent support to battle the effects of the free radicals that form during alcohol consumption. Cheers, to your health – eat some antioxidants!
Best Natural Hangover Remedy
Rehydrate and consume lots of antioxidants to combat those free radicals forming in the liver as it tries to process the alcohol. There are lots of antioxidant-rich foods, including berries, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and other plants. One of the most potent sources of antioxidants is fresh tea leaves. You probably already know how awesome green tea is for your health, particularly because it contains the celebrity of antioxidants, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). But green tea is made with leaves that have been dried. Fresh leaves contain more nutrients than dried. Imagine how much more antioxidants would be in your tea if you steeped fresh leaves instead of dried. (Or, better yet, ate fresh tea leaves). In fact, research suggests fresh tea leaves, when eaten, offer you 15x more EGCG than drinking a cup of green tea made from dried tea leaves.
The 5 Best Natural Hangover Remedies, Backed by Science
- Hydrate
- Eat an antioxidant-rich* breakfast
- Sip on some green tea
- Ginger
- Move
*An antioxidant-rich green smoothie made with frozen FRESH TEA leaves and mango may be helpful, suggests research. See recipe below.
What’s the Best Drink to Cure a Hangover Fast?
Water is always a great choice when it comes to hangovers since alcohol is a diuretic. (That means, consuming alcohol stimulates your body to increase water loss – as you lose fluids, you feel the symptoms of dehydration, including dry mouth and headache). But, why stick with water, when you could optimize what’s in your cup. Tea is a great beverage choice for the morning after festive celebrations that involved too much alcohol when it contains lots of antioxidants. What’s the healthiest tea? Tea brewed from organic, fresh (not-dried) tea leaves. Easily stored in your freezer, you can have fresh tea leaves ready to brew when you need them!
Hold on! Laboratory research suggests eating those fresh tea leaves to get even more antioxidants in your body to help. They taste great in a smoothie. A review of natural remedies for a hangover suggests also adding in some mango. Mango can help cure a hangover, according to science. See below, a Hangover Remedy Green Smoothie recipe.
What’s the Best Food to Cure a Hangover Fast?
There are a few natural remedies to cure a hangover quickly. Eating breakfast can help balance blood sugars. Create a breakfast that includes key nutrients you need to remedy a hangover naturally, such as antioxidants and minerals to help you rebalance your electrolyte levels. Known for their impressive nutritional value, including antioxidants, minerals, and protein, tea leaves might be the best food to cure a hangover. With these credentials, no wonder fresh tea leaves are called a superfood!
Also worth noting, if your hangover includes nausea, the most well-researched natural remedy is ginger. Plus, ginger may offer protective effects to your kidneys, which also work to detoxify the body of alcohol, according to scientists. Movement may also be helpful, suggests researchers, who found exercise minimized the damaging effects alcohol has on brain cells.
Hangover Remedy Green Smoothie
1 Millennia Tea Organic Superfood Cube
1 cup frozen mango cubes, organic
½ cup frozen peach slices, organic
1-2 tsp fresh minced ginger
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup water
1 cup kale, organic (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
Into the blender, add all ingredients. Blend while slowly adding water until desired consistency is achieved. Enjoy immediately.
Can Millennia Tea Prevent or Get Rid of a Hangover?
It’s incredible how many people talk about how great they feel after they drink a cup of tea brewed with fresh tea leaves, or eat them! But, there’s science behind these rave reviews. Studies have shown that drinking green tea helps reduce the damage alcohol has on the body and the liver.
3 Easy Steps to Eat Tea Leaves and Get Rid of your Hangover Quickly
There are many easy ways to use your fresh tea leaves from Millennia Tea. The easiest way is to:
- Take your frozen Millennia superfood tea leaves from your freezer.
- Steep in 95°C hot water in a mug.
- Drink the tea with the leaves, or strain leaves and add to a smoothie, salad dressing, salsa, omelette, soup, etc.
References
Natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangover and alcohol use disorder. Molecules 2016 Jan; 21(1): 64.
Effects of beverages on alcohol metabolism: potential health benefits and harmful impacts. Int J Mol Sci 2016 Mar; 17(3): 354.
Green tea as a potent antioxidant in alcohol intoxication. Addict Biol 2002 Jul;7(3): 307-14.
Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits platelet-derived growth factor-induced proliferation of human hepatic stellate cell line LI90. J Hepatol 2004 Jan;40(1):52-9.
Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review. Chin Med 2010; 5:13.
Ginger feeding protects against renal oxidative damage caused by alcohol consumption in rats. J Ren Nutr 2011 May;21(3):263-70.
