How to cure a hangover according to Traditional Chinese Medicine

What is a hangover?

Alcohol is a diuretic, so most of the symptoms associated with overindulging are related to dehydration. Over time, the alcohol we consume breaks down into acetaldehyde, which our bodies find toxic. It's normal for your body to try to get rid of this toxin, hence nausea.

In response to the toxins, the liver swells, reducing blood flow and stopping its normal functions, which include processing hormones and expelling toxins, hence the aching and malaise. Finally, alcohol stops our bodies from processing glutamate, one of the body's stimulants. At first, this makes us feel sedated, which is part of the fun, but as the alcohol wears off, our bodies realize that they are lacking in glutamine and so produce more of it. This excess glutamine inhibits sleep and is the reason we wake up in a sweat after drinking.

Hangover According to Traditional Chinese Medicine:

In TCM, alcohol is damp and hot in nature. Damp-heat has a profound effect on our bodies: the dampness slows things down and makes parts of your body feel heavy and congested, while the heat consumes your energy and fluids. Together they create painful blockage and disrupt the natural flow of energy in your body. In small amounts, alcohol can be tolerated because your body can withstand and recover from the toxic characteristics, but in larger quantities, alcohol can have a disastrous systemic effect.

When you drink alcohol, it enters your stomach and is digested by your spleen and stomach organ systems. Thus, the nutrients that can be derived from it are processed, and the remaining elements excreted as waste. But because of the volatile damp- hot nature of booze, when you drink too much of it, your ability to process the alcohol becomes disrupted.

5 effects of alcohol in TCM:

1) Blockage occurs in your stomach, interrupting the flow of energy which is naturally downwards for the stomach. The blockage can cause the energy to rise instead, making you feel nauseous, hiccup, or even cause you to vomit.

2) Because heat likes to rise and dampness likes to sink, one can drag the other along with it in the direction it likes to go. For example, heat can bring dampness upwards, giving you a dull, throbbing headache. Or the other way around, dampness can drag heat downwards, giving you diarrhea or at least unpleasant stool that leaves behind an uncomfortable burning sensation.

3) The damage to your spleen, which in TCM transforms nutrients into usable energy and body fluids, can leave you feeling extremely fatigued because you haven't been able to make the required energy.

4) The heat dries up your body fluids, leaving you feeling very thirsty.

5) The dampness rising with the heat can cause you to feel dizzy, and even irritable and cranky.

Tips for a hangover:

A hearty breakfast the morning after may be the last thing you feel like, but it can help.

Carbohydrates help to stabilize your blood sugar and can reduce stomach acid, and the cysteine in egg yolks binds to the acetaldehyde and neutralizes it.

Avoid caffeine, however. A cup of coffee may be what you're craving, but it's a diuretic and will only exacerbate your dehydration.

Likewise, exercise may not be the first thing you feel like doing, but going for a brisk walk increases circulation, helping your body to expel toxins and getting blood and oxygen to your brain.

3 TCM herbal tips for a hangover:

1) Cut 10 slices of ginger and mix them with water in a pan. Bring the water to a soft boil and then strain the tea into a cup. Next, strain an orange, half a lemon, and add half a cup of honey to the mix to make the ultimate hot tonic for your upset stomach.

2) To help you avoid your hangover, try drinking a glass or two of pear juice before indulging in alcohol. This centuries-old remedy is said to have strong anti-inflammatory properties that stimulate the liver, making it a great way to detox your body.

3) Once you've turned in for the night, fix a cup of black tea and mix it with a tablespoon of brown sugar. The acidity of the tea and the warming properties of the sugar will stimulate your liver to help you fight the hangover the next day.

Fruits and vegetables with detoxifying functions:

Celery, white radish, sugarcane, watermelon, and pear. You also turn one or two of the above into juice to consume after drinking alcohol or incorporate them into your meals the next day.

Regardless of Eastern or Western medicine's perspective on a hangover, there is one golden rule that all can agree on... hydrate.

Drink as much water before, during, and after having alcohol. Flush those toxins out and nourish your body in as many ways as possible.

And of course, everything in moderation!