Rules for a Night of Serious Drinking

Simple moves to dodge a hangover.

Let's face it: Despite all the folk remedies--ginseng, prickly pear extract, peanut butter, miso soup, and Vitamin B6, there really is no cure for a hangover except more alcohol.

However, there are things you can keep in mind when contemplating a night of serious drinking. What you do while you are drinking can mitigate or exacerbate the effects of the Day After. The following list was adapted from a post by the folks over at the Nursing Schools Network and Directory and used with their kind permission.

--If you're in it for the long haul, consider alternating an alcoholic beverage with a non-alcoholic drink. The reward for this is continual hydration, which helps offset the tendency of alcohol molecules to replace water molecules in the cells.

--Choose your liquor carefully. Red wine and cheap dark booze have more congeners, which are organic molecules that can contribute to a hangover. ML01, a genetically-modified yeast, is being touted as a way of cutting back on the headaches commonly associated with a night of red wine.

--Keep Count. When you lose count, it's time to stop. Know your measure.

--Skip the Sugar. Sweet drinks mess with your blood sugar level even more than regular drinks.

--Keep the smoking to a minimum. You'll need your oxygen come morning.

--Don't diss the bar and cocktail snacks. Foods high in fat well help absorb excess alcohol.

--Skip the Tylenol and Ibuprofen before going out. They probably won't help, and the combination with alcohol taxes the liver.

--Drink water. And keep drinking water. Morning-after dehydration causes many of a hangover's lingering effects.

--Stop drinking an hour before you go to bed. Better to nod off than to pass out, and you will have a better chance of sleeping through the night.

Picture Credit: www.ehow.com

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