Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow… we have an epic hangover! Yep, it’s time to learn the best way to prevent a hangover, before it’s too late.
Luckily, there are many things we can learn from our cousins around the world about both preventing and curing a hangover.
Whether it’s sensible food combinations or unusual drinks, together we will explore some of the wisest, strangest and downright bizarre hangover traditions from around the world.
Prepare yourself, things are about to get a little strange…
Here’s the article at a glance:
- How this article will work
- Obvious question, but what is a hangover?
- What causes a hangover?
- Best Way to Prevent a Hangover: Foods
- Best Way to Prevent a Hangover: Drinks
- How to Prevent a Hangover: Actionable Advice
- The final word on the best way to prevent hangover
How this article will work
Firstly, I am going to run you through the best way to prevent a hangover using traditions from around the world.
I’ll run you through hangover foods from around the world, followed by hangover drinks.
This section will hopefully inspire and entertain you.
However, if you are already hungover, then the bottom of the page has some quick tips on how to stop a hangover.
Obvious question, but what is a hangover?
If you have a hangover, you know it. 🤢
I know I am a nutrition coach, but I do drink alcohol now and again. This means that I do suffer from the occasional hangover.
In the past I have had some pretty heavy nights that have resulted in hangovers from hell. Literally, sobbing on the bathroom floor levels of hungover…
These days, I don’t drink as much. However, all it takes is a few drinks and I can feel pretty rough the following day.
Saying hangovers are awful is a bit of an understatement.
Depending on the severity, some of the symptoms can include:
- headache
- fatigue
- weakness
- muscle aches
- nausea
- sensitivity to light and sound
- anxiety
- irritability
Yep, quite a list!
What causes a hangover?
One word: alcohol.
Okay, you already knew that. Hangovers happen after drinking until intoxication.
More specifically, a hangover is thought to be caused by a combination of things, such as the presence of acetaldehyde (the toxic by-product of alcohol metabolism), as well as dehydration and vitamin depletion.
It’s likely a mix of these three things, combined with poor sleep and an upset stomach, that make hangovers so disgusting.
If you are interested, a 1998 study attempted to determine exactly what goes on in the body with a hangover (the scientific word is ‘veisalgia‘. Then a 2009 study concluded that it’s still uncertain exactly what a hangover is.
Even though hangovers have been around since the dawn of alcohol (we assume), the word “hangover” has actually only been around since around the turn of the 20th century.
Before that it was known as morning fog, gallon-distemper, jim-jams, cropsick, and – my favourite – bottle ache.
Best Way to Prevent a Hangover: Foods
It goes without saying that you should always aim to be sensible when it comes to alcohol.
This is undoubtedly the best way to prevent a hangover.
We can trivialise alcohol by laughing at our hangovers, but ultimately, it is a toxin and can really damage your health when drunk too often or in too large a quantity.
But we are all human and sometimes we drink too much. That’s just life.
So here are some foods from around the world that are traditionally eaten to stave off a hangover. Let’s explore whether or not they are of any use…
Puerto Rico: Lemons
We start by travelling to Central America for our first tradition, which involves a food, but has nothing to do with eating…
In Puerto Rico, a hangover prevention method is to put lemons… under the armpit of your drinking arm.
You heard that correctly. And no, I don’t know what the thinking behind this is.
From what I read, it is supposed to counteract dehydration and ward off headaches, but I can’t see how this would work.
I guess you may smell a bit better the day after drinking.
Hmm, let’s put it on the ‘maybe pile’ for now…
Italy: Midnight Spaghetti
The real prevention methods start in Italy.
The Italians have a tradition called spaghettata di mezzanotte or ‘midnight spaghetti’.
As the name suggests, when the clock strikes 12, the Italians get cooking.
Traditionally, they throw together cooked spaghetti with fresh garlic, olive oil and chili peppers, then eat it to help absorb the alcohol.
Now this is quite sensible.
I see one issue in that the best time to eat is before you drink as that will help slow the absorption of alcohol far better than afterwards, when much of the alcohol is already in your system.
However, at least midnight spaghetti is eaten before sleep. It will therefore help replenish your body with some energy and nutrients, and may put you in a better place the following morning.
The only caveat is that if you are a little tipsy, cooking a full meal using boiling water and hot pans probably isn’t the best idea…
Italy: Pizzle
Sticking with Italy and apparently the older generations of Sicilians have another hangover tradition, which is the munching of something called pizzle.
Sounds harmless, right?
Pizzle is actually dried bull’s penis, which sounds absolutely revolting. It also looks revolting, which is why I am not including a photo of it! You can Google it if you really want.
The understanding is that this meaty snack is full of protein, vitamins and minerals.
Now, it’s definitely a good call to have vitamins and minerals around drinking. Our bodies are depleted of nutrients when we drink alcohol and it’s one of the reasons we feel so tired and drained the next day.
So giving your body plenty of nutrients – whether before, during or after drinking – is a good idea.
But bull’s penis… Not for me. I guess it would take your mind off the hangover at least!
United Kingdom: Full English
Let’s move to the next day, where traditional hangover foods tend to take a greasier turn.
Pretty much every country has some kind of traditional hangover meal. Many swear by eating something greasy the following day to cure the hangover.
For example, here in the United Kingdom, people typically eat a big fried breakfast (i.e. the Full English) with everything from sausage and bacon to beans, tomatoes and egg.
Not sure about you, but eating something that heavy and greasy when feeling delicate would probably tip me over the edge.
I’ll discuss whether or not greasy food is worth eating when hungover in a moment, but first…
Portugal: Francesinha
Over in Portugal, they have something just as greasy called a Francesinha.
This is a meaty, cheesy hangover sandwich covered in a tomatoey gravy and served on a bed of fries. The word translates to ‘little Frenchie’.
I had one of these around ten years ago when I went to Coimbra in Portugal. It was very tasty but I felt disgusting after eating it.
So, are greasy foods like the Full English and Francesinha worth eating when hungover?
Eating greasy food before drinking may help as it will help slow the absorption of alcohol. But by the hangover stage, the alcohol is already in your blood, so greasy food won’t do much.
It may also make a sensitive stomach feel worse, making you feel bloated and gassy.
Ultimately, the benefits of greasy food is psychological.
If fried foods feel like they help you, then that’s fine. Just remember that oily foods are heavy on the calories and unhealthy fats, so should be eaten sparingly.
South Korea: Haejangguk
South Korea’s traditional hangover meal is called haejangguk. This actually translates to “soup to cure a hangover”.
It contains – brace yourself – cabbage leaves… pork spine and ox blood, in a broth of mixed spices.
Now, the broth of mixed spices is probably quite nutritious and cabbage leaves are certainly a solid choice.
But even without a hangover, I think many Westerners would struggle to eat pork spine and ox blood.
Moving swiftly on…
Japan: Umeboshi Plums
If you have read my article on how to cure a cold, then you will remember umeboshi plums.
As well as a cold remedy, the Japanese use these little pungent acidic apricots as a hangover cure.
(How can something that look like a shrivelled testicle have so many uses?!)
Umeboshi plums are salt-cured, fermented, and sun-dried. If you can get past their strange appearance and overpoweringly sour flavour, then they may well be good for a hangover.
This is because they are full of sodium and potassium, which are some of the minerals you need to restore after drinking.
These minerals – better known as electrolytes – help the body regulate fluid and stay hydrated.
If you can’t deal with the strong flavour, it’s wise to steep these apricots in hot water and make a tea, which is still sour but maybe more palatable.
Definitely more sensible than some things on this list, but you may prefer…
Germany: Pickles
Pickled foods for a hangover could have been put under any Eastern European country, as many countries in this part of the world are big on both eating pickles and drinking pickle juice for hangovers.
One that sticks out for me is Germany. The Germans have a hangover breakfast called katerfrühstück, which is a pickled herring wrapped around onion and gherkin.
Even in my meat-eating days, I don’t think I could have stomached pickled fish with a hangover. 🤢
Still, pickled food, including those delicious little gherkins, are sensible when hungover because they are full of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
Again, these are those handy electrolytes.
Additionally, naturally fermented pickles contain probiotics. These are live, microscopic ‘helpful’ bacteria and yeasts that can help keep your good gut bacteria in balance and aid digestion.
So eating pickles – as well as other fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut – can theoretically help with a hangover.
(🎙️Enjoying this article? You can listen to it as a podcast! I recorded two parts – one on hangover foods and the other on hangover drinks).
Best Way to Prevent a Hangover: Drinks
That’s enough of the solid stuff. Time to move onto some liquid hangover remedies from around the world!
Some are preventions, some are cures and some are… well, just a little bit strange.
First it’s off to the Caribbean…
Haiti: Voodoo
We land on the island of Haiti for their hangover cure drink, which isn’t actually a drink, although it involves drink.
This vindictive tradition is said to be common among voodoo practitioners in the country, where they take their hangover out on the drink that caused the hangover.
So, they find the bottle of alcohol that caused the hangover, then stick 13 black needles into the cork.
This is said to expel the aches and pains that come with a hangover.
I am open minded to many things, but my main criticism of this tradition is what the hell happens if it was multiple bottles with multiple corks? How many pins would you buy then?
Something to think about.
Eastern Europe: Kvass
Anyway, we now explore actual drinks and this one is one of my favourites: Kvass.
It’s under the umbrella of Eastern Europe because it’s popular in countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia and Poland, as well as Russia.
Kvass is a traditional drink that’s more than 1,000 years old. It’s made from fermented rye bread, which has a tangy beer-like taste.
It’s also jet black, so it looks pretty cool in a glass. Kind of like a pint of Guinness.
To learn more about Kvass, I spoke to my Russian friend Julia. She told me she remembers her grandfather drinking it and explained that it’s particularly popular in the summer as it’s very thirst-quenching.
She also told me that it actually used to be high in alcohol until vodka was invented, then it was reduced to around 0.7% so everyone could drink it – even kids.
For me, kvass is a sensible hangover drink.
Firstly, it’s packed with vitamins A and B12, which are both drained from your body during drinking. Topping up your supplies of this vital nutrient is therefore likely to make you feel better.
Kvass is also very high in probiotics. These are the friendly bacteria that help increase the good gut bacteria in your digestive system.
As I discussed in the ‘pickles’ section above, this probiotic intake is a good thing after alcohol has done some damage.
From what I have read, the way to truly get these benefits are to brew kvass yourself, as processed store-bought versions tend to be low in probiotics.
So overall kvass is a solid choice for a hangover!
Denmark: Hair of the dog
Next, we move over to Denmark, for their hangover tradition. This is known as reparations-bajer or a ‘recovery beer’.
As you can probably guess, this is what we may class as a ‘hair of the dog’.
For those who don’t know, ‘hair of the dog’ is basically the idea that, to cure a hangover, you drink a little of the alcohol that caused the hangover.
The phrase comes from a time when the method of treatment for a rabid dog bite was to place hair from the dog that bit you into the bite wound.
So, with hair of the dog, you are having some of the alcohol that caused the hangover, with the aim of easing the effects of a hangover. Like cures like.
Many people believe that hair of the dog is actually the best way to prevent a hangover.
The big question: Does it work?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, in that it may help you stave off some of the hangover symptoms, particularly alcohol withdrawal.
But it’s a very short-term solution.
Sooner or later, your body is going to have to metabolise the alcohol, and the withdrawal symptoms will actually start.
Unless you keep drinking throughout the following day of course, but that isn’t particularly healthy (and a slippery slope to alcoholism)!
I think that if you really want to try hair of the dog, you could combine it with some of the nutrients we need to replenish.
Such as this next entry…
Canada: Bloody Caesar
In Canada they have their own hair of the dog drink called the Bloody Caesar.
It’s kind of like a Bloody Mary. It features vodka (that’s the hair of the dog), horseradish, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, topped up with Clamato juice.
Containing things like vitamins and electrolytes, this could be a good call.
Although it is quite a strong mix of flavours: seafood, hot sauce, horseradish. When your digestion is already sensitive with a hangover, do you want to add that concoction on top?
Personally, I’d be going for something like a Virgin Mary. This has tomato juice, lemon juice, celery salt, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
Again, it contains a lot of vitamins and salt, which is perfect.
I’d leave out the hot sauce from this one too. If your digestive system is already stressed due to alcohol, hot sauce probably isn’t going to do much good.
The Virgin Mary also traditionally comes with a pickle garnish. We discussed pickles earlier and you know they are full of electrolytes and probiotics, so ask your bartender for a couple of extras!
Ecuador: Oregano Tea
We now move on to central America and the country of Ecuador, which has a hangover drink of its own.
The people of Ecuador are said to go for an oregano tea, which is made by steeping oregano leaves in hot water. This tea is then flavoured with citrus or a sweetener.
As you may know, oregano is a herb often found in Italian cooking and has a very distinctive taste.
As well as adding flavour to pasta and pizza, oregano has medicinal properties and is commonly used to treat upset stomachs.
Of course, we know that drinking alcohol can upset your stomach and fuel a hangover, so anything with digestive benefits is a big plus.
Oregano tea, you are worthy of your place in this list!
Hungary: Bird sh*t in brandy (yep…)
I am going to wrap up with some actionable hangover advice in a moment, but first let’s go to Hungary for one of the most bizarre hangover drinks around.
I can only assume this is a traditional hangover remedy and one that is rarely used in 21st century.
The drink is brandy… with sparrow droppings. Yep, that’s bird crap in alcohol.
So many questions: Who came up with this? Why did they think it would work? Where they hell are you going to find a sparrow in the morning, and one that needs to defecate…
Right I think we all know that this is a little silly, but let’s analyse for the fun of it.
Firstly, it’s brandy – which is a high-strength alcohol. So it’s probably not the wisest thing to drink first thing in the morning.
However, I’m more concerned about the shit of the bird than the hair of the dog in this one!
Bird droppings are full of germs and parasites that can cause gastrointestinal illness, which will give you nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. That’s the last thing you need with a hangover.
So no, it’s not the best way to prevent hangover and would probably make you more ill.
How to Prevent a Hangover: Actionable Advice
Forget about the stuff that comes out of birds… What can we take away from all this?
What really is the best way to prevent a hangover? What about the best way to cure one when you have drunk too much?
Here’s my checklist, using some of the wisdom from this article:
Be sensible.
Perhaps it goes without saying, but be sensible with alcohol and you are more likely to avoid a hangover.
Aim to drink no more than one drink per hour and stop before you are feeling drunk.
This will prevent 99% of hangovers.
Eat food before you go drinking
Eating food before you drink will help slow alcohol absorption.
Doing this may stop you drinking as quickly – and, therefore, may reduce your overall intake.
Drink water…
As you may know, alcohol is a diuretic, which makes you pee more. This means you are losing fluid, which has to be replaced to avoid dehydration.
Remember that dehydration is what causes the headache, nausea and many of those other hangover nasties.
So drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink and another glass or two before bed.
…but don’t forget nutrients
When you are peeing and sweating out all that water, you are also losing vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.
After a night of drinking, your body will be drained of these nutrients. You have to replace these!
I suggest eating foods that are rich in vitamins and electrolytes both before and after drinking.
Bananas and avocados are all sensible choices, but don’t forget pickles!
Try an electrolyte drink or sports drink
You can also take electrolyte supplements and a multivitamin before and after drinking if that’s more convenient.
Meanwhile, some of the traditional drinks we have discussed – like pickle juice, Kvass and the Virgin Mary cocktail – are packed with the nutrients you need, so give them a go in the evening and the following morning.
However, many people – myself included – will opt for a neutral-flavoured and uncarbonated sports drink. Something like Lucozade, Gatorade or Powerade.
Read the bottle labels and you will see them boast about B vitamins and electrolytes.
People also take rehydration drinks designed for replacing the fluids lost in sickness – like vomiting and diarrhoea. These are stronger and have a higher amount of salts than general sports drinks.
I’ve used these safely, although if you have a condition that makes you sensitive to salt, check with a doctor.
Sleep as much as possible
Sleep is crucial, although it is difficult to get a good night of shuteye after drinking.
Alcohol disrupts sleep and can cause you to be tired the following day, which just adds to the hangover feeling.
Do your best to sleep your hangover off for as long as you can.
Eventually you will have to get out of bed and, when you do, you can go for a lovely walk outside. Get some fresh air and think about all those silly things you said when you were drunk.
Avoid greasy foods the next day
Finally, when you do get out of bed, remember that eating greasy foods won’t help.
In fact, they may play havoc with your stomach and make you feel worse.
Luckily, if you have followed all the other tips on this list, you won’t have a hangover to content with! 😀
The final word on the best way to prevent hangover
By now you will know that the best way to prevent hangover is to be sensible with alcohol, ensure a good intake of water and nutrients, and then sleep as much as possible.
Ultimately, hangovers are your body’s way of telling you that you overdid it.
If you are having bad hangovers on a regular basis, you probably need to consider your relationship with alcohol.
However, for those one-off occasions that everyone has, I do hope these tips have helped you.
Now, where can I find a sparrow…
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