Hangover remedies

Various foods, dishes, and medicines have been described as having a theoretical potential for easing or alleviating symptoms of a hangover.^[7]

Rehydrating with drinking water before going to bed or during hangover may relieve dehydration-associated symptoms such as thirst, dizziness, dry mouth, and headache.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

List of hangover foods

Scientific

Asparagus leaf extract showed marginal results in a 2012 study.

• Asparagus:^[8] In a small cell-based study, concentrated asparagus leaf extract showed marginal harmful by-product scavenging capabilities. This may mean that there is physiological effect, but further research is necessary.
• Foods that contain:
  • Cysteine^[9]
  • gamma-Linolenic acid^[10]
• Drinking water^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}
• Common pear^[11] was found to have the highest effect on aldehyde dehydrogenase activity.

Folk cures

Drunken noodles, Thai food

Korean hangover soup

A prairie oyster cocktail

Coconut water

A fry up (full breakfast)

Sports drinks

A torta ahogada

The following foods and dishes have been described as having a theoretical potential for easing or alleviating symptoms associated with the hangover. Hangover foods have not been scientifically proven to function as a remedy or cure for the hangover.^{[12][13][14][15]}

• Alcohol – hair of the dog remedy^[16][3][4]
  • Bloody mary^[17][2] or in Canada, the Caesar.
  • Corpse Reviver^[2]
  • Fernet – an alcoholic beverage consumed as a drink choice to avoid the hangover^[18]
  • Jägerbomb^[2]
  • Underberg – a digestif bitter^[2]
  • Vodka^[18]

• Water rich foods:
  • Fruits
    • Banana^[19][1][20]
    • Kiwifruit^[1]
    • Prickly pear fruit^[19]
  • Drinks
    • Caffeinated drinks: No significant correlation between caffeine use and hangover severity has been found.^{[citation needed]}
      • Coffee
      • Espresso^[18]
    • Electrolyte replacement drinks
      • Pedialyte^[21]
      • Sports drinks^[1][16][3]
    • Juices
      • Fruit juice^[1]
      • Pickle juice^[1][22]
      • Tomato juice^[19]
    • Teas
      • Ginger tea^[1]
      • Green tea^[18]
      • Peppermint tea^[1]
    • Coconut water^[19][1][16]
    • Hangover drinks in South Korea – Mass-produced hangover drinks based on Traditional Korean medicine.
  • Vegetables
    • Spinach^[1]
    • Tomato^[1]
    • Hovenia dulcis
  • Soups
    • Aguadito de pollo – a soup in Peruvian cuisine consisting of chicken, cilantro, vegetables and spices^[23]
    • Aguadito – a chunky Peruvian soup made with cilantro, carrot, peas and potatoes^[24]
    • Ajiaco^[23]
    • Cesnecka – A soup in Czech cuisine that is prepared using a significant amount of garlic^[23]
    • Chicken noodle soup^[1]
    • Fricasé – A soup in Bolivian cuisine prepared with ribs, hominy and potatoes^[23]
    • Haejang-guk – or hangover soup^[25] refers to all kinds of guk or soup eaten as a hangover cure in Korean cuisine.^[23][22] It means "soup to chase a hangover"^[26] and is also called sulguk (Korean: 술국).^[27][28]
    • Khash
    • Menudo
    • Miso soup^[1]
    • Zurek^[23]
    • Tripe soups
• Eggs.^[19][1][29] Egg dishes:
  • Ostrich egg omelette – consumed as a hangover food in South Africa^[22]
  • Fry up – a British full breakfast^[18]
  • Loco moco^[23]
  • Omelette^[30]
  • Prairie oyster – a cocktail served as a hangover remedy that consists of raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and ground black pepper.^[18]
  • Ramen^[18]
  • Shakshuka^[23]
• Greasy foods^[14][3]
  • Bacon sandwich
  • Chicken fillet roll^[31][32][33]
  • Hamburger^[29][34]
  • Peanut butter^[2]
  • Pizza^[29]
  • Fried foods^[35]
    • Churros^[36]
    • Fried chicken^[29][37]
    • Grilled cheese sandwich^[38]
    • Poutine^[18][22][39]
    • Chilaquiles^[40]
    • Revuelto Gramajo – a breakfast hash dish in Argentine cuisine consisting of potatoes, eggs, cheese and vegetables.^[23]
    • Youtiao^[41][42]
• Staple food
  • Toast,^[19] and toast and honey^[1]
  • Oats and oatmeal^[1][43]
  • Spaghetti^[38]
  • Quinoa^[19]
• Cassoulet^[18]
• Ceviche^[18]
• Congee^[44]
• Dal bhat^[23]
• Drunken noodles^[23][22]
• Honey^[19][1]
• Kishkiyya – a porridge in Iraqi cuisine from the 10th century that was consumed in Baghdad, it was prepared using ground wheat and meat.^[45][46]
• Luwombo – A dish in Ugandan cuisine consisting of meat, peanuts called luwombo and vegetables that is steamed in a banana leaf and typically served with a side dish of plantains.^[23]
• Mustard^[47]
• Sushi^[29]
• Guobacai – A snack of strong local flavor in Tianjin cuisine, guobacai is a sort of pancake made of millet and mung bean flour.^[48]
• Torta ahogada^[45]

Criticism

While recommendations and folk cures for foods and drinks to relieve hangover symptoms abound, hangover foods have not been scientifically proven to function as a remedy or cure for the hangover.^{[12][13][14][15]}

In a review assessing eight randomised controlled trials of propranolol, tropisetron, tolfenamic acid, fructose/glucose, a yeast preparation and supplements containing Borago officinalis, Cynara scolymus and Opuntia ficus-indica, researchers concluded that "no compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing or treating alcohol hangover."^[10]

Medicines

• N-Acetylcysteine^[49]
• Sobrietol^[50]
• Tolfenamic acid^[10]
• Aspirin
• Caffeine

Ineffective

• Activated charcoal^[51]

History

Various folk medicine remedies exist for hangovers. The ancient Romans, on the authority of Pliny the Elder, favored raw owl's eggs or fried canary as a hangover remedy,^[52] while the "prairie oyster" restorative, introduced at the 1878 Paris World Exposition, calls for raw egg yolk mixed with Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper.^[53] By 1938, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel provided a hangover remedy in the form of a mixture of Coca-Cola and milk^[53] (Coca-Cola itself having been invented, by some accounts,^[54] as a hangover remedy). Alcoholic writer Ernest Hemingway relied on tomato juice and beer.^[17]

Other purported hangover cures includes more alcohol, for example cocktails such as Bloody Mary or Black Velvet (consisting of equal parts champagne and stout).^[17]

A 1957 survey by an American folklorist found widespread belief in the efficacy of heavy fried foods, tomato juice and sexual activity.^[35]