“Wake up in the morning, 3 p.m., I wake up like a flower, Marguerite on the tarmac, needs a doliprane…” and a tomato juice? What do you mean, Marguerite, tomato juice the day after the evening? As surprising as this idea is, it often comes up when we type into our “hangover cures” search engine.
In anticipation of the New Year, 20 minutes wondered what your best cures for GDB (hangover, then) were, how you could really get rid of that nasty stomachache and get off the coal tar. Answer with dietitian nutritionist Alexandra Murcier and general practitioner Doctor Dikran Mouradian.
FAKE OFF
Well already, we are not going to teach you that there is not a single definition of a hangover. The Larousse offers the following characteristics: “the pasty tongue and feeling of heaviness in the head the day after an excess of drink”. In reality, there are a multitude of symptoms the day after a drunken evening: stomach aches, dizziness, migraines and the body shaking like a leaf. “Medically, a hangover is not very well defined. No one was really interested in it”, admits Doctor Dikran Mouradian.
Lining the belly, the myth of the “before”?
“No, but you have to drink a spoonful of olive oil before the party,” we were advised by the editorial staff. We won’t name anyone, but we can already say that journalists and alcohol have always had an ambiguous relationship. According to our source, the spoon of olive oil would line the wall of the stomach and thus serve as a shield for the terrible glasses of alcohol that will arrive later.
Same strangeness noticed for the following remedy: “apparently you have to swallow a raw egg”, advises another colleague. To tell you the truth, this remedy had the effect of a roller coaster in the stomach. In fact, it turns out to be the same principle as the previous one: prepare your liver for the misadventure called alcohol. Egg, or no egg, it’s all about eating before drinking. “The general idea is not to drink on an empty stomach to avoid the hypoglycemia effect. It’s much less aggressive behind, ”advises nutritionist Alexandra Murcier. The egg is however rich in protein and vitamin D, notes our interlocutor. “Then why not a small omelette before going out. »
Before the party, a small glass of water with green clay would help prevent a bad hangover. According to a site specializing in naturopathy, you should have a drink before the evening, then before going to sleep. This little elixir would “capture and eliminate toxic molecules”, while helping the digestive system. “It’s supposed to detoxify, like charcoal. It has no real interest, it’s mainly to clear your conscience, ”slices the nutritionist.
Eat or fast: the million dollar question
During our long research, everything and its opposite also came back to the following question: should we eat the day after the evening? For our two interlocutors, everything will depend on our condition. If you are fighting against an abominable nausea, you might as well abstain.
“What you need to know is that when you drink a lot of alcohol all at once, it increases your blood sugar. What makes that we have a reaction hypoglycemia behind which gives very hungry. Often, we crave fat, ”underlines the nutritionist dietician, who rather recommends a healthy diet based on whole foods, such as rice or pasta. “They are richer in fiber and vary less blood sugar levels,” compares Alexandra Murcier.
Drink, drink and drink again…
“You have to rehydrate in any case, because alcohol dehydrates. That’s what gives the hangover and the headache, ”underlines the specialist. Because yes, even a drink can dehydrate. Everyone has their favorite drink, their little desire, their habit of GDB. Little advice from a bartender: baby milk powder. Yes, yes, you read that right. According to this professional, the hydration of this drink would be “extraordinary”. Alexandra Murcier is however not convinced by the idea.
No more than baking soda, which has a thousand and one benefits. “Rehydration solutions like baking soda are when you have demineralization due to severe dehydration. For example, it can be interesting when you do a lot of sport and, over a very long session, you will sweat a lot. It is when there is a physical effort rather. But there, there is no perspiration, so no loss of minerals,” she explains.
A good tea then? Some even add a spoonful of honey to it. But again, this is not ideal for the dietician: “The problem with tea is that it’s diuretic, you lose a little water. “Some netizens have given us the idea of coconut water. Why this one in particular you ask? It would seem that it is only a question of taste, since, in fact, Alexandra Murcier entrusts that this beverage “does not hydrate more” than any other type of water.
Lemon is your best friend
For this one, a surfer still had a good idea: lemon juice. Too sour, you think? Well no: “It boosts a little, it helps the liver,” admits the specialist. Maybe it’s not what you want to drink after chaining beers, glasses of wine and the like, but it’s the key. Otherwise you can always just water. Simply.
Of course, for something as widespread as a hangover, you had to have a business. So some solutes were marketed for rehydration. “That will do. The alcohol molecule will be eliminated by the liver which will produce certain compounds which will be eliminated by the urine”, explains doctor Dikran Mouradian.
Also very widespread, although far-fetched, is the famous: “treating evil with evil”. A glass of beer, or pastis to avoid excessive GDB, is a solution that seems to have its followers. Obviously, that’s a bad idea. All you’ll gain is prolonging your stomachache for a day, and the risk of it getting even worse.
Red card for the tomato
According to many Internet users, tomato juice would be THE miracle anti-GDB recipe (yes, you can drink tomato juice outside of an airplane). Belgian website Gourmandiz explains that tomatoes would be effective in boosting “your liver’s defenses”. A big plus, again according to the site, to help the body absorb alcohol. The Gustave and Rosalie website even concocts his “anti-hangover drink” recipe where the tomato juice is accompanied by an egg yolk, Espelette pepper, lemon and a few drops of cognac.
Seriously, who wants to drink brandy after a binge? Thank you Gustave and Rosalie for the invitation, but we’ll come back. Moreover, dietitian nutritionist Alexandra Murcier remains cautious about this remedy. “I wouldn’t even recommend tomato juice, because it can be very aggressive for the stomach, which is already weakened by alcohol. »
A placebo effect?
On the nutrition side, other food stars are also entering the list of bizarre remedies. This is the case of cod liver oil which would be rich in omega 3 and vitamins. For his part, the doctor Dikran Mouradian sees no contraindication. “While there is definitely a placebo effect to these remedies, there is nothing dangerous here. You have to follow your instinct, if it makes you feel good, why not. Conversely, Alexandra Murcier rejects grandmother’s recipes and advises eating more vegetables and fruits.
Precisely, the banana is a remedy that comes up many times. As unsavory as this fruit is when your stomach is playing hula-hoop, the banana would be an essential ally for the aftermath of the evening for its high potassium content.
The absurd tricks
Now let’s come to the craziest remedies. On the other side of the Channel, our British friends recommend simply burying yourself in the sand. A very effective solution, according to them, against “the hangover”. In reality, it is an old-fashioned recipe straight from Ireland. The idea is simple: cover up to the neck and wait. Why not wait in a bed instead? That is the question.
Finally, there is one last remedy that has left us dubious. Coffee lover, we apologize for the following lines. grandma.net website recommends adding salt to your coffee to eliminate bad hangovers. “The caffeine will give you a boost, while the salt will absorb the leftover alcohol in the stomach. You can drink a salty coffee at the end of the evening or when you wake up. According to Doctissimo, the remedy would above all induce vomiting in order to eliminate alcohol from the body. Except that a few hours harder, alcohol is already in your blood.
According to nutritionist Alexandra Murcier, the best remedy will ultimately be summed up by the following triptych: “Rehydrate, rest, satiate (healthily). ” To which the doctor Dikran Mouradian will add: ” You must also drink a few glasses of water during the evening, it can only do good. In any case, it should be remembered that alcohol abuse is dangerous for health and should be consumed in moderation.