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I have been asked on more than one occasion “what’s good for a hangover?” To paraphrase Douglas Adams, “I find drinking heavily the night before usually works.”

I just had one of those weekends where the drinks were on me and we partied till the wee hours of the morning. It was great but now I’m paying for it in the form of a monstrous hangover! We’ve all experienced them and all seem to have our own little ways to make ourselves feel better. I like to stuff my face with vegemite on toast and drink a troff full of water while doing absolutely nothing. Actually, I like to do that even when I don’t have a hangover! But what do the experts suggest are the best way to cure the sluggishness, the headaches and that general crap feeling?

Water, water, water! This is the most obvious one and probably the most effective. As alcohol dehydrates you it’s best to drink as much h2o as possible, and it’s especially effective if it’s at room temperature. Water flushes out all the toxins from your vital organs and carries nutrients to your cells, so it’s extremely important. That means; drink it all day after your night out (you should be doing this even if you haven’t been on the booze), drink it before bed and even drink it in between your alcoholic drinks. A lot of people don’t think water helps but I don’t think they’re having the right amount. If you’re a guy you should have about 3 litres (or 13 cups) a day and if you’re a lady you should have around 2.2 litres (or 9 cups) a day. A handy little tip is to add some lemon to your water as this will sooth your stomach and add some vitamin C.

Eat! You should always eat a good solid meal before you go out and even nibble on snacks in between drinks so the fat in the food can line your stomach. This is probably the only time I suggest eating a cooked, fatty meal as fat slows down the absorption of alcohol. Even if you have a glass of full-cream milk, it will help prevent headaches and joint pain you may experience the morning after. If you’re having trouble downing a cooked meal you might want to have some honey on toast as honey provides sodium and potassium which is lost through dehydration. Porridge is also a great alternative as oats neutralise the acidity levels and help absorb toxins.

B vitamins (especially B12 & B6): Like I said, I love to have vegemite on toast the day after the drunken shenanigans and this is such a good idea as vegemite is rich in B vitamins. I know vegemite is purely an Aussie and New Zealand thing and tastes like salty roadkill to the rest of the world, so I suggest eating other foods rich in B vitamins, like; bananas, salmon, yoghurt, tuna, eggs, milk or chicken. Of course you can have a vitamin supplement, but personally, I prefer eating food as the long term use of supplements may cause some serious damage to your organs.

Sleep: You have to rest your body as much as possible. You’ve just caused some major damage with the poison you’ve consumed, so it’s only natural for your body to need some Z’s. Sleep, rest, watch some telly, go outside and get some fresh air on the patio, just give your temple some time to recover and regenerate itself.

Acupressure: Activating an acupressure point on your wrist associated with the stomach can momentarily control nausea, says Kim Mendez, a Chinese medical practitioner at Pineapple Studios in London. “Place your index finger, middle finger and ring finger in a line so that the index rests on the crease in the middle of your wrist and the ring finger is at the base of your palm. Then press with the ring finger for 20 to 30 seconds.”

Fluids: Besides good old water, you might want to have some freshly squeezed orange juice (for vitamin C); or a cinnamon brew (add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to boiling water and drink when cooled) or peppermint tea as both drinks can stop nausea and vomiting; isotonic sports drinks may even be better than water as they contain salts that help the body absorb moisture faster than water, so they’re perfect for hydration.

So what are your best ways to cure the unsightly hangover? Do you have any weird recipes involving an eye of newt and the toe of a frog? Do you swear by any bizarre rituals like standing on your head for an hour? I’d love to hear them!

Big love & margaritas,