Don’t let holiday drinking give you a headache
The National Headache Foundation shares tips on how to avoid a hangover headache this holiday season
Chicago, IL – December 5, 2008 –The holidays are a time for celebration amongst family and friends. The festivities can take a wrong turn if party goers overindulge in alcoholic drinks. According to an online survey conducted by the National Headache Foundation (NHF), 92% admitted they have experienced a hangover headache.
In the same survey, 80% said they planned on consuming alcoholic beverages during the holiday season. To help avoid or lessen the suffering associated with hangover headaches that often accompany these annual festivities, the NHF offers some advice.
If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. It is advisable to keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum, but if you do decide to drink, sip your drink slowly. Mixed drinks containing fruit or vegetable juices will probably have less effect than straight alcohol. Avoid red wine which contains naturally occurring chemicals called congeners. Forty-one percent of survey respondents listed red wine as the type of alcoholic beverage that most frequently causes headaches. Congeners impart the specific characteristic tastes to different types of wine and other alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, they also may play a role in causing headaches.
Eat some honey. Honey supplies fructose, a sugar that helps the body metabolize alcohol, is rich in vitamin B6 and can reduce hangover symptoms. Two tablespoons of honey on a cracker or piece of toast, before or after drinking, may prevent a hangover. Tomato juice, another good source of fructose, also allows the body to burn alcohol faster. The sugar in fruit and fruit juices may reduce some symptoms of hangover, so consumption of these products can be beneficial.
Drink fluids containing minerals and salts. Liquids rich in minerals and salts offer relief from the dehydration caused by alcohol consumption. A cup of broth or bouillon, for example, will replace fluid and will not cause nausea. In general, replacement of fluids with beverages, such as sports drinks or water, is helpful.
Make sure you have your morning coffee. Caffeine may provide some relief in alleviating the headache symptoms and decreasing the duration of pain. The caffeine acts as a vasoconstrictor and eases the dilated blood vessels. Consider drinking a cup of coffee as soon as you wake up the next morning.
Take ibuprofen. While aspirin is okay, ibuprofen is typically less irritating to the stomach and can also ease the pain of hangover headache.
Alternate non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic beverages. Drinking one non-alcoholic beverage between each alcoholic beverage reduces overall alcohol consumption and helps replenish fluids. An easy way to achieve this is asking for a glass of water in addition to your alcoholic beverage of choice when ordering a drink at the bar. Just 36% of survey respondents said that they had tried alternating non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic beverages to reduce the chance of having a hangover.
Eat greasy food before consuming alcohol. While this may not fit in your normal diet, fatty foods may prove to be helpful in this situation. It works best when eaten before alcohol consumption; greasy foods help line the intestines causing alcohol absorption to take longer. Only 22% of survey respondents stated that they have tried eating greasy foods before consuming alcohol.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL HEADACHE FOUNDATION
The National Headache Foundation, founded in 1970, is a non-profit organization which exists to enhance the healthcare of headache sufferers. It is a source of help to sufferers’ families, physicians who treat headache sufferers, allied healthcare professionals and to the public. The NHF accomplishes its mission by providing educational and informational resources, supporting headache research and advocating for the understanding of headache as a legitimate neurobiological disease. Interviews with headache specialists are available upon request.
For more information on headache causes and treatments, visit www.headaches.org or call 1-888-NHF-5552 (M-F. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT).
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Contact:
Suzanne E. Simons
Executive Director
312-274-2651
ssimons@headaches.org
Morgan Zenner
National Headache Foundation
312-274-2658
mzenner@headaches.org
