There are two simple things I look forward to in life…my steamy morning cup of black coffee and my five o’clock glass of deep red wine.
Every once and a while, I have one of those days where my kid wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, my husband doesn’t get home until late, and everything in between tends to go a bit lousy.
Can you relate?
Those days tend to justify a few extra glasses of wine and I wake up needing as many natural hangover cures as I can get my hands on.
I love natural remedies. They work well for everything including hangovers. I keep my home stocked with a few staple remedies that come in handy time and time again.
You may think that just because I am a granola, organic-eating, make-my-own-baby-lotion kind of mom, I don’t enjoy a good ole’ fashioned wine buzz. Well my friend, you would be dead wrong. All moms need wine and wine is what all moms need.
We also need natural hangover cures the next day. I am going to generously share my wisdom with you because I am a learned magician when it comes to natural hangover cures.
This post contains affiliate links. Please read the full disclosure for more info. This post is for entertainment purposes only and should not be regarded as medical advice. Please seek the care of a naturopathic physician for guidance.
Natural Hangover Cures Everyone Should Know About
1. Nux Vomica
Nux Vomica is the first hangover remedy I reach for the morning after. You may have never heard of such a strange sounding remedy as Nux Vomica. The name does kind of sound like vomit…something you may do if you are hungover.
So what is Nux Vomica?
“Nux vomica is the homeopathic remedy made from the seeds of the Strychnos, Nux Vomia tree. Also known as poison nut or vomiting nut, this tree is an evergreen tree that is native to East India, Burma, Thailand, China, and Northern Australia.” (source)
So how in the heck will this help me with a hangover?
You would have to understand the basics of how homeopathy works, but the gist is that because consuming the nux vomica seed would induce nausea and headache, taking the diluted homeopathic version of it causes the body to behave exactly the opposite. It triggers innate healing and helps a hangover go away more quickly.
I have used this remedy time and time again and have felt completely better after the third dose. (Did I mention I love wine? Jesus knows what I mean!)
If I could only recommend one remedy to take after overindulgence, it would be Nux Vomica. It is easy to take and inexpensive.
Everything I suggest from here on out will be to support the body with daily functioning so it doesn’t have to work so hard. This way all its efforts can focus on healing your hangover!
2. Eat a banana the night before and morning after
If you indulged on a few extra alcoholic beverages, it’s a good idea to scarf down a banana before you pass out for the evening.
The nutritional composition of a banana is vital to human metabolism. Bananas are made up of 75% water and contain high daily amounts of potassium and magnesium, as well as many other vital vitamins and minerals.
But let’s zone in on why high amounts of potassium and magnesium are important for hangovers.
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it acts on your kidneys to make you need to pee pee more than usual. Along with the water goes vital electrolytes (potassium and magnesium). Bananas are a one-stop shop to replenish the body. The fiber also fills up your stomach and helps you use the bathroom the next day.
3. Oral Rehydration Salts
I have mentioned oral rehydration salts (ORS) before in my post about what to pack for dad’s hospital bag. (Yes, I had my baby in the hospital. You can read about my experience, which wasn’t all bad although I hope to have my next baby at home.)
Oral rehydration salts do two things for a hangover. 1) They replenish lost electrolytes, and 2) they make you go poo!!
To get over a hangover, you must rid your body of the poisonous (glorious) wine you put in it the night before.
There are a few ways the body rids itself of toxins, but the most effective way is to use the bathroom!
I keep ORS in the house not only for hangovers but when my husband does a particularly brutal workout or a lot of yard work the involves sweating. I recommend keeping some ORS water at your bedside and drinking it as soon as you wake the next morning.
4. Borage Oil
There is evidence that consuming Borage oil before you start drinking and once again on the morning after, can significantly improve your hangover symptoms.
One study looked at a French product called After-Effect © which contained Borage oil along with vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and milk thistle. The group that took the After-Effect © had less thirst, headaches, nausea, tiredness, and dizziness than those that did not take it.
I remember watching a documentary on Netflix called The Truth About Alcohol which was also testing Borage oil as a miracle hangover cure. The documentary compared the participants into three groups: a borage oil group, a fatty breakfast the next morning group, and a group that has no treatment at all. The borage oil group had the best results.
5. Coffee enema
I saved this one for last because this suggestion isn’t for everyone, but a coffee enema will help your liver detox.
To give you the cliff notes on how this works: a coffee enema will be quickly absorbed in the blood vessels of the lower intestines. These vessels go straight to the liver which causes an increased secretion of bile. Much of the toxins processed by the liver are eliminated in the form of bile and thus increasing the secretion of bile helps to get rid of a hangover faster.
Now you must hold the coffee enema in for at least 10 minutes for this to be effective and there is a chance you may have to do more than one if your colon is full of stool.
Coffee enemas have loads of other benefits other than restoring your body from a hangover.
You can find coffee enema kits online which makes the enema process much more manageable. Keep in mind you don’t want to use everyday grocery store coffee so if this is something you are interested in trying, make sure you purchase the right kind of coffee ahead of time.
Of course, avoiding a hangover is easier than using natural remedies to cure a hangover. I do my best to prevent hangovers all-together by drinking plenty of water throughout my day, eating highly nutritious meals, and going to bed on time.
I hope one of these remedies works for you and you get back to feeling like yourself in no time!
Cheers,
Liv
