Avoiding a hangover

It was probably the water more than the coconut.

When you drink, the liver breaks the alcohol down into metabolites before they are excreted. A hangover occurs because the metabolites build up faster than they are excreted. So the more water you drink in addition to the beer, the faster the metabolites are flushed from the system.

Drink water between beers. Get lots to drink before hitting the sack. Don't drink on ermpty stomach will help but the key factor is keeping hydrated.

it also has electrolytes which are helpful, too.

cray said:

it also has electrolytes which are helpful, too.

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Are you referring to the coconut water?

yes.

My trick is to have something to eat and a glass of milk before the alcohol and then a glass of water or two before bed. Stops the dehydration the next day. But you may have to get up in the middle of the night to go the toilet.

Also drink something (a big glass of lemonade or something) before you start so that the first beer doesn't disappear because you're quenching your thirst.

I can't understand those who want a big fry up the next morning - I'd rather just have an inoffensive slice of toast, ideally with a bit of marmite. But tbh the only thing I've found really always works is the boring solution of not drinking so much.

Alternating equal amounts alcohol and orange juice worked for me, plus a lot of plain water after the drinking was done for the evening.

One of the big causes of hangovers is dehydration, thus the water or coconut water. In my case, my college roommate told me that vitamin C was important to hangover prevention for its anti-oxidant properties. I have no idea how right she was, but I do know that I was the only one among our group who was able to function the next morning.

my advice is to follow every beer with some whiskey.

And every whiskey with a shot of polish spirits.

Years ago, my friends and I independently stumbled upon a variation on the "bacon sandwich" cure that's fast, tasty, cheap, and a lot less work than trying to fry bacon when you're drunk and hoping you have fresh bread in the house. Egg-drop ramen. It's got all the carbs, salt, and protein that let the bacon sandwich work its magic, plus water for added hydration.

Assuming you have the kind that costs about $0.15 a package, with a brick of noodles and a little foil flavor packet, prepare the ramen according to the directions, with two tweaks.

1) Break up the noodles before you put them in the water (the easiest way to do this is set the unopened packet on the counter and whack it a few times). That way you can eat it like soup rather than drunkenly fiddling with drippy, hot noodles.
2) 1 minute before it's done cooking, stir a beaten egg into the broth.

Voila! It's what hangovers crave, and the egg makes it taste sooo much better than normal ramen. I had one roommate who would beg me to make it for her at least twice a week (she really liked to drink), and it did the trick every time.

ETA: It also tastes ten thousand times better than coconut water.

cray said:

my advice is to follow every beer with some whiskey.

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Great idea! (But maybe try the water thing, too.)

cray said:

my advice is to follow every beer with some whiskey.

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See, people, this is why cray isn't welcomed in the non-existent mod room any more.

Coconut water tastes better mixed with something like grape juice.

This has always sounded kind of BS to me, but I was told that coconut water is similar to plasma and that's why it's good for what ails you. (ales you? haha)

All I know is don't drink on an empty stomach and lots of water supposedly helps. ^^

The combination of water and electrolytes is really key.

Alcohol drains you of both, and that's what causes the hangover.

Coconut water has electrolytes, but ordinary sports drink like Gatorade works too.

Bars typically serve free peanuts whose salt promotes more drinking, but I find less drunkenness when munching on bread of some form, whether garlic bread, bread sticks, cheesy bread, etc. The bread soaks up a lot of the alcohol.

First drink of the night needs to be 8oz of water; last drink of the night the same.