Hangover Cures and Prevention

Last night, you drank some bubbly. This morning, you're deflated. Here's how to cure the after-effects of alcohol, plus tips to avoid them next time.

After You Drink

Drink lots of water. Think of it as a cleansing rinse cycle.

Drink fruit juices. There is some evidence that fructose, the sugar in fruit, burns alcohol. According to doctors, fructose will also restore a person's blood sugar level. (Watch out, though, for a sugar rush and the ensuing crash.)

Drink Pedialyte. Like bland Gatorade for vomiting babies, it replenishes sugars and fluid-balancing electrolytes.

Forget the bloody mary. The tomato juice's vitamin C builds up resistance, and the Tabasco's capsicum acts as a pain reliever, but the additional alcohol intake only postpones the hangover a little longer.

Eat bland carbohydrates. They absorb any alcohol left in the stomach, provide sugar, and combat nausea.

Eat eggs. Eggs contain the chemical N-acetyl-cysteine, which can help clear the liver of harmful free radicals.

Eat honey. The National Headache Foundation recommends a piece of toast slathered with fructose-loaded honey.

Try activated charcoal. Doctors says this fine powder helps absorb impurities (that's why emergency rooms use it when pumping stomachs). But it also tastes like biting into a briquette.

Try Livercare. These herbal tablets have been proved to block the evil acetaldehyde, but after taking it, Real Simple's testers were still slightly hung over the next day.

Try milk thistle. Its active ingredient helps detoxify the liver, but it doesn't do anything for a headache.

Try Alka-Seltzer Morning Relief. These tablets contain caffeine and aspirin, which offer energy and headache relief. But too much aspirin can cause stomach bleeding in some drinkers.

Take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like Tylenol. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories provide headache relief without upsetting the stomach--just don't make them a habit, since some doctors believe they react with alcohol to damage the liver.

Drink Pepto-Bismol. The familiar pink stuff eases stomach discomfort, replenishes electrolytes, and dampens heartburn. But it won't do anything to shake that headache.