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According to Professor Michael Oshinsky from Thomas Jefferson University in the US, the best way to stop a hangover in its tracks is to

combine an anti-inflammatory painkiller like aspirin with a coffee or cola. It works, firstly, because the painkiller reduces the levels of a headache-triggering substance called acetate that’s formed when we process alcohol. Then the caffeine blocks the receptors that any acetate made would normally use, which stops it working. “The best way to use the combination is to take a painkiller before you go to bed and then have a caffeine drink when you wake up,” he says.

Knock that morning-after feeling on the head, with a little help from science. By Helen Foster

irst the good news: a team at Griffith University in Queensland claims to have created the first hangover-proof beer. It’s a mix of lager and electrolytes, which

is believed to work by reducing the dehydrating effect of alcohol. Now the bad news: it’s not available to buy yet. So to avoid that nasty morning-after feeling we still need to follow sensible rules – stick to fewer than three standard drinks (the point when hangovers kick in for most people) and drink water between every alcoholic drink.

But what if you feel like letting your hair down or you already have? Well, just as new beers are being researched, so are new ways to avoid that morning-after feeling. Give one of these ideas a try.

Use a pill/coffee combo

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It’s amazing how many people smoke only when they drink, but if you’re one of them, you’ll end

up with a worse hangover than if you’d just stuck to the booze, say researchers at Brown University in the US. Exactly why isn’t known, but Professor Damaris rohsenow, who found the link, says it may be down to the fact that smoking interferes with sleep quality. “And we found the more disrupted someone’s sleep was, the worse their hangover the next day,” she says.

It could also be that smoking adds to inflammatory reactions in the brain that trigger pain. Whatever the cause, it’s another reason to stub out the ciggies – even if you are only a social smoker.

That’s the phrase Auckland-based nutritionist catherine Sissons from Nova Nutrition coined for the regimen she developed to help her corporate clients get through periods of heavy socialising with their brains and bodies intact. It sees them priming their system in the day before a big night out with foods that provide fluid and nutrients that combat alcohol damage and aid detoxification. She suggests you add three foods to your pre-party menu:TOMATOES: They’re 94 per cent water, which pre-hydrates the body, but they’re also packed with antioxidants to help fight the free radical damage alcohol causes.BrOccOlI: This vegetable contains 91 per cent water, but it also helps increase enzyme production in the liver that flushes out alcohol.BEETrOOT: Also high in water at 83 per cent, these vegies help to improve liver function.

This is commonly drunk in Korea before a big night out to ward off hangovers and, according to new research by a team at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, it works. They asked one group of people to drink the juice and gave another a placebo, then both groups consumed a lot of spirits. Those who had drunk the juice felt about 20 per cent better than those given the placebo – particularly for symptoms like decreased concentration. It works because it revs up alcohol-metabolising enzymes in the system, helping you clear things out faster.

You might find Korean pear juice in Asian supermarkets, but if not you could make your own. Korean pears are also called nashi pears – the round ones that look like apples. Simply throw five or six into a juicer and make your own pear juice hangover remedy.

It’s green and it tastes mean, but it could see you waking up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed thanks to an ingredient in spirulina called phycocyanobilin. “Much of a hangover is attributed to a by-product of alcohol called acetaldehyde and the oxidative stress this causes on the system,” says US researcher Mark Mccarty, who wrote about the potential link in the journal Medical Hypotheses. “Phycocyanobilin has the ability to inhibit the enzyme complex that causes that stress.”

As yet there are no formal trials on spirulina as a hangover remedy, but those already using it suggest a teaspoon of the powder is the magic dose. But you have to drink the smoothie before you go to bed. “leave it until the morning and the oxidative stress will be well underway and it won’t work,” says Mccarty.

Yes, really, there is an app for that. called BrainWave Hangover relief, it works by using low-frequency sound waves called binaural beats which alter brainwaves and change

the way you feel, and it claims to help provide relief from headache, nausea and discomfort. To use it you simply sit and listen to the low humming tones for about 30 minutes. It might sound impossible, but in trials the tones have been shown to increase alertness and concentration, which are commonly affected during a hangover. Plus, there’s research showing they can reduce headaches.

goodhealth.

Try some ‘social nutrition’ Make

yourself a spirulina smoothie

Ban the social cigarettes Download

the hangover app

Drink some Korean pear juice

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