You overdid it. There’s no splitting hairs about it, but there is one splitting headache — and it’s yours. But you know how to treat that, what you’re not sure of is how to cure hangover nausea. But it’s serious, and you need a solution — stat.
That’s where we come in. Maybe you’re so hungover you were barely able to type how to cure hangover nausea into Google. Maybe you know yourself, and you know you’re going to need some tips this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day 2018. Whatever brought you here, here’s what you need to know to get rid of that hangover nausea right now.
How to cure hangover nausea
Meet the spice that soothes
The first thing you should reach for, friend, is the ginger tea. In addition to being used as a folk remedy for upset stomachs for centuries, ginger has been shown to effectively quell the nausea of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, a treatment notorious for nausea in the extreme. The spice can reduce those symptoms that send you running to the bathroom by up to 40% according to the study, especially when patients started adding supplements made with the root up to three days before treatment. So if you’re reading this before your big night out, start popping ginger stat.
Ginger tea tames a twisting, turning stomach in two ways, making it an ideal choice. In addition to the nausea-busting properties of ginger, the warm liquid will soothe your stomach and throat, which is especially necessary if you’ve already been kneeling next to the porcelain dry heaving.
Drink dairy, if you dare
But, please, not just any old dairy. You might be tempted to reach for a milkshake, thinking it will soothe your stomach and satisfying those day-after-drinking cravings, but please refrain. What your gut needs is a boost, not a sugar bomb. Your best bet is kefir.
“Kefir is rich in probiotics so it helps restore normal gut bacteria in the stomach, while providing some needed rehydration and a protein boost,” Dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot, creator of The F-Factor Diet and author of “The F-Factor Diet” and “The Miracle Carb Diet,” told Metro. “And kefir is lactose-free, which some people tolerate better than probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, cheese and milk that contain lactose.”
Take a cue from BRAT
If you’re feeling like a trash fire that fell into bed, think of BRAT. You know, that really bland diet that used to be recommended to people with stomach issues; the name is a mnemonic of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Although BRAT has fallen out of fashion, bananas might just be how to cure hangover nausea. They’re easy to eat, relatively bland so they won’t prompt another sprint to the porcelain and pack a good punch of fiber. Zuckerbrot says that’s key for curing what ails you after all those ales. Whole fruits, unlike fruit juice, “contain energy-boosting fructose as well as fiber that will soak up and flush out toxins still floating around your digestive system.”
Feeling a bit better and up to eating an actual meal? Check out the recipes for hangover foods that Zuckerbrot shared with Metro. She even dished on ways to prep for all that partying so you’re not hit so hard by a hangover the day after.
