5 Ways to Hack Your Hangover

​As promised, and just in time for your weekend shenanigans, I give you my top 5 hangover hacks. You're welcome.

​​​✨ Numero Uno (we're speaking the Spanish today, mmmk?): Coconut Water
This is an old standby for me (and prob for a lot of you, too!). So why does it work so well? Coconut water is a more effective electrolyte replacement drink than Gatorade, without all the sugars/other crap, and it's better than water at rehydrating your post party bod. Plus, coconut water  is higher in potassium (which alcohol depletes like a champ) than a banana. Boom. To hack your hangover like a pro, though, you want to chug some of this tropical treat (at least 8 oz.!) BEFORE you go to sleep. Obvi if you forget, it will still help first thing in the morning, but I always have the best results when I remember to chug pre-snooze.​  Add a squeeze of lemon for vitamin C and a pinch or two of pink himalayan salt to take this hack next level.

✨ Numero Dos: Take Shots
Not THOSE kind of shots, duh! KOR shots are cold-pressed, nutrient-dense shooters that come in different flavors for different purposes. I use the Vitality (active ingredient turmeric) for it's anti-inflammatory effect to help beat the "puffy" morning afters and headache. Turmeric is also great for keeping your immune system boosted and ready to fend off the winter sniffles, and helps support your digestive system (which is often upset after a night of indulgence). For best results, shoot this as soon as you rise.

✨ Numero Tres: Greens and Protein
My go-to hangover breakfast is a couple six-minute eggs, 1/2 an avocado, and a green drink. Eggs provide much needed and super bioavailable protein (drinking depletes essential amino acids needed to fight headaches and detox the booze), avo helps to satiate that fatty fried food craving you KNOW you have, and greens replenish important vitamins/minerals that help speed up your liver detox process. Choose a green drink that is LOW IN SUGAR though - read your labels! A lot of store bought green drinks are actually more fruity than greeny, which means they can be super high in sugar. A good rule of thumb is to shoot for 4 to 6 grams per serving (pictured above, Suja's Power Greens fits the bill). Bonus points if your green drink also includes ginger, which can help calm tummy troubles. If you find yourself too hungover for food, ginger tea is your best bet until the upset passes.

✨ Numero Quatro: Replenish Your B's
Vitamin B helps to clear alcohol from the system by supporting liver detox, and is depleted when you drink. Popping a b-complex (preferably a whole-food based one like New Chapter Coenzyme B Food Complex) before going out and then again the next morning can help offer some relief!

✨ Numero Cinco: Cut Down on Congeners & Sugars
Congeners are ingredients produced as byproducts of fermentation and distillation. They include acetone, acetaldehyde, tannins, and some flavorants in different alcoholic beverages. Congeners are thought to make the effects of a hangover much worse. Generally, clear liquors (vodka, gin, white wine) will contain fewer congeners than darker varieties (brandy, whiskey). Super sugary drinks make your hangover worse by contributing to stomach problems and giving you the sugar crash from hell the next day. Be like me and choose a gin or vodka soda, and then make it tasty with juice from like 10 lemons and limes. Or sip slllloooooowwwwwlllly on a gin or vodka martini; shaken, not stirred. 😜

That's a wrap, friends! As always, I urge you to indulge responsibly, and remember that you only get one bod. Be kind to it. X's and O's,
Nikole