Pounding head with a combo of aching hunger and nauseating thirst served up with a giant side of uncontrollable anxiety. That’s right, it is Sunday morning, and the hangover is in it’s prime.
You roll out of bed with a racing mind filled with the regrets of last night’s adventure while beating yourself up over a lack of self-control and obsessing over the coming day’s events and the fear that you may have to cancel. Brain fog hides the fact that anxiety has taken over the control room and is fueling your every thought.
Yeah, maybe you should have drunk less or chosen different less-sugary options. The reality is the time for preventative action has passed, and you are in the thick of a super-powered hangover.
You need to take immediate action to shake the hangxiety monster off your back. Don’t worry, we called in the reinforcements. Jordan Hostetler is a Registered Dietician, and she is here to break down the exact steps to take to beat your anxiety hangover once and for all.
Hydrate. Hydrate Hydrate.
The suggestion of consuming water to stay hydrated during and after an episode of drinking is no foreign concept. The importance of staying hydrated cannot be stressed enough, and it is our first line of defense when it comes to battling the hangover. Death by drowning.
What does Jordan have to say about hydration? “Every single function and process in our body relies on water. We easily become dehydrated from alcohol, and everything becomes inhibited or stalled, including toxic elimination. Hydration is key during and after a night of drink.”
Hydration is key during and after a night of drink.
Jordan Hostetler
The body is composed of 60% water with the brain being 73% water. (1) So, yeah, if you are incredibly dehydrated like most hangover victims tend to be, then your brain and body are basically trekking through an arid desert of emotional booby traps carrying a forty-pound bookbag full of toxic burden.
How did you get so dehydrated? “Alcohol promotes urination because it inhibits the release of vasopressin, a hormone that decreases the volume of urine made by the kidneys and impedes the kidneys from functioning properly and from retaining fluids,” explains Jordan. That little fun fact also helps explain why a night of drinking usually includes 75 trips to the bathroom… if you were curious.
Alcohol promotes urination because it inhibits the release of vasopressin, a hormone that decreases the volume of urine made by the kidneys and impedes the kidneys from functioning properly and from retaining fluids.
Jordan Hostetler
So…you need to hydrate, and you need to hydrate fast. Jordan has a few tricks up her sleeve to help you get started.
Start Chugging Water. Simple and easy. Go to the kitchen, fill up the largest water bottle (or glass) you have and slowly but surely finish it. Yep, you know the next step – head back to the kitchen for a refill. Rinse, wash, repeat…in so many words.
If you are like me, this “chugging water” option may send your head straight to the toilet. The water smacks the bottom of my empty stomach and has me whirling for an unpleasant experience. If this has happened to you before, I would suggest checking out the carb option below and returning here after you’ve eaten a little something.
Eat Water-Packed Fruits and Veggies. Who knew that fructose helps speed up alcohol metabolism? Some fruits and veggies are also packed full of water and help us hydrate when water alone isn’t doing the trick. Need suggestions of where to start – watermelon, cucumber, coconut water, cantaloupe, strawberries, bell peppers, zucchini, celery, tomato or tomato juice and peaches. Not to mention soup broth is another excellent source of water.
Consume Cold-Pressed Honey. Swallowing one teaspoon every thirty minutes of cold-pressed honey throughout the morning is another good hydration option. It is full of potassium as an electrolyte, vitamin C as an antioxidant and fructose. Honey is also less acidic and aggressive on the stomach than orange juice.
When Carbs are a Must
Every villain has a weakness. Hangover’s weakness is carbohydrates. The moment has come where carbs are here for your body’s benefit (and you thought to cure this hangover was going to be all work and no play.)
Jordan explains, “Drinking can easily lower our blood sugar, so some of your “hangover” symptoms may actually be caused by the brain lacking glucose used for energy.”
Drinking can easily lower our blood sugar, so some of your “hangover” symptoms may actually be caused by the brain lacking glucose used for energy.
Jordan Hostetler
What are some healthy carbs to get your blood sugar up to optimal levels? Head out (or in dire situations phone a friend) and get yourself some high-packed carbs like oats, banana, sweet potato, brown rice, wheat toast, Kodiak pancakes, nuts, or plain greek yogurt.
Dose Up on Some Vitamins
Who knew popping pills would be a suggested action to help cure your hangover? Alcohol actually inhibits the absorption of nutrients and vitamins that impact how the brain and body function.
Check your cabinet for the below-suggested vitamins. Don’t have them? Be sure to text your food-run friend to pick you up some vitamins while she is out.
Jordan suggests two primary vitamins to focus on:
B Complex and Vitamin B6 Specifically.
B vitamins help produce neurochemicals and facilitate signaling between brain cells. Symptoms of anxiety can be tied back to deficiencies in vitamin B and other critical nutrients.
Jordan explains, “Most of us are deficient in B-vitamins, and these are extremely important vitamins in everyday liver health and metabolism.”
Most of us are deficient in B-vitamins, and these are extremely important vitamins in everyday liver health and metabolism.
Jordan Hostetler
B-vitamins are critically crucial to the inner workings of the mitochondria, and one component of B-vitamin is methylfolate, which turns homocysteine into SAM-E that makes our serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Brain chemicals that significantly affect mood.
Taking a vitamin pack like an Emergen-C or supplementing with a B-complex vitamin can help you reboot after a vitamin draining drinking event. Foods high in vitamin B (and still appetizing during a hangover) are legumes, yogurt, fortified cereal, sunflower seeds, and eggs.
Potassium.
Deficiency in potassium can cause headaches, heartburn, and cramping. After a night or day of drinking our electrolytes, which are vital in proper hydration, are all out of whack.
Jordan suggests, “Having a morning banana & spinach smoothie with blueberries and avocado which will supply you with adequate potassium and B-vitamins along with helping to increase your blood sugar.”
Having a morning banana & spinach smoothie with blueberries and avocado which will supply you with adequate potassium and B-vitamins along with helping to increase your blood sugar.
Jordan Hostetler
Our glutathione levels, which are essential radical-fighting antioxidants, get destroyed when drinking. The following supplements can help raise glutathione levels: 250 mg NAC, 1000 mg glutamine, 750 mg glycine, 50 mg B complex, 500 to 750 mg vitamin C and 150-200 mg of magnesium. (2) (add these to your smoothie, and you’re golden)
My Anxiety Should be Gone Now…Right?
I wish it were that easy. Keep in mind that these are all suggestions to help you heal your body that is overloaded with toxins, vitamin deficiency, and hormonal imbalance.
Even after the clean up has been completed, your mind may take time to recover, anxiety may linger, and your mindset plays a huge role in how you react to that anxiety.
We can’t help what we feel – that’s what my mom always told me, at least. Although we can’t control anxiety from popping up, we can control how we react to anxiety. Our reaction can change our perspective of anxiety so that it is no longer the feared dictator it once was.
Learning how to practice mindfulness will help aid in this portion of your hangover anxiety fighting.
Now go forth and conquer!
About Jordan Hostetler
Jordan attended East Carolina University for a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics. She then completed an accredited dietetic internship (DI) program, passed the Registered Dietitian National Board Exam, and became licensed as a Registered Dietician completing 75 hours of continuing education credits a year.
She is passionate about helping others reduce their toxic burden and live healthier, happier lives. With dreams to open a future wellness clinic, you can find Jordan on Instagram @beautifullprofit_dietitian, on her blog, or learn more about her love of clean-crafted Scout and Cellar wine.
[…] The “in the moment” effects are generally pleasant, and we feel bonded with those participating in the same activity. Shit doesn’t hit the fan until later on when the feel-good vibes wear off, and the anxiety or depression creep in with other unsavory side effects. […]