No matter how old you are, hangovers are not fun. But the older you get, hangovers last longer, and it can take anywhere from 48-72 hours to recover. It’s no secret that I like to drink and can sometimes take one too many shots so these are the steps that I take to prevent a hangover.
*If you mix every drink at the bar and drink excessively, these remedies aren’t going to help. Please remember to drink responsibly!
I wrote a post on how to prevent a hangover years ago, but I thought it was time to update it with my current routine since there are better hangover prevention products on the market now.
1. Eat
Even if you follow all the steps below, if you drink on an empty stomach, you’ll feel horrible. Don’t skip meals to “save calories” for your alcohol! We’ve all done this at one point, and coming from someone who’s been drinking for awhile, this is a bad idea.
Eat things that are high in protein to slow the absorption of alcohol. Some things to eat before drinking: avocado, eggs, chicken, salmon, banana, Greek yogurt. If you don’t have any of these things, just eat something. Anything is better than drinking on an empty stomach.
2. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Everyone always says for every 1 drink you have, you should have 1 glass of water. But honestly, that’s a lot of liquids. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes to stand in a long line for the women’s bathroom.
Yes, it’s important to have water while drinking, so if I know I’ll be going out, I’ll make an extra effort to stay hydrated and get enough water before I start drinking. I’ll also have a hydration powder packet or 2 like Liquid I.V. or DripDrop before I go out.
Tip: Chase your shots with water instead of soda or juice.
3. Avoid mixed drinks
Thankfully neither of us are huge cocktail drinkers and don’t like sugary drinks so this is an easy one for us to avoid. We’ll usually have our drinks on the rocks or with soda water and lime. Occasionally we’ll add a splash of fresh fruit juice.
Tip: If you’re at brunch and having mimosas, ask for the juice on the side so you can control how much you put into your drink.
4. Hangover Prevention Supplements
Even if I follow steps 1-3 perfectly, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll still be hungover. So before bed, I’ll make sure to take one of these hangover prevention supplements. I’ve tried a lot of hangover prevention supplements on the market, and these are my current favorites.
Dihydromycetrin (DHM)
In my previous post on preventing hangovers, these DHM pills were my go-to. It still works! But I wanted something with extra supplements, which is why I switched to Flyby last year.
When you’re looking at any supplements to prevent a hangover, the key ingredient is dihydromycetrin (DHM), which helps the body metabolize alcohol faster. It’s an extract from a Japanese Raisin Tree and is found in pretty much every Korean hangover prevention product. Korean hangover prevention supplements are better than the ones you’ll find in the US, but the ones that are effective aren’t easy to find.
Flyby
Flyby is my current go-to and when I go out, I never leave my house without it. I even carry a few extra for my friends just in case they need it.
I switched from just DHM pills because Flyby also has other things like vitamin B, vitamin C, and their own proprietary blend (includes milk thistle, prickly pear, etc). It has supplements that help with liver function and includes ones that are depleted when you drink. It’s important to take care of your body when you’re not treating it well!
The instruction says to take 3 before drinking and 3 before bed, but I’ll usually just take 3 before bed with a glass of water. Unless you’re having a wild night or you’re on a bachelorette trip, taking 3 on a normal night worked fine for me.
Condition
This is probably my favorite hangover prevention. Unfortunately, it’s only found in Korea. Occasionally you used to be able to find some in Korean markets, but I haven’t seen it in years. You can find some on Amazon, but it’s extremely marked up and costs almost $15/bottle.
If you’re in Korea, you can find these at any convenience store so it’s easy to pop in and get one. It has a bit of a herbal taste to it, but it’s bearable. You drink one before bed and you’ll wake up feeling completely normal.
Sunset
This one is less of a hangover prevention than the others, but it’s still a supplement we take often. When we drink, we turn red aka Asian Glow or Asian Flush. This is because we have an alcohol intolerance, and our body is unable to break down alcohol normally. Typically, we’ve taken Pepcid before we drink to prevent turning red. But we wanted to find something natural instead of repeatedly taking Pepcid.
Our friend & photographer introduced us to Sunset, which is a natural supplement to help break down alcohol and prevent Asian Glow. It has Quercetin, which Sunset calls “nature’s answer to Pepcid.” It also has other natural ingredients like Bromelain, L-theanine, NAC, and B vitamins, which all help metabolize the alcohol faster. You take 3 pills 30 minutes before you start drinking.
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Let us know if you have any hangover prevention tips!
– Jo
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