Healthy Breakfasts To Help Your Hangover

Help! Is there a breakfast hangover cure?

We’ve all been there - woken up feeling a little worse for wear, grabbed a coffee and started thinking about what culinary cure is available.

The fact of the matter is nothing will ‘cure’ your hangover per se. The act of metabolising booze releases toxins that damage your liver cells, mess with your pancreatic cells, play havoc with your metabolism and hormones and decrease your immunity - and that’s only the start. You’ll feel headache-ridden, nauseous, tired and cranky, possibly even a little spaced out regardless of what you eat.

That said, some foods have been shown to help your recovery. Don’t think because you feel bad, it’s an excuse to eat badly as poor food choices at this stage will only compound the issue. A belly full of starchy carbs and grease might appeal, but they may well hinder your quest to return to normality.

So, what to have for breakfast after drinking?

For starters, fluid. Lots of it. Ice cold water or light squash is best - try and avoid relying on caffeinated or sweet, fizzy drinks. You’ll be dehydrated and while the former will help, the latter will have a further dehydrating effect on you.

As for food, it’s gonna come down to a balanced mixture of comfort and nutritionally rich foods. While a heavy fry up might appeal, we’ve got some healthy, low-carb versions that would do you far better. It’s a myth that you need something to mop up or absorb any leftover alcohol - the damage is already done and you’ve long absorbed it. What you are now feeling is the effect of low-blood sugar and dehydration, not any remaining remnants of the night before.

Stuffing yourself full of carbs and fat isn’t great however, protein rich meats are ok - look to grill rather than fry and there is nothing wrong with that. Better than that, now is a good time to get some vitamin rich foods into your body. A smoothie, or some fruit is a good idea. Avocado too - healthy fats and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Eggs will likely feature and that’s good news: eggs are packed with vitamin D, vitamin B1, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, selenium and zinc. They are also protein-dense which means they also help us feel fuller for longer, beating away any hangover munchies long into the day.

A little spice is great too - as well as making you sweat out some of those pesky toxins, it also helps pep you up, shocking your taste buds a little and releasing a few endorphins, which may aid with your low mood.

Ultimately, the best and only true way to cure a hangover is not to get one! But we aren’t here to preach, there’s nothing wrong with letting your hair down every once in a while and if not done to harmful excess or embarked upon with too much regularity, having a few drinks is a fun part of adult life.