HANGOVER - HOW TO DRINK ALCOHOL YET AVOID A HANGOVER

HOW TO PREVENT A HANGOVER

Musings on the Art of Drinking

By

VIKRAM KARVE

THE “MORNING-AFTER” THE “NIGHT-BEFORE”

A Hangover is a terrible experience. 

You wake up in the morning with a throbbing headache.

You feel a disgusting nausea.

You may even throw-up and vomit.

Your mouth becomes dry due to dehydration.

Your whole body aches.

You feel dizzy.

Sometimes your hands tremble and you experience the “shakes”.  

You curse yourself for drinking so much at the party the previous night. 

You know that the more you “enjoy” on the “night-before” the more miserable you feel on the “morning-after”. 

A hangover is the best way to ruin your Sunday morning after your weekend partying. 

But despite this you repeat the same binge-drinking at the next party and you land up suffering a hangover on the morning-after. 

Drink - Hangover - Drink - Hangover

It is a vicious cycle that seems to become the rule with your partying. 

But how do you stop this vicious circle of drinking and hangover?

Your friends tell you about so-called “cures” for a hangover - like the “hair of the dog” and so many other mythical cures.

But soon you realize that nothing works.

And the only thing you can do is suffer in silence and “sleep out” the hangover.

There is a saying: “Prevention is Better than Cure”.

This applies to hangovers too. 

How do you prevent a hangover?

The sure-shot way to avoid a hangover is to stop drinking alcohol and become a strict teetotaller.

But obviously you don’t want to to that and give up all your enjoyment and your partying and social life. 

You want to enjoy drinking but you also want to ensure that you do not get a hangover the next morning.    

The aim of drinking alcohol is to feel good. 

If I ask you “Why do you drink?”

You will say that you drink because you want to “feel good”.

So, whenever you drink you must drink enough to raise your spirits and feel good. 

There is no point in drinking so little that you do not feel anything. 

Yes, you must drink enough to feel good but you must also make sure you do not get a hangover next morning.

HOW TO PREVENT A HANGOVER

You want to drink alcohol.

But you want to avoid and hangover.

So how do you drink in such a way as to avoid and hangover?

Is there a way where you can enjoy your drinks yet prevent a hangover on the “morning after”?  

Yes, there is.

It is simple. 

Just follow these 2 steps: 

1. DRINK ONE GLASS OF WATER BEFORE YOUR FIRST DRINK

and 

2. DRINK ONE GLASS OF WATER AFTER YOUR LAST DRINK 

Before you have your first drink, have a glass of water, cool down and then start drinking.

It is a good idea to have plenty of snacks while drinking.

After your drinking session is over have a nice cool glass of water.

Then, proceed for having your dinner.

Do not drink alcohol with your meal or after your meal. 

Yes, you must avoid drinking any type of alcoholic beverages while eating your main meal.

Even wines are best avoided if you want to prevent hangover. 

If you feel thirsty while having your meal you can always drink water.

After your dinner, make sure you eat dessert or pudding, especially a milk-based dessert like ice cream. 

Then, end your meal with a glass of water.

Never have after-dinner drinks like liqueurs or brandy if you have had alcoholic drinks before dinner.

In case you are fond of liqueurs do enjoy them after a relaxed meal which has not been preceded or accompanied by alcohol.  

One more tip. 

During your drinking session if you ever feel tipsy all you have to do is to just interrupt your drinking and have a glass of cold water. 

Then, if you feel okay, resume your drinking. 

If you still experience tipsiness, keep drinking cold water till your drunkenness disappears and you feel a bit good again. 

Remember, the aim of drinking alcohol is not to get drunk - the aim of drinking is to feel nice.

WHAT TYPES OF LIQUOR TO DRINK TO AVOID A HANGOVER

A Hangover not only depends on the amount of alcohol you drink - even the type of alcohol you drink matters.

Your drink must match the “colour” in the sky on top of you at the time of the day

You must BOOZE AS PER THE COLOUR OF THE DAY, as we say in the Navy.

In the mornings it is best to drink light coloured liquor like like Vodka, Gin, White Rum, Coconut Feni etc

As the day progresses and the afternoon approaches drinks like beer and bright cocktails are suitable. 

As the sun goes down and the evening approaches, you will relish blended Whisky with plenty of bubbly Soda in the evening as a sundowner with the setting sun in the twilight.

As the night darkens, there is nothing to beat dark Rum. 

You can drink your Rum neat, on the rocks, or with water as Rum-Pani.

Avoid combinations like Rum and Coke. 

If you prefer Whisky, sip neat single-malt Whisky to get you into a mellow mood.

And if you like the taste of good Brandy you may like to savour a drink of neat rich Brandy at night. 

I always drank my whisky or rum with plenty of water and avoided cocktails and “down-the-hatch” shots. 

I will advise you to avoid “shots” and binge drinking.

Also, you must never “down-the-hatch” your glass or gulp your drink in a hurry. 

If you are drinking a rich brandy or single malt whisky, always drink it neat.

Drink unhurriedly.

Take a small sip, close your eyes and roll the liquor on your tongue, in a relaxed manner, till the liquid is absorbed by itself - never gulp or try to drink down the rich liquor.

Savour every sip till the alcohol is absorbed within you and relish the feeling as it slowly warms your insides and elevates your spirits

Remember the saying:

मज़ा लेना है पीने का तो कम कम धीरे धीरे पी 

HANGOVER-FREE DRINKING

Try this technique the next time you drink:

Have a glass of cold water before your first peg 

and 

Remember to have a glass of cold water after your last drink

This is a sure-fire way to feel good on the “night-before” but avoid a hangover on the “morning after”. 

Breathtaking in its simplicity, isn’t it? 

This  “one-before one-after two glasses of water technique” works – you can take my word for it. 

Try this and you will never have a hangover again.

So if you must drink, enjoy the experience and make sure you feel good.

But make sure that you prevent that excruciating hangover.

Cheers … !!! 

Wish you many a hangover-free mornings ... !!!

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this story. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013 all rights reserved

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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