How To Prevent A Hangover

 Prevention is better than cure, they say. It's all well and good curing a hangover, but wouldn't it be better not to have it in the first place? There are quite a few things you can do to prepare for a night of drinking and prevent yourself from spending the next day with your head in a toilet. Unfortunately, the only surefire way to prevent a hangover is to not drink at all, but where's the fun in that?
 
Before drinking

 1. Eat something: Commonly referred to as "soakage", eating something before a night of moderate to heavy drinking definitely helps to lessen the effects of a hangover. In fact, the more you eat, the more time it will take for the alcohol to affect you. This is because food helps to reduce the formation of acetaldehyde in your stomach, and it is this substance that is thought to be the main cause of hangovers

• Fatty, carbohydrate-filled foods, such as pizza and pasta, are best for preventing hangovers, as fat slows your body's absorption of alcohol.
• However, if you are trying to eat healthily, go for oily fish that contain healthy fatty acids, such as salmon, trout and mackerel.

 2. Take vitamins: Your body uses up a lot of vitamins and nutrients when metabolizing alcohol, while alcohol itself destroys essential B vitamins. Depleted of these vitamins, your body has a tough time whipping itself back into shape, leading to the dreaded hangover. You can help your poor liver out by taking a vitamin supplement leading up to any major drinking event. For the most effective results, opt for B complex, B6 or B12 vitamins. Vitamin B supplements can be found in most drug stores and supermarkets, or you can increase your intake of B vitamins naturally by eating liver, meat and other animal products, such as milk and cheese.

3. Have a spoon of olive oil: This may sound a little gross, but many Mediterranean cultures swear by this hangover prevention technique. Basically, it's the same principle as eating fatty food before drinking - the fat in the olive oil will limit your body's absorption of alcohol. So if you can stomach it, swallow a tablespoon of olive oil before you head out for the night.

• Alternatively, you can increase your intake of olive oil less directly by dipping some crusty bread into it, or drizzling it over a salad.
  
   4. Drink milk: Milk is often said to help prevent hangovers as it forms a coat on the lining of the stomach, which may help to limit the amount of alcohol that gets absorbed into your bloodstream. While there is little scientific evidence to back up the notion that milk helps to prevent a hangover, there are many people who swear by the method. If nothing else, milk is a healthy source of calcium and B vitamins, so drinking it can't hurt.
  
  
  5. Stick with one type of alcohol: Mixing drinks is your worst enemy when it comes to hangovers. This is because different alcohols contain various additives, flavorings, and other elements which, when combined, can give you the mother of all hangovers as your body struggles to process everything at once. Choose beer or vodka or wine or rum, but whatever you do, don't have them all in one night. Choose your drink and stick to it.
  • Cocktails are particularly lethal, as they usually contain two or more alcohols mixed together. If you can't resist the bright colors and tiny umbrellas, try to at least limit yourself to a maximum of two Cosmopolitans!