Had a “few” rounds of brewskies last night, went to bed piss-headed drunk, and you wake up like your head was squashed by a steamroller driven by the Incredible Hulk. Yup, that’s a hangover, all right. So instead of feeling so wasted the morning after, why not try to prevent the symptoms?

Here are some tips on preventing a hangover. A word of warning though, while there are a chockfull of suggested preventive measures and cures, there no real one surefire way not to feel wasted after a night of binge drinking.

Congeners

Medical research says that its the congeners and not the alcohol that causes hangover. Congeners are non-alcoholic stuff that’s used to put flavor and aroma to the drinks. These buggers are formed during fermentation and are toxic.

Alcohol

But does this give you an excuse to just concentrate on higher-proof alcohol? No. Alcohol reacts with your body and the by-products of this reaction messes with your brain, dehydrates your body, and low blood sugar. This is where you get the nausea and dry-mouth among other things.

Remedies

Here’s a list of possible remedies you can try out before, during, and after a night of brews:

• Water

  If you’ve still got some sense in you before you hit the sack, drink lots of water. This will not only reverse the effects of dehydration but also cleanse you body naturally in the process. It also helps if you alternate drinks with water so that you can immediately hydrate right after a round. Plus, drinking lots of water can help make you feel full, which means you’ll be able to down less mugs or glasses of drinks.

• Food

  Don’t go out drinking with an empty stomach. Having something in there to digest would also regulate the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream.

• Pick Your Poison

  Downing shots of really hard would surely send you quickly barfing in the toilet. Settling with mixed alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks could help since these drinks aren’t mostly alcohol. Your liver also takes time to break alcohol down. So moderate your drinking to a bottle of beer per hour.

• Hangover Pills

  These pills are marketed to combat and reverse the effects of a hangover. Some of these pills contain carbon that lines your stomach and prevents those nasty chemicals from getting into your system. You down these pills before/during/after drinking. I have my reservations though since carbon can mess up you liver.

• Sleep

  Get some rest. The body does most of its recovery during sleep. Though it’d also help if you pee before going to bed so that you’ll rid body of some of the alcohol. If you wake up with the nasty hangover, better call in sick too (that is, if you happened to party on a weeknight).

• Juice and Sports Drinks

  Vitamin C from juice helps boost you body’s resistance levels. It’s a natural antioxidant. Sport drinks help you hydrate fast. Drinking some will definitely increase you body’s fluid levels and aid your body’s natural detox process.

• Coffee

  There are varying opinions about coffee. Some claim that a cup of black and sweet joe vaporizes the effect of a hangover. Some would say that caffeinated drinks would only further dehydrate your body.

• Aspirin or Ibuprofen

  That nasty headache can be dealt with some good old aspirin or ibuprofen. Take these pills only in the morning not as a preventive measure (during drinking or before sleeping).

• Rest, Hydrate, Rest

  I think I’ve already said these.

So there you go. And oh, don’t drink and drive!