This question is worded a little odd, but what I’m trying to ask is why do people specifically eat things like bananas and soup after getting hammered? I’m wondering if this is just a craving thing or if there’s something about these foods I’m not aware of
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Ok so hangovers are largely 2 problems that are super related. You are dehydrated (largely due to all the urinating but also because of things like sweating while also not consuming water) and essentially nutrient starved – some get urinated out/sweat out others just don’t absorbed because your body is processing what it can faster*
Seriously, there is a reason why there are specific things that if you consume them the emergency advice is consume alcohol RIGHT NOW and get to the ER RIGHT NOW, your body actually processes alcohol over quite a few other things in a ‘first in line’ situation.
Ultimately ‘hangover food’ usually aims to do one of two things. Either make you ignore the hangover effects (aka ‘hair of the dog’/alcohol again) or replenish what was lost. Some do both. I will never believe that any person actually likes a bloody mary BUT technically it is an amazing ‘cure’ it has alcohol but is also hydrating and has a ton of vitamins that your body needs to ‘get over’ the hangover.
Generally things with high sugar and sodium content. People get burgers, fries, fruit, smoothies etc. When you’re hungover you’ll be dehydrated to a degree.
The physical experience of a hangover is actually your body going through mild alcohol withdrawals, that’s why people say they feel better by having a drink while hungover. But included in the alcohol is sugar too. So you may crave sugar, fats, salts. Things that feel replenishing
I stopped having hangovers when i started drinking a bottle or 2 of water before going to sleep, no matter how much I drank, if anything i am just tired.
Eating a ‘heavy’ meal (high- carb, fat, salt, and protein) *before* you drink not only helps you process alcohol faster, but also provides you with some of the nutrients and electrolytes you lose by drinking (and subsequently dehydrating yourself). “Hangover food” is the post-drinking bandaid version of this. Your body *does* process alcohol before other food and drink, but it’s not a queue, it’s a ratio, which is why you can eat a heavy meal and then have 4 drinks and be sober 8 hours later, vs 4 drinks and no food and still be intoxicated (there’s a YT short I found from a woman with a breathalyzer who confirms this, but I can’t find it).
It’s just trying to play catch-up when you don’t have a proper greasy feast before tying one on.
1. Our body needs water. (Our body is 60% water).
2. Alcohol is a diuretic.
3. Diuretic means it makes us pee more.
4. If we pee more, it means we’re releasing the water in our body. (So that 60% starts to go down.)
5. When we drink alcohol, we often forget to rehydrate and drink water. (So that 60% keeps going down and does go up.)
6. Then people get drunk and pass out.
7. When the person wakes up, they will often have a hangover.
8. A hangover often entails a big headache.
9. This headache is caused ny a lack of water in your brain.
10. To get rid of the headache, your brain needs water.
11. There’s specific types of food that can help rehydrate you faster.
12. Food with high water content such as fruits and vegetables would help.
13. There’s also food with electrolytes that regulate and distribute the needed minerals in your body.
14. When your brain’s water content is back to normal, the hangover starts to go away.
I personally do Pho (Vietnamese food).
But a better solution is the preventative one – just remember to drink water every so often while you’re drinking. This will prevent a hangover and so you wouldn’t need to dead with all the headache.
But the best solution is just to not drink alcohol. There’s no health benefits to it.
Sodium and fat. You want sodium both becuase you are dehydrated and need it, but also because it makes you want to drink more water, which you really need. Fat because you need a solid meal after probably not eating while drunk, but also something that tastes good enough for you to want to eat it even if your stomach feels queasy (comfort food tends to be fatty).
As for bananas and soup, people associate bananas with potassium, which you also lost while peeing/sweating too much, and soup is mostly water, which you also need after that.
As somewhat of a lush in my youth, when my wife was pregnant with our eldest and had terrible morning sickness I’d always tell her to have bananas for breakfast; they are fairly gentle on your stomach and the only thing that tastes the same coming back up as going down. She scoffed at the time, but have since heard her telling other people the same at least a dozen times.
So there’s one hangover food that at least has some scientific backing. The bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich (or biscuit).
Basically, it has the right proportions of carb, protein, fat, and salt.
Eggs have a nice boost of protein and omega-3s.
And bacon has amino acids that boost neurotransmitters and help the foggy feeling. And it has, I think, an enzyme that stimulates alcohol processing in the liver.
You can also do a whole wheat toast or bagel for more complex carbs.
When I used to drink more, a big glass of water before sleep and one of those sandwiches in the morning and I was right as rain.
My hangover food has always been something very fatty (usually McDonalds cause Im pretty much neighbor to one) and it really helps me get through the day
Personally I can’t really eat when hungover, I feel full all day so only light meals. Soups generally go down easy and outside of that I can’t eat most of the other foods people generally have.
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