Japan Hangover Cures

[Mulboyne]

Shiatsu Hangover Cure (Japanese)

This also from an old Metropolis article

Other Japanese remedies include umeboshi (pickled plums) and kudzu (a fibrous vine of the pea family). The pyric acid in umeboshi helps to stimulate liver function and helps break down alcohol in the body. Additionally umeboshi are said to help settle your stomach. Tofu made from the kudzu vine contains the compound daidzin, proven to be effective in suppressing the craving for alcohol. Powdered kudzu root has been one of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicines and hangover cures for thousands of years and an extract of the root is currently being tested for use in an anti-alcoholism drug.

[oyajikun]

I find that eating a small tub of kimchee works for some of my hangovers. It's the hangovers where I can't even keep a glass of water down that I havn't figured out yet..

[dimwit]

Other Japanese remedies include umeboshi (pickled plums) and kudzu (a fibrous vine of the pea family). The pyric acid in umeboshi helps to stimulate liver function and helps break down alcohol in the body. Additionally umeboshi are said to help settle your stomach. Tofu made from the kudzu vine contains the compound daidzin, proven to be effective in suppressing the craving for alcohol. Powdered kudzu root has been one of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicines and hangover cures for thousands of years and an extract of the root is currently being tested for use in an anti-alcoholism drug.

Sounds like new age health bumf to me. New Agers love using the statement 'are said to......' A quick Google search shows a lack of any scientific references other than this somewhat dubious looking pronouncement from the Kushi Institue

I assume the other references come from this.

Japan is famous for bogus health products which seem to appear as daily adverts in any of the major newspapers. So I greet the news with a guarded scepticism.

[maraboutslim]

My strategy. Plenty of carbs in my diet. Then after, or towards the end of a drinking session, drink a bunch of water(so I'm not dehydrated), b-vitamins("is said to" help prevent dehydration), and a big dose of ibuprofen (inflamation and pain fighter). Food doesn't hurt either. Then sleep. All good in the morning.

[Charles]

My strategy. Plenty of carbs in my diet. Then after, or towards the end of a drinking session, drink a bunch of water(so I'm not dehydrated), b-vitamins("is said to" help prevent dehydration), and a big dose of ibuprofen (inflamation and pain fighter). Food doesn't hurt either. Then sleep. All good in the morning.

Yeah, there's an old book called "The Drinking Man's Diet" that describes an anti-hangover regimen like this. A friend and I tried it, and I drank so much liquor I couldn't believe it, and no hangover whatsoever. The basic concept is that you have to supply chemicals to help the liver metabolize the alcohol as rapidly as possible, without any of the alcohol turning into toxic byproducts. So here's how it goes.

1. Start the evening with a megadose of B Complex and B-12 vitamins.
2. Start drinking heavily. Clear liquors like vodka are best, brown liquors like whiskey are OK, avoid gin. Do not mix clear and brown liquors, or liquor and beer.
3. Once per hour, breathe pure oxygen for a minute. If you can't get ahold of a tank of O2, try breathing deeply and exhaling deeply (to exchange the CO2).
4. Drink an extra glass of water every hour.
5. At the end of the evening, before sleeping, eat a small snack of high carbs, protein and fat. The book suggests a baloney sandwich on white bread with mayo (yuck) which is about the right combination. Drink an extra glass of water.
6. Go to sleep. Wake without a hangover.

I was surprised it really worked. It was a pain getting the O2 tank, but I don't know how crucial it is. Nowadays, if I go out drinking and feel like I drank too much, I do a few deep breathing exercises, I think it helps exchange the CO2 and clears my head. It's sort of a halfway version of the elaborate routine.

BTW, avoid taking ibuprofen after drinking, or especially WHILE drinking. The FDA has put out stern warnings that mixing ibuprofen and alcohol can cause liver failure.

[ichigo partygirl]

my hangover preventer is to only drink one type of spirit and beer or wine. dont drink beer and wine together or dont drink say a rum and coke and then a kahlua and milk.

I always drink about 1L of water and eat a toasted cheese sandwhich before i go to bed. I never feel sick in the morning if i do that.

[GuyJean]

It was a pain getting the O2 tank, but I don't know how crucial it is.

I bet all the chicks thought you were the coolest cat in the bar..

Can I replace O2 with Nitrous Oxide?

GJ

[FG Lurker]

I find that eating a small tub of kimchee works for some of my hangovers. It's the hangovers where I can't even keep a glass of water down that I havn't figured out yet..

Having to eat a tub of kimchee (even a small one) would soon make me forget my hangover too!

(I don't mind kimchee used in cooking, but can't eat the stuff straight.)

[FG Lurker]

It was a pain getting the O2 tank, but I don't know how crucial it is.

I bet all the chicks thought you were the coolest cat in the bar.. ]
Yeah, the awesome flames from his cigarette made him a real attraction.

[quote="GuyJean"]Can I replace O2 with Nitrous Oxide? ]
It might not work, but you wouldn't care anymore anyway!

[maraboutslim]

BTW, avoid taking ibuprofen after drinking, or especially WHILE drinking. The FDA has put out stern warnings that mixing ibuprofen and alcohol can cause liver failure.

Yeah, I had heard something about that. When I heard it I probably ignored it since I figured the alcohol would cause the liver failure all on its own anyway! Hmm...I suppose my body can handle this mixture on the rare occasions I actually need it but perhaps I'll switch to some other pain medicine? What does the FDA say about acetomenophen(sp? aka tylenol) or aspirin after drinking?

[Charles]

I bet all the chicks thought you were the coolest cat in the bar.. ]
I'm always the coolest cat in the bar. But during this particular test, we kept the tank in the car and ducked out for occasional huffs. But it made for some interesting pickup lines, "hey baby, want to come out to my car and take a hit off my oxygen tank?"

Can I replace O2 with Nitrous Oxide? ]
Stay away from NO2. I won't say anything more than that I have personal experience that it is deadly and dangerous.

What does the FDA say about acetomenophen(sp? aka tylenol) or aspirin after drinking?

Tylenol is probably worse than Ibuprofen, I think the liver failure thing first came to light with people who took Tylenol for a hangover. I thought aspirin was safe, but the FDA link I posted warns against ALL the popular headache drugs, ibuprofen, acetomenophen, naproxen, aspirin, and more obscure stuff I never heard of.

[GuyJean]

Can I replace O2 with Nitrous Oxide? ]Stay away from NO2. I won't say anything more than that I have personal experience that it is deadly and dangerous.

I know.. I've had some close encounters with that stuff too.. Quickest high in the west..

GJ

[FG Lurker]

Can I replace O2 with Nitrous Oxide? ]
Stay away from NO2. I won't say anything more than that I have personal experience that it is deadly and dangerous.

I think you mean N2O cause NO2 is some seriously nasty shit.

What happened Charles?