Hungover? Run through it.

I had a cross country coach who both preached and lived by the line "Run through it." Have a cold? Run through it. Cut your hand off? Run through it. Sprain your ankle? Run through it.

This same "wisdom" can be applied to a hangover. Go out and get some exercise. This might not be ideal if you can't move, but just getting the blood flowing can go a long way towards recovery, especially if you have things you need to be doing today (aka work).

Hangover cure: eat something already!

You're hungover and you've already had a glass of water. Good start, champ. Get yourself another, but while you're in the kitchen, go ahead and make a little breakfast. The alcohol still in your system needs to be absorbed by something.

What to eat? Fruits and vegetables should be your first choice to replenish those nutrients, but don't discount proteins and healthy carbs. Eggs are great, oatmeal is swell. Plus this step will help with the tip for tomorrow.

Just as a reminder: eat before you drink to avoid this situation in the future. Also, try to incorporate eating with the drinking so that you maintain a little something in your stomach to greet the whiskey when it gets there.

Ginger Ale: my favorite fizzy cure all

Remember when you had the flu and your mom gave you ginger ale? No? Well my mom is more awesome than your mom because she knew that ginger (even that found in a natural ginger ale) helps calm the stomach.

Ginger ale is good for a hangover because it helps with one of the more annoying symptoms while rehydrating you back to health. Might I recommend Vernors?

Don't forget to recycle the can!

Gatorade and other electrolyte drinks

Electrolytes specific functions are a mystery to me, but I know they are important to curing hangovers or just helping your body to recover from any kind of rigorous event. A few you might recognize are potassium, sodium and calcium and they are basically essential to allowing your body to rehydrate.

You could get these by drinking "a simple electrolyte drink made by using the correct proportions of water, sugar, salt, salt substitute for potassium, and baking soda" (thanks Wikipedia). Or you could keep sports drinks like Gatorade on hand.

Your choice.

Juice: a step beyond water

Not only are you dehydrated when you are hungover, but the tequila you were happily downing last night took its time happily sucking your body's nutrients. Now you need some vitamins. Though any juice will help your situation, aim for the ones that will benefit you the most.

Tomato: go ahead and grab a V8. Stocked with a mix of vegies, this is a great way to get vitamins and minerals to get you back on your feet.

Orange: Vitamin C is your friend. Any extra your body doesn't use will help flush out the toxins you worked so hard to incorporate into your drowsy morning.

Eating fruit is also good, but seriously, you need liquid.

Water: the obvious hangover cure

You have a hangover. This means many things, but most importantly:

You drank alcohol.
You didn't drink enough other fluids.
You are now dehydrated.

Get thee to a glass of water. Drink. Repeat.

Replenish your body's fluids or you might go to bed as uncomfortable as you woke up.

Next time, try chasing those shots with some H20 instead of the icky light beer.

June is Hangover Remedy Month!

During the month of June I will research all of the hangover remedies I can in celebration of the first annual Hangover Remedy Month. I'll start with the more common cures and get more fun from there, maybe even creating a few of my own by the end of the month.

Why am I doing this? There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of untraditional holidays out there, I figured it was about time that I created one. Why June? I figure this is a good time because we are five whole months away from National Hangover Day (January 1). Also, I hope to come across the perfect cure in time for my birthday, which is also in June.

Today's cure is a cop-out; it isn't really a hangover remedy at all:

Don't get drunk in the first place.

It will be more fun tomorrow. In the meantime: Frogs don't drink.