A fun-filled night (with that Nth glass of wine) comes with a painful caveat: a potential a.m. headache and relentless cravings for salty chips, sweet pastries, and greasy eats.
It’s all about how booze interacts with your body. Alcohol stimulates brain chemicals called opiate receptors, which may prompt urges for more alcohol, sugar, gluten, preservatives, and/or caffeine, says Keith Kantor, Ph.D., CEO and founder of Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating & Drinking. Basically, when you’re hungover, your brain tries to feed into this vicious cycle.
Fortunately, there are ways to quiet the cravings and feel better. Start here.
Wake Up, Drink Water
“Rehydrating immediately when you wake up is an important first step in starting to feel better,” says Alison Massey, R.D., director of diabetes education at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. The more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you may be the next day, Kantor says, so you want to get your system back to normal ASAP. Dehydration may also make you lethargic, so your body could crave quick energy — a-la cupcakes or sugary coffees. Make eight glasses of water your goal, and start early.
Start the Detoxifying Process
Alcohol potentially stops the production of feel-good chemicals like melatonin and serotonin, explains Kantor. So when you wake up, you’re depleted of hormones that keep you happy. While processed sugars and caffeine might light up your brain’s reward center in the short term, you’re just feeding a negative cycle. The fix is to detoxify — which may help restart the flow of those happy brain chemicals. Instead of reaching for a carb-heavy bagel low in nutrients, try a Greek yogurt topped with mixed berries, which will bring on some healthy antioxidants. Omelets more your thing? Kantor suggests adding raw spinach and kale to restock your body with what it needs (not what it craves).
Pass on Acidic Foods
Alcohol is highly acidic, which may cause inflammation throughout your body — especially your stomach lining, explains Kantor. One avenue to restoring your body’s balance (read: feeling less nauseous)? Avoid potentially inflammatory eats like sugar, OJ, processed meats, coffee, and salt. Stock up, instead, on eggs, soy products, and vegetables. Conveniently, these low-acid foods are also high in protein and micronutrients, meaning they could do double duty, helping to quiet cravings, too.
Don’t Make the Morning After a “Splurge” Time
We may be more likely to crave bad food when it’s socially acceptable, says Julia M. Hormes, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Albany. Being hungover might be one of those times you excuse yourself from healthier choices. She suggests fighting pesky cravings by trying to retrain your brain. Only have French toast soaked in syrup when you’re in bed after a long night out? Understand that you want it because it gives you comfort, not because your body needs it. Immediately fix yourself something healthier (or have a partner or roomie do it for you) before you can think about giving in to your craving. Defuse the emotional charge associated with French toast and it potentially becomes less desirable, she says.
Have a Peak at Dessert
If your sweet tooth is winning the battle, go ahead — have that treat that’s staring you down, but make it a small part of a healthy meal. “There's a psychological phenomenon called the peak-end rule,” says Hormes. “When applied to food, it shows that the high point and last bite are usually what we really remember. Everything in between is just filler.” Translation: Eating a hearty salad while treating one or two bites of pie as your “peak” at the end may feel just as good as having an entire slice or two.
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