How to recover from too many drinks!

It was Melbourne Cup today which is a day of celebration and watching the horse races in Australia! A day for the ladies and gents to glam up, have a champagne, watch the best horse race in the world with their friends or colleagues and, maybe even have a bet to make things interesting!

So, food and wine are part of the celebration! And why not?! Celebration, tradition and fun are what memories are made of!

What this blog post is about is how you can support your body through a hangover, to help it detox and return to peak function so that you can feel good as soon as possible.

In other words: how you can support your liver as it is clearing the nasties from your body.

Look after your liver and it will look after you. The liver is a detoxifier as well as being the body's powerhouse. If your liver is functioning properly you are more likely to feel energetic, have mental clarity, have clear skin and eyes, avoid premature ageing and you will not store excess fat.

You know this to be true when you are dealing with a hangover. The symptoms include a headache, extreme fatigue, body aches, irritability, nausea and mental fog. What happens in a hangover is that the liver becomes overloaded with its detoxification role so it becomes less able to regulate your energy, you metabolism and help in the rejuvenation of your cells.

Here are 3 tips on how to support your liver after you've drunk too much alcohol:

1. My first tip is to reduce your consumption of liver loaders:

What you want to be mindful of is that your liver is working hard doing its job as one of your body's main filtration systems. It is working hard to clear the alcohol from your system. The worst thing you can do is to wash your alcohol down with greasy, sugary fast food as this will add to the load on the liver. Keep your caffeine consumption down and avoid the consumption of the other liver loaders as much as you can.

Substances which load the liver include:

Alcohol

Caffeine

Processed foods

Trans fas

Refined sugars

Synthetic Substances

2. Hydrate:

Drink lots of water to help your liver clear the nasties from your body. Fresh water is best. You can also add some lemon to it. If you are up to it or if someone else can make a green smoothie (or a cold pressed juice) for you then this would be very helpful too. I like to make my green smoothies with spinach, celery, half an avocado, lemon, ginger, turmeric and a frozen banana! Yum. Broth soups are a very good way of re-hydrating and are very nutritious. Check out my older post on how to make a chicken bone broth.

3. Eat nutrient- dense, fresh foods:

Be really mindful about what you eat at least for the next 24 hours. Your liver and body need nutrients to deal with the effects of the alcohol. Nourish yourself with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy protein sources, nuts, seeds and good fats such as olive oil and avocado. Fill your plate up with a rainbow of colours and use plenty of herbs in your cooking. Your liver loves green, leafy vegetables and brassica vegetables such as cauliflower, kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts. You may not feel like eating a salad, infact you may be craving a kebab! Do the best you can with what you have!!

4. Move your body:

As soon as you feel more alert and are up to it, move your body. Do something gentle like a walk. Exercise stimulates lymphatic flow through the body so will speed up the natural detox process.

Above all- give your body a chance to recover. Be mindful of enjoying special events such as Melbourne Cup but don't take your body for granted either. Its what you do most of the time which counts when it comes to health and wellness. Love your liver most of the time and it will handle the occasional overconsumption of alcohol better.

I've learnt the role of a healthy liver in creating good health after a virus affected my liver 9 years ago and now I love teaching it to others. Email me at beatricepeters01@gmail.com with your questions. Nurturing your liver can help with managing weight issues, sleep issues, mood, hormone issues and skin conditions.

(Disclaimer: this is general advice only- not medical advice. Seek the advice from a health professional for specific reccomendations.)