Let’s be honest—this Thanksgiving Eve, you’ll probably find yourself at a party or bar with friends and/or family and you’ll probably be giving a lot of thanks to all things alcohol. It’s going to be a grand time, except for the next morning when your head is pounding harder than you took shots the night before. Thanksgiving Eve hangovers will be the end of you enjoying your family’s feast, and what’s Thanksgiving without eating so much you have to unbutton your pants afterwards?
So if you’re planning on partying hard the night before turkey day, let us help you rage the right way:
Before Drinking:
- Eat
Feed yourself (relatively) healthy and vitamin filled food before going out, as a mineral-rich meal will successfully absorb alcohol once you start drinking and lessen its effects the next day. Although it’s tempting, skip out on the grease—it will mix poorly with liquor and will likely have you with your head in the toilet the following morning.
- Hydrate
Drink as much fruit juice and/or water as humanly possible. For every glass you drink before going out you’ll save yourself one to painfully chug in the AM (if you can get it down).
- Preparation
Get your hangover remedy ready for the morning. Throw that Gatorade or protein shake in the fridge, because you definitely don’t want to be hunting around in the morning mid-hangover, especially if you plan on using the blender.
While You Get Your Drank On:
- Eat
This is when grease is A-Okay. Eating fries or a burger will keep you full and add extra material to soak up your drinks. Go for pizza or just pub mix—any snack will do you justice.
- Quality
When choosing your booze, be careful—a lot of liquor contains congeners, a by-product of the fermentation process that are largely responsible for hangovers. Dark-colored and cheap spirits are filled with congeners, so steer clear and stick to quality, light-colored liquors.
- Order of Drinks
“Liquor before beer, never fear. Beer before liquor, never sicker.” Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This age-old rhyme could be a myth, but abide by it anyway. Better safe than sorry, right?
- Alternate Alcohol with Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Doing so will force quantity control, whether you like it or not. Drink water, juice, or a lightly carbonated beverage and drink one with every alcoholic drink you consume. If you don’t feel like double fisting, order yourself a mocktail with just a little liquor in it—you’ll hydrate a little without ever noticing the difference.
- 1 Drink per Hour
This is the most difficult, and easily broken, rule of your pre-Thanksgiving. You liver breaks down alcohol at the rate of one beer per hour, so spreading out your drink consumption will only help you stay hangover free.
- Before Bed
Before you pass out in anticipation of feasting the next day, force yourself to drink at least one glass of water with a Vitamin B supplement. Do not take any headache medication (ibuprofen, Aspirin, Acetaminophen) because they could seriously harm your liver if mixed with alcohol.
Thanksgiving Morning:
- Eat
until you can’t eat anymore.