How to Handle a Hangover

You've probably been drunk a few times in your life and no doubt enjoyed it. And you've probably had hangovers that made you vow to never drink again. Indeed, hangovers take the fun out of drinking, but there are ways to get around them, or at least rob them of their power.

Instructions

1. Dine before you drink. Drinking on an empty stomach is always a bad idea. Food slows alcohol absorption. So, this is one occasion when you should fill up on bread.

2. While you drink, consume plenty of water. Stay hydrated.

3. Pace yourself. Only a college freshman with something to prove sees the logic in getting the drunkest fastest. If you avoid slamming back the drinks you'll likely have a jolly good time and keep from vomiting in some alley.

4. Watch your mixers. Fruit juice or and pure water are great ways to dilute the kick of the alcohol. Cola, on the other hand, helps your body absorb the alcohol faster.

5. After you drink grab a late night meal after the bars close--ideally breakfast foods with a pitcher full of orange juice. The former will give you a needed shot of protein and aid in water retention, while the latter will replace some of the vitamins you just depleted.

6. Hydrate with even more water or sports drinks.

7. Sleep. You've just subjected your body to a beating. Give it a rest.

8. Sit down the next day to a bowl of menudo--the spicy Mexican tripe soup, not the Puerto Rican boy band. The peppers in it are what bring you back to the land of the living.

9. Take your own chances with coffee and aspirin. The so-called experts can't seem to agree whether these are the best or worst things for a hangover.

10. Swallow some Vitamin C tablets or gulp down tomato or fruit juice. This, again, will replenish lost vitamins.

11. Go out into that cruel, painful sunlight and do some light exercise.

12. Soak in a bathtub filled with warm water and Epsom Salts. This should help suck the toxins right out of you. The use of scented candles is optional.