Partied too much in New Year´s Eve? This is how Portuguese cure the hangover

‘I’ll never ever drink in my life!’ The promise, spoken from the heart after one more night out, it’s full of good intentions, but of no use to ease the headache and dry mouth once you wake up after last fabulous New Year’s Eve party night!

Promises, promises. So what’s next? Calories and something cool to drink! This is the ideal Portuguese menu for a hangover and anything goes: pizzas, burgers and chips, francesinhas or even kebab’s. As long as it has calorie it’s all good and each one has its own ‘healing’ process.

But does it really works? Although there is no food or drink to cure a hangover, some foods have the power to help the body recover and you know what? The greasy food is not one of them! It works best if it’s ingested before you start drinking to prevent future hangovers, than as a way of healing it.

So what should I eat? Lets start with what you should drink:

Water. Rivers of water! Since alcohol has a diuretic effect, which means that you spent the night walking to the toilet to expel fluids from your body, it’s time to restore these same liquids. Drinking some water before going to sleep or even when you wake up can help minimize the headache.

Fruit juices. But orange! An apple or berries juice can help in the recovery process, since fructose will give the body a boost of energy. And that’s what you want, right? Energy!

What about eating? Try eggs and fruit

Bananas or kiwis – Yes, seriously! These fruits have potassium in abundance, an electrolyte that is often missing due to the diuretic effect of alcohol.

Eggs for breakfast… or brunch – Amino acids, such as taurine, helps restore liver function and preventing liver diseases. By the way, forget the orange juice: the acid will only irritate even more the already sensitive stomach.