DID YOU just have one of those crazy nights and can barely climb out of bed? Drinking alcoholic beverages can boost friendships, but it might also result in hangovers if done excessively. A hangover is mainly caused by acetaldehyde, which is a metabolic product of alcohol that brings on some nasty side effects. It circulates in the bloodstream causing aches, dizziness and nausea, and it can even damage the liver. Worse, itcan even result in fatty liver and serious cardiovascular disorder. Additionally, a hangover hinders one’s daily schedule on the following day - which is why it is important to recover quickly from a hangover by excreting toxic substances such as acetaldehyde out of the body. Though many possible remedies have been suggested, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that any are definitely effective. Why not, then, refer to the many exotic hangover remedies being used around the world?
Japan: Umeboshi
Ingredients: pickled plums
The pyric acid in umeboshi breaks down the booze in the bodies, settles the ailing stomachs and breathes life into the livers. For a normal hangover, biting off about a quarter of a plum and keeping it in the mouth until it dissolves is also helpful.
China: Singh-ju-ring
Ingredients: ginseng, tangerine peel, kudzu root
The Chinese normally take singh-ju-ring as a remedy for a hangover. Singh-ju-ring is a type of tea that contains natural ingredients such as ginseng, tangerine peel, and kudzu root. Vitamins in the tangerine peel and the astringent taste of kudzu root will help to overcome a hangover. This drink is said to have been used since 200 B.C.
Turkey: İşkembe çorbası
Ingredients: cow stomach, garlic, egg yolk
Having trouble with your gut? You just need more guts. That’s the logic behind Turkey’s hangover cure. İşkembe çorbası is generally made of cow’s stomach and usually eaten with garlic sauce or with an egg yolk. As a hangover remedy, it is especially popular on New Year’s Day in Turkey. This has been the case since the 1800s, when it was first noted as a popular soup among Ottoman Muslims who consumed it immediately after a session of heavy social drinking.
Italy: Espresso
Ingredients: two shots of espresso
Italians will often drink a cup of espresso without sugar in order to eliminate alcohol remaining in their stomachs. Coffee acts as a diuretic that excretes toxins from the body. Furthermore, it activates the detoxification function of the liver, which takes the lead for the body in decomposing alcohol.
Germany: Rollmops
Ingredients: pickled herring, onion, mustard seeds, sugar, pepper corn
Germans like to eat *rollmops* as a hangover food. Usually bought ready to eat in jars, Rollmops is a cleaned pickled herring (without the head, fins or bones) that is rolled up to form a cylindrical shape, with spices and onion rings placed inside.This remedy can be eaten cold, without unrolling, or on bread. In the rollmops, there are effective components, such as aspartic acid¸ which is believed to restore the biological balance of our body.
Russia: Rassol
Ingredients: water, salt, cabbage, cucumber
Rassol is a solution of salt in water with the addition of cabbage or cucumber. In the cabbage, there is plenty of vitamin U that protects the stomach lining from excessive alcohol, and vitamin K that helps to recover damaged cranial nerves. Also, abundant potassium is included in cucumber, which is believed to help digest alcohol effectually. Rassol is also useful to people who want to keep their skin from aging. Liquid fermentations induced by the vegetables during the pickling process facilitate these two effects.
United States: Prairie oyster
Ingredients: egg, tomato, salt, pepper, tabasco sauce
In the United States, there is a hangover drink called “prairie oyster.” The egg is broken into a glass so as not to break the yolk, which causes the drink to bear a similarity to texture of an actual oyster. Crack the egg into a glass, add the tomato over the egg and douse it with salt, pepper and tabasco sauce. Tomatoes, which are rich in vitamin C, amino acids and fructose, help restore normal liver function. Additionally, eggs with plenty of protein and taurine are known to detoxify body toxins quickly.
Mexico: Vuelve a la vida
Ingredients: tomato, shrimp, squid, oyster, avocado, cilantro, chili pepper
Vuelve a la vida, or “return to life” in Spanish, is a type of cocktail made of seafood (e.g. poached shrimp, squid, oyster) in a sauce of tomato juice, ketchup and a spicy chili pepper sauce. The cool and spicy taste of the combination will make one's mind fresh, fulfilling the promise of vuelve a la vida.
Namibia: Buffalo milk
Ingredients: ice cream, rum, cream liqueur
If people ever wake up after a rough night in Namibia, they drink a cup of buffalo milk. Actually, buffalo’s milk is not actually included in this drink. It is made with ice cream, dark rum, spiced rum, and cream liqueur, all mixed up to create a totally delicious concoction that numbs the pain from a hangover - though in fact, it is just a regular milkshake. Serve over ice and drink slowly.
