Most effective hangover cure

 

Milk Thistle and Vitamin B Complex

Yesterday 4 of us went to one of those fabulous  day brunch parties that are so popular in London nowadays. We are particularly fond of the Love brunch that the Roof gardens's hosting in the spring and summer months.

As always we had lots of fun but my head still feels a bit fuzzy, and I reckon it's because I forgot to take my milk thistle.

You don't know this herbal miracle?

If I tell you that a month ago I took a couple of capsules of milk thistle on the way to a tasting of 20 vintage wines and felt fine afterwards, would you be interested?..... I thought so.....

Usually I start to feel a bit headachy just smelling this stuff - after all, it's been locked up in a bottle with all its youthful impurities. But, thanks to milk thistle, I tasted more than 20 vintage wines and felt absolutely fine afterwards - walked round the town in the rain, went out to dinner that night with a keen appetite and a decent thirst, all that sort of thing. Well, I had a little sleep in between, but I felt really clear-headed by the evening.

You can buy Milk Thistle from Holland and Barrett for £22 for 200 capsules.
 Available also at Boots, Wholefoods and other health stores online.

Now, this milk thistle stuff. It's a herbal dietary supplement that is supposed to make the liver process toxins more efficiently, and has certainly worked for me over the last few years. Based on the milk thistle plant, Silybum marianum, its particular mix of flavonoids is known as Silymarin and most capsules or pills, usually made in Germany but sold around the world in chemists and health food stores, contain about 60mg of what is thought to be the most active ingredient, silybin.

The small print on most packages urges you to take a dose up to three times a day every day. I don't like taking anything regularly, however 'natural', and I also have a possibly superstitious belief that medicaments are likely to work better if your body isn't used to them. So I reserve this magic compound for when I suspect I'll really need it, ie, just before a heavy dinner , or a serious drinking marathon.

I also make sure I take a pill just before going to bed.

I buy my B Complex from Wholefoods or directly online form Bio Care's website here
£12.45 for 60 capsules makes it a great bargain.

Additional to Milk Thistle I highly recommend you to take a good Vitamin B Complex supplement.

Because alcohol is a diuretic, you lose a lot of vitamins and nutrients during a night on the town. The most important of which are B vitamin. I use vitamin B complex — a pill that includes B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), folic acid, B6 and B12, among others — to combat hangovers and I swear by their effectiveness. The most important is B12 which performs a key role in the functioning of the brain and nervous system.  I suggest taking one vitamin complex before drinking and one the next morning with some food. Make sure you never take it on an empty stomach.

PS. Remember that you shouldn't take analgesics (that is, headache medicine) of any kind when hungover. Some people pop pills as a preventative, even though the inevitable headache hasn't yet arrived. This isn't a good idea. Aspirin upsets the stomach and aggravates the symptoms of a hangover. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), when mixed with the alcohol still in your bloodstream, might cause your liver to explode (best to avoid).

London Spa Girl x