Alcohol pulls water from all parts of our bodies. When it does this, it causes our muscles, tissues, brain and organs to flush out their vitamins, electrolytes, and become dehydrated. While your cells are in this dehydrated, vitamin deficient state, they can’t clear out free radicals and toxins. This can leave you feeling poisoned, with symptoms such as nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, diarrhea, anxiety, irritability, impaired night vision, no depth perception, and more. If you’re experiencing a hangover, your only goal is probably to make it end!

Some people believe that the “hair of the dog that bit you” is the answer, following the overconsumption of alcohol with more alcohol. This is not a good idea, as you are only going to deplete your cells more and more, causing more toxic build up and cell damage. This theory probably came about because alcoholics do actually feel a sense of relief when they give into withdrawal symptoms. However, if you drink more when you are hung over, you are only depleting cells more, causing more cell damage, which can quickly lead to disease.

Have you ever heard that alcohol kills your brain cells? Well, as it turns out, it’s true. Brain cells are more prone to dehydration, damage and vitamin loss than the other cells in your body. Brain cells are more sensitive and responsive than other cells in your body. They are also more dependent on fluids and vitamin C to function. Vitamin C protects your brain cells from damage, but if you’ve been drinking, you’ve depleted your brain of its vitamin C. It is very important to replace the vitamin C that you lost to avoid brain damage that can lead to neurological disorders and disease.

You will also need to get some air to feel better. Physical activity may sound horrible to you if you’re hung over, but you need to get some fresh air. Your body’s cells are depleted of oxygen if you have a hangover. Even though you are breathing, the cells can’t use the oxygen if they are dehydrated and depleted of their vitamins. Go for a walk outside if possible, get plenty of fluids, take a multivitamin, and some extra vitamin C. If you can do this, you will rehydrate your cells, begin to replenish your vitamin stores, and allow your body to use the oxygen that you’re breathing in.

Antioxidants, like vitamin C, are very important if you want to recover from a hangover. They will clear out free radicals and help your cells protect themselves from the damaging effects of the alcohol. Replace electrolytes and fluid with sports drinks if possible. A lot of the symptoms that you feel with a hangover are related to low blood sugar. Foods and drinks that contain glucose will help you begin to heal.

To avoid putting acid on your stomach, you should consider taking the best vitamin C. This is a buffered vitamin C powder that has the acid neutralized. It is much easier on your stomach and begins to work in as little as ten minutes. Consider what types of vitamins and supplements you may want to keep around for hangovers the next time you buy vitamins.

About the Author: Phil Le Breton, the owner at Wholesale Nutrition, has a strong interest in helping people achieve greater brain and body health with vitamins and supplements. Wholesale Nutrition has the best vitamin C powder on the market (C-Salts). Visit http://www.nutri.com to buy vitamins or buy supplements of the highest quality.

First, we must understand exactly what a hangover is and what alcohol does to our bodies. When we drink alcohol, we retain more and more ethanol in our bloodstream. This causes symptoms like imbalance, slurred speech, slowed responses, and the physiological state that we call “drunk”.

When we consume alcohol, it is absorbed into the blood. It is then metabolized through a process called oxidation. Oxidation helps to remove alcohol from the blood so that we do not get poisoned by it. Absorption happens faster than oxidation, which is why it is easy to overdo it and drink too much. While alcohol is in the blood, it draws water out of our tissues and organs, which is why you will find yourself making more trips to the bathroom when you drink. This causes dehydration.

The dehydration effect of alcohol causes our bodies to lose their ability to flush out toxins. As the oxidized toxins from metabolized alcohol build up, we’ll start to feel the pain. Headaches, fatigue, body aches, nausea, vomiting, weakness, fever, anxiety, depression, light sensitivity, and lowered cognitive ability are all symptoms of dehydration and oxidative stress brought on by consuming alcohol.

Drinking alcohol faster than our bodies can metabolize it puts you at risk for a hangover because it depletes your body of its vitamin stores and water. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K are stored in the liver. Because alcohol metabolizes using enzymes in the liver, it causes these vitamin stores to be used up or flushed out. Water soluble vitamins, namely B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, are excreted as the alcohol draws the fluid from our tissues and organs.

Making sure that your body has enough of these vitamins before you drink alcoholic beverages can help you to avoid a hangover all together. This is because when your body has enough (but not too much!) of these vitamins, it is better equipped handle the oxidative damage that alcohol does to you. Oxidative stress refers to a state where your body is trying to detox, but gets imbalanced and produces damaging peroxides and free radicals instead.

Vitamin C especially helps to combat the oxidative stress that can make a hangover not only uncomfortable and inconvenient, but damaging to your brain, liver, and other organs. Vitamin C mops up free radicals as it is absorbed and helps your body to excrete them.

Avoiding a hangover is possible if you take the right vitamins and supplements. Make sure that you rehydrate regularly as you are out drinking. Take a good multivitamin daily to ensure that your night of drinking doesn’t cause you long-term health problems. Supplementing with the best vitamin C before you go out can give you a jump-start on the night, keeping free radicals and other oxidized particles from settling in and making you sick by morning.

As always, speak with your doctor before you buy vitamins or start a new vitamins and supplements routine.

About the Author: Phil Le Breton, the owner at Wholesale Nutrition, has a strong interest in helping people achieve greater brain and body health with vitamins and supplements. Wholesale Nutrition has the best vitamin C powder on the market (C-Salts). Visit http://www.nutri.com to buy vitamins or buy supplements of the highest quality.