New Years Eve is only a few days away and many of us have grand plans..that are most likely involving booze n salty foods. No one wants to feel like a lump on a log on January 1st, so I’m sharing various ways that you can recover after New Years Eve. Check em’ out!
It seems like NYE is that one night a year where everyone goes hog wild and drinks like they’re newly 21. I’m all for my glass (or two) of tequila on the rocks, but overdoing it can really make you feel depressed the next day. No one wants to feel down in the dumps during the start of a brand spankin’ new year. The problem with drinking alcohol too much is that it depletes our bodies of all the good stuff we need to look good and feel good. My latest segment on WCIU You & Me This Morning discusses various ways that you can ease up on the day after blues. So these tips, tricks and foods to eat focus on replenishing your body with all the vitamins and minerals that you’ve, to be frank, peed out, while you’ve been boozing it up.
You can watch the full segment here!
How To Recover After New Years Eve
1: You need more than just water – When we drink alcohol in abundance, not only are we losing water but we are also losing electrolytes in the process. Drinking water the next day may not cut it when it comes to re-hydrating yourself after a long night out, so it’s important to add additional fluids and foods to your day to make sure that you’re getting hydration back into your system.
My go to drink of choice is 100% pure and organic coconut juice/water. Coconut juice gives you extra hydration because it’s packed with electrolytes and vitamins/minerals that help you re-hydrate. If you’re into veggie broth or bone broth these will help bring back electrolyte balance into your system as well. In addition to these beverages, it’s also important to focus on consuming high water content foods. Obviously all fruits and veggies are high in water content (
you can read about these veggies here),so focusing on getting your greens into every meal throughout the day is vital. High water content foods are great to help with hydration because as you digest, you’re consistently releasing more hydration into your system.
2: Try giving yourself a lymphatic massage – You know that puffy feeling you get in your face the morning after a long night out? Not only is it a result of water retention but you could also be experiencing a stagnant lymphatic system. Our lymphatic system is an intricate network of organs, glands and fluid-filled nodes that protect us from pathogens and help us eliminate toxins from our system. When we come in contact with toxins from all sorts of sources: environmental and from what we consume, too much fluid in our lymphatic system can accumulate from this buildup and become congested.
To help stimulate your lymphatic system, there are a few different things you can do. You can try dry body brushing,doing inversions (handstands against a wall), and lymphatic massage. Giving yourself a lymphatic massage is easy as pie and doesn’t take much time at all – I find it very effective when I’m experiencing under puffiness. We have an
entire massage tutorial that you can view right now!
3: Take a vitamin B complex – Another downside of consuming too much alcohol is the fact that we become depleted in vitamins and minerals. To give you a quick little list of what vitamins become depleted when you drink too much: Vitamin A, C, D, E, K, a slew of minerals and various vitamin B’s.
You know the feeling of being overly tired, irritable, even anxious or depressed when you’re experiencing a hangover? Yup – that’s from the alcohol zapping away your B vitamins. So to help lift your spirits and feel a bit less depressed on New Year’s day, take a high quality vitamin B complex. I like Garden of Life Complex . I personally like to get all of my vitamins and minerals from food sources though, so if you’re like me then you should stock up on asparagus, bananas, legumes, nutritional yeast and nuts to get your B’s.
4: Eat foods that will support your liver – One of my favorite food groups is cruciferous veggies. These include brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. This food group contains enzymes that help our liver stay in tip top shape! Not only do cruciferous veggies help out your liver but eating garlic also contains enzymes that do the same job. Just be sure to add this root to your meals the day after NYE so that you’re midnight kiss doesn’t say, “Girl, your breath staaank”.
Another spice that helps your liver is turmeric! I love turmeric for it’s numerous antioxidant properties (there’s an article with details here). Not only does turmeric help with inflammation, there are sources that report it is linked to stimulating bile production. Bile is a substance that is excreted from the liver that helps move along waste in our system and also helps break up fats from food. This is especially handy if you’ve had a big, fatty, NYE dinner!
With that said, I hope everyone has a wonderful and festive New Year’s Eve and a not so crummy recovery experience New Year’s Day!
