Are you recovering from intense Thanksgiving festivities with your family and friends? Well don’t take a break yet, because you have many more booze-filled nights on your way: it’s holiday season!
Christmas parties and winter-themed spiked drinks are fun and all, but you may not feel the same way in the mornings after. This article will give you a rundown of some of the hangover food options in New Haven…and whether they actually work.
Soft Tofu at Good Nature Market
Photo by Sarah Strong
Yes! Korean soft tofu is actually one of the most popular hangover cures in Korea for its hearty ingredients and warm broth. The ingredients are bland enough that they won’t upset your stomach, and the soup will work to rehydrate and restock sodium levels in your system.
Warning: This may not be your best option if you have very low tolerance for spicy food. Even when you ask them to make it “mild,” it may upset your stomach, leaving you feeling more sick.
Bottomless Mimosas at Barracuda
Gif courtesy of rebloggy.com
Absolutely not. Don’t believe the old myth of “having the hair of the dog that bit you” – the idea that you use whatever made you sick as the remedy. Fighting a hangover with a morning mimosa is not scientifically proven and in most cases will only extend your hangover until the afternoon.
Instead, replace that mimosa with plain non-citrus fruit juice (kiwi, apple, etc) as the fructose gives you an energy boost and the vitamins and water help replenish your body.
Congee at Ivy Wok
Photo courtesy of seriouseats.com
Perfect! The warm rice porridge often coupled with pork and preserved egg toppings will soothe your stomach from the rough night of drinking and celebrations. Congee is bland enough and the broken down rice grains are soft enough that your stomach doesn’t have to do much work to digest it. And, the carbs help replenish blood sugar in your body so that you won’t be left sluggish throughout the day.
Bacon Cheeseburger at Five Guys
Photo courtesy of mysanantonio.com
Nah. Although some people on the internet seem to believe that the grease on the bacon burger can help cure the booze-induced stomachache in the morning, a fatty food such as this doesn’t actually help your body to recover.
The extensive amount of oil and fat in the burger might actually irritate your digestive system, prolonging the feeling of sickness. However, it is true that eating a burger before a night of drinking can insulate the stomach and prevent a rough morning after.
Steel Cut Oatmeal at Panera
Photo by Kristina Kim
Sure! Oatmeal is another source of easy-to-digest carbs that help the sickness and general fatigue due to a hangover. Some critical nutrients such as Vitamin B, calcium, and iron are all included in this simple breakfast option, and oats can also neutralize the acids in your system. If you’re not craving oatmeal, replace it with one of Panera’s signature soups or non-greasy breakfast sandwiches.
Coffee at Atticus
Photo by Jennifer Lu
Not ideal. Although it is true that it helps speed up your digestive system and give you a caffeine boost on a tired morning, put off the coffee until later in the day. It is because it has a dehydrating effect that will only worsen the hangover situation.
Coffee is also a vasoconstrictor (makes the blood vessels expand) and will probably cause even more intense headaches than already present. As alternative, it is wise to stick to caffeine-free tea or fruit juice with your Atticus brunch.