Tonight you have been invited to an extravagant gallery opening. Your best friend, an up-and-coming studio artist, has asked you to join him as his special guest. You spend hours getting ready. You brush up on your knowledge of Wyeth, Christo, and Kapoor so you can converse with some intelligence. Grabbing a couple of bites of yogurt, you race down the steps to the waiting cab.

As you arrive, the room is already buzzing with conversations and laughter. You spot your friend cornered by a barrage of journalists and photographers. He sees you and waves your way, motioning you to come to his rescue. As you make your way across the room, a waiter, carrying a tray of champagne, offers you a drink. Feeling a little nervous, you gratefully take one knowing it will probably help you relax.

The night continues with more champagne, a little cheese, some red wine, a couple of canapé nibbles and fresh grapes. After awhile you realize you have had too much alcohol and not enough food. As the night ends with your head buzzing, you get home and as you plop on the bed, you suddenly feel the room spin, a headache set in, and a terrible thirst. You try to sleep, but the ill effects of the alcohol are catching up with you. You wake up after a bad night and feel like a truck ran over you.

When we think of a hangover, we often associate it with a frat party, Friday night "clubbling", or Spring break in Florida.  But even the most conservative drinker  can experience this un-welcomed malady.  So what do you do to prevent a hang over?  The cures and preventions are part science and part folklore.  Here is a comprised list of some of the many ways to tackle a hangover.

• Those who drink lower quantities of alcohol, spread out over time, are less likely to get a hangover.
• Drink alcoholic beverages with fewer additional additives (called congeners) such as gin and vodka. Having a screwdriver or martini, instead of a whiskey sour or Merlot, can reduce the chance of hangover- brandy, whiskey and red wine are known for having the most congeners.
• Eat some fruit- this raises your blood sugar and puts something in your stomach.
• Drink fruit juice after-- or with--your adult beverage.
  
• Eat toast or crackers to reduce nausea (counters the low blood sugar caused by alcohol).
• Eat fatty foods and carbs -- when you are full it takes longer for alcohol to be absorbed.
• Drink non-alcoholic beverages during drinking, and after to reduce dehydration.
• Get adequate sleep.
• Take antacids for nausea and stomach upset
• Asprin, Ibuprophen, or naproxen may help with headache (use with caution as these can increase stomach upset). Avoid acetaminophen (like Tylenol) as alcohol increases its toxicity to the liver.
• Very strong coffee may help fatigue but it will also act as a diuretic. This counter effect is probably not worth the effort.
• Nicotine can make a hangover worse, so don’t smoke. 
  
• Drugs can not only make a hangover worse, but they can kill you. No drugs.
• Genetics can play a part- some people just aren't genetically predisposed to hangovers. So while your friend may be able to drink like a fish, this may not be true for you.
• Drink several glasses of water. Dehydration is the cause of some of the hangover symptoms.
• Drink something that contains electrolytes like Gatorade

These are a list of ingredients that some claim help with a hangover and are often found in over the counter remedies-

• B12 to replace the reduction due to methanol in alcohol
• B6, Ephedra and charcol are possible ingredients in some hangover remedies
• Antioxidents are said to help get rid of free radicals
• Sesamin 250-500mg- from the bark of Fagara plants and from sesame oi
• Indian Frankencense
• Milk Thistle Extract lowers enzyme levels in the liver
• Ginkoa Biloba extract believed to increase blood flow
• Flower pollen extract
• Willow bark extract
• Full B-complex vitamin
• freeze-dried earthworm powder (yummy, my personal fav)
  

• Raw cabbage Eat raw cabbage to dissipate a headache.

• Eat Opuntia ficus indica or “prickly pear”

• Drink sauerkraut juice

• Raw cabbage-- Eat raw cabbage to ease a headache

• Almonds

• Honey

• Ginger

• Persimmon

• Peppermint

• Kudzu extract (wow now there is the next bumper crop for Georgia!)

A hangover recipe from www.soyouwanna.com

1. Take 2 aspirins
2. Take 200mg cysteine (available at specialty food stores)
3. Take 600mg vitamin C
4. Take 1 tablet vitamin B-complex
5. Mix the following ingredients together in a blender:

· 1 banana, 1 small can V-8, 6 large strawberries, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 cup orange juice, 1-2 cups milk (or soy milk), to desired consistency, ¼ tsp. salt, dash of nutmeg.

What the heck- you might as well throw in a litlle earthworm powder for good measure!

Bottoms up!

This works 100% of the time!

Drink only non-alcoholic beverages!

Party on! No hangover!

**All information and cures were taken from sources on the web. None of these cures are in anyway to be construed as medical advice. It is only for your entertainment. Some of the sources were legitimate medical research..but hey- I'm not a doctor! The best advice I can give is don't drink!