New Year’s Eve is upon us and we all know what that means: getting together with friends and family, eating too much, dancing too much, smoking too much, drinking too much, and being hungover. Nothing starts the New Year quite the same way that a hangover does. In different countries and cultures, unique hangover cures abound. I will introduce you to a few Russian hangover cures, as well as ways to prevent them – other than the obvious one of not drinking too much.

Cause of Hangover: As if I need to tell you! You may be surprised to learn that even a single drink is enough to cause a hangover, according to the Mayo Clinic. Alcohol causes your body to produce more urine, which causes dehydration. Alcohol irritates the lining of your stomach which will cause your food to stay in it longer – this can lead to nausea and vomiting. Alcohol causes blood vessels to expand which causes headaches. It can cause your blood sugar to fall which can lead to weakness, fatigue, and even seizures. It can also make you sleepy, but your sleep will not be the deep kind that your body needs. Congeners, which are found in darker drinks like red wine, brandy, and whiskey all add to the hangover experience as well. There are other issues alcohol causes within your body but these are some of the main ones.

Prevention: Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Drinking water before, during, and after the party is not difficult and really keeps you hydrated. Having drinks “on the rocks” instead of “straight up,” will help. Introducing fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, different peppers, oranges, lemons, watermelon, and the like, will add sugar, sodium, and water to your stomach and body. Should you find yourself in a Russian home on New Year’s Eve, I guarantee you’ll see a nice array of freshly cut veggies – not the kind that you buy pre sliced on a plastic tray. Russians will eat them all night long. I have known many people to eat several tablespoons of butter prior to hard drinking to coat and protect the stomach – sounds gross but it isn’t too bad. I am not sure what our friends in the medical community would say about this – I have seen it work though.

Cure: According to the Russian Health Ministry, drinking anything sour such as pickle juice, lemon juice, or a Russian drink made of berries – often cranberries – called Mors, can help with a hangover and alcohol poisoning. Drinking pickle juice from the jar (preferably home-made, without harmful additives, like yellow #5) can also prevent hangovers if you can stomach it:-) It will help you hold on to the water that is still in your body as well as well as introducing a large dose of sodium. Drinking kvas can also help. Kvas is made from black or rye bread and fermented – it may not taste very good to some, but it definitely helps by providing B vitamins and other substances from the bread which aid in your recovery. Kefir, a yogurt-type drink that can be found in many grocery stores in America, also works well because it possesses several vitamins and minerals plus probiotics. Russian beet soup, borsch, will also help your hangover by introducing water, vitamins, and minerals into your ravaged system.

Should you have any hangover remedies of your own or that you’ve witnessed, please share them. None of us wants to feel hungover on New Year’s Day!