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Friday 18 January 2019

Are Sprouted Products Really Better for You?

Products made from sprouted grains, beans and other seeds, are becoming more popular. But are they actually healthier than those made with regular ingredients? In short, yes. Research has found that sprouted grains and seeds are in fact better for you. Read on to find out why sprouted foods are well worth choosing over their unsprouted counterparts.

WHAT MAKES SPROUTED FOODS BETTER?

1. Easier to digest

Most plant seeds contain what are known as antinutrients, or antinutritional factors. These antinutrients, such as phytic acid and trypsin inhibitors, are naturally produced by plants as part of cell metabolism. But antinutrients are shown to impair the digestibility of seedswhen they’re eaten by animals.
The good news is that antinutrients are broken down when seeds are sprouted, making them easier to digest. This includes beans, grains, nuts and other seeds.

2. Minerals and protein are more available

Seeds tend to be naturally high in minerals, proteins, amino acids and antioxidants, but antinutrients can prevent your body from absorbing them properly. Antinutrients can bind to minerals, or inhibit the action of important enzymes that assist the absorption of proteins and amino acids.
When seeds are sprouted, the reduction in antinutrients means that your body can naturally digest and absorb more of the minerals and proteins already present in beans, grains, nuts and seeds. 
Unsprouted products will technically have the same amount of nutrients as sprouted ones, but your body simply won’t be able to absorb them. And considering that many organic or artisan products can be very expensive, you’re likely better off buying a sprouted product when possible. You’ll be able to get more nutritional benefit from it.

3. Makes gluten easier to tolerate

The reduction of antinutrients in sprouted products also makes gluten easier to digest. Gluten is technically a family of proteins found in grains like wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Gluten can be difficult to digest for some people, ranging from minor digestive upset to being fully gluten intolerant.
If you’re minorly sensitive to gluten, you may be able to tolerate eating sprouted grain products. But if you suffer from more severe gluten intolerance or celiac disease, you’ll still need to avoid gluten-containing grains.

4. Lower in starch

Sprouted products are also a good choice if you’re trying to limit starches in your diet. The sprouting process has been shown to reduce the starch content of seeds.

5. Higher in fiber

Research has shown that sprouted seeds have more bioavailable crude fiber than unsprouted seeds. This crude fiber is not digestible and naturally moves through your digestive tract to help remove waste and regulate healthy bowel movements.

SKIP THE HIGH PRICES AND SPROUT YOUR OWN

Sprouted products can be expensive and hard to find. A much cheaper and readily available alternative is to sprout your own seeds.
These simple directions explain how to sprout whole grains, beans and seeds. You can eat many sprouted foods raw, but not everyone likes the flavor. Also, some beans, mostly larger beans like kidney or pinto beans, can contain toxins when they’re raw. Cooking will improve the flavor and remove the toxins.
Nuts are often more difficult to sprout. Many nuts need much more time or special conditions to sprout compared to grains, beans or small seeds. Typically, nuts are only soaked for 8-24 hours before eating. But soaking will still help break down some of the antinutrients and make them easier to digest.
You can experiment with putting sprouted beans, grains or seeds in any of your usual chilis, soups or other savory dishes. Or try some of these recipes with your fresh crop of sprouts:

The 7 Best Foods You Can Eat for Healthy Hair

We’ve all heard the old adage before: you are what you eat. So, if you’re on the hunt forhealthier, shinier, and stronger hair, one of the best ways to help yourself reach your goals is to implement nutrient-rich foods into your daily diet.
The science checks out: hair is made up of a protein fiber called keratin, which means eating foods rich in protein helps promote strong hair particles that don’t go brittle and break—and when it comes to ensuring your hair texture remains silky and smooth, look no further than foods high in minerals iron and zinc. 

THE BEST FOODS FOR HEALTHY HAIR

Ready to begin eating your way to healthy hair? These are the very best foods you can eat for an incredible mane.

1. Spinach

Yes, we know that Popeye was bald—but he was also on to something. Spinach is loaded with beta carotene, a plant pigment that the human body converts into vitamin A, one of the most powerful anti-aging vitamins for our bodies. Spinach helps keep our hair moisturized and strong.

2. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are similarly high in beta carotene. Deficiencies in Vitamin A can lead to indicators of poor hair health, such as dandruff and dull, lifeless hair, so eat up.

3. Almond Butter

Almond butter is full of the potent antioxidant vitamin E, which will not only help keep your locks thick, but has been demonstrated to help increase hair growth by as much as 34.5 percent over eight months.

4. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is full of polyunsaturated fatty acids that you can obtain through your diet. Incorporating oats into your diet will give your body a boost of zinc, iron, biotin and omega-6 fatty acids, which will help keep your hair strong and, just as importantly, on your head.

5. Avocados

Avocados are loaded will essential fatty acids that your body can only receive through diet; additionally, they’re loaded with the antioxidant vitamin E, which helps combat oxidative stress and protects areas of the skin, such as the scalp.

6. Legumes

Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the… shinier and silkier your hair will become! Beans, lentils, and other legumes provide the body with a substantial dose of protein, iron, and zinc, which can help promote hair growth.

7. Red Bell Peppers

Many people think of citrus fruits when they think of vitamin C, but did you know that a single cup of chopped red bell peppers actually has almost three times as much vitamin Cas an orange? Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron and helps protect hair follicles against harm from free radicals.

Meat Consumption and the Development of Type 1 Diabetes

Not only is Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) a serious problem for the global livestock industry, but it also may trigger type 1 diabetes, given that paraTB bacteria have been found in the bloodstream of the majority of type 1 diabetics tested who presumably are exposed through the retail milk supply as the bacteria can survive pasteurization. But what about the meat supply? MAP has been found in beef, pork, and chicken. It’s an intestinal bug, and unfortunately, “[f]aecal contamination of the carcass in the abattoir [slaughter plant] is unavoidable…” Then, unless the meat is cooked well-done, it could harbor living MAP.
In terms of meat, “ground beef represents the greatest potential risk for harboring MAP…[as] a significant proportion originates from culled dairy cattle,” who may be culled because they have paratuberculosis. These animals may go straight into the human food chain. There also exists greater prevalence of fecal contamination and lymph nodes in ground meat, and the grinding can force the bacteria deep inside the ground beef burger. As such, “given the weight of evidence and the severity and magnitude of potential human health problems, the precautionary principle suggests that it is time to take actions to limit…human exposure to MAP.” At the very least, we should stop funneling animals known to be infected into the human food supply. 
We know that milk exposure is associated with type 1 diabetes, but what about meat? Researchers attempted to tease out the nutritional factors that could help account for the 350-fold variation in type 1 diabetes rates around the world. Why do some parts of the world have rates hundreds of times higher than others? Yes, the more dairy populations ate, the higher their rates of childhood type 1 diabetes, but the same was found for meat, as you can see at 2:07 in my video. This gave “credibility to the speculation that the increasing dietary supply of animal protein after World War II may have contributed to the reported increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes…” Additionally, there was a negative correlation—that is, a protective correlation that you can see at 2:26 in my video—between the intake of grains and type 1 diabetes, which “may fit within the more general context of a lower prevalence of chronic diseases” among those eating more plant-based diets.
What’s more, the increase in meat consumption over time appeared to parallel the increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes. Now, we always need to be cautious about the interpretation of country-by-country comparisons. Just because a country eats a particular way doesn’t mean the individuals who get the disease ate that way. For example, a similar study looking specifically at the diets of children and adolescents between different countries “support[ed] previous research about the importance of cow’s milk and [other] animal products” in causing type 1 diabetes. But, the researchers also found that in countries where they tended to eat the most sugar, kids tended to have lower rates of the disease, as you can see at 3:18 in my video. This finding didn’t reachstatistical significance since there were so few countries examined in the study, but, even if it had and even if there were other studies to back it up, there are countless factors that could be going on. Maybe in countries where people ate the least sugar, they also ate the most high fructose corn syrup or something. That’s why you always need to put it to the test. When the diets of people who actually got the disease were analyzed, increased risk of type 1 diabetes has been associated with milk, sugar, bread, soda, eggs, and meat consumption.
In Sardinia, where the original link was made between paraTB and type 1 diabetes, a highly “statistically significant dose-response relationship” was found, meaning more meat meant more risk, especially during the first two years of children’s lives. So, “[h]igh meat consumption seems to be an important early in life cofactor for type 1 diabetes development,” although we needed more data.
The latest such study, which followed thousands of mother-child pairs, found that mothers eating meat during breastfeeding was associated with an increased risk of both preclinical and full-blown, clinical type 1 diabetes by the time their children reached age eight. The researchers thought it might be the glycotoxins, the AGEs found in cooked meat, which can be transferred from mother to child through breastfeeding, but they have learned that paratuberculosis bacteria can also be transferred through human breast milk. These bacteria have been grown from the breast milk of women with Crohn’s disease, another autoimmune disease linked to paraTB bacteria exposure.

The apple cider vinegar detox: does it have health benefits?

There’s a health trend that continues to make headlines. It involves taking a shot of apple cider vinegar in the morning to help cleanse the body.

"Apple cider vinegar not only can help with blood sugar, but we received countless success stories on how it kick-started healthy transformations all over the country,” said Doctor Oz in an episode on his show.

Those who incorporate apple cider vinegar into their diet claim it helps with detox, weight loss, clearing skin and controlling blood sugar levels.
However, it tastes as good as it looks and it’s highly acidic.
“One of the things I would strongly avoid,” says registered dietitian Jessica Crandall Snyder. “It's not actually helpful. It's harmful."

Yes, Snyder says it can be harmful on the body.
"Apple cider vinegar as a shot is not only going to hurt your stomach and make you have some reflux, decrease enamel on your teeth, but it's definitely not going to give you the claims that you are hoping for like decreasing your belly fat or lowering your blood sugars,” she explains.

Snyder says there is just no scientific studies backing these claims. Additionally, she says if you want to detox your body, you don't need to spend money to do it.
"Your kidneys are going to be the answer to that, getting adequate amounts of fluid adequate amounts of nutrition from the foods you're eating,” she says. “But not through these crazy supplements you are taking or crazy fad diets you are trying."

Now, if you like taking it and think it really helps you personally, Snyder says go for it. However, if you’re taking it as miracle medicine, don’t hold your breath.

Drinking green tea for its health benefits? Stop using tap water and use bottled water only, scientists say

Brew green tea in bottled water instead of tap water to reap its health benefits, scientists have said.
The result is a tea with almost double the amount of the antioxidants, according to a study by Cornell University.
However, if you're drinking green tea for taste, tap water will yield the best cup, ensuring it's not too bitter.
EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is a natural antioxidants found in green tea, shown to be beneficial for the brain and heart in studies.
Celebrities including Jennifer Aniston are fans of the Asian brew, believed to be an aid for weight loss, energy and stress control.  
To conduct the tests, 2.5g of green tea was weighed out into pre-warmed Gaiwan tea brewing vessel with 125ml of water at 80°C (176°F).
The green tea infusion was brewed for three minutes and then strained through a fine mesh strainer.
EGCG in the tea infusions was measured by the researchers, and around 100 tea drinkers were recruited to taste the tea.
After giving details on their normal tea drinking habits, the volunteer evaluated six cups of tea - three black, and three green.
They rated each tea sample on a scale of one to nine for how much they liked its taste and appearance.
They were also taught how to use a specific scale to measure the sweetness, bitterness, sourness and earthiness of the brews. 

COULD GREEN TEA HELP CREATE AN ANTI-AGEING DRUG? 

An anti-ageing drug may be on the horizon using the plant supplement quercetin - found in red wine, onions and green tea, research suggests.
Scientists have discovered a drug cocktail that clears senescent - or 'zombie' - cells from the body.
Senescent cells are alive but non-functioning and have been linked to everything from arthritis to Alzheimer's. 
They are also thought to cause the deadly lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by triggering inflammation. 
Researchers gave 14 patients the cancer drug Sprycel (dasatinib) and quercetin, and they became significantly more mobile after just three weeks.
The findings, published The Lancet online journal EBioMedicine, raise hope that senolytic drugs may lead to a new way of targeting age-related disease. 

Results showed levels of ECGC in the green teas were 'drastically reduced' in those brewed with boiled tap water. No effect was noticed in the black teas.
The researchers said this is because the levels of calcium, magnesium and iron are higher in tap water.
Professor Robin Dando, one of the authors of the study, said: 'Bottled water is able to extract the EGCG more efficiently.'
He added this is because calcium and magnesium have been filtered out of the 'purer' water, and iron concentration is also 'brought down a notch'. 
Professor Dando added: 'With purer water, you get more health benefits out of the tea.' 
Consumers liked green tea brewed using tap water more than using bottled water, because it produced a sweeter taste.
But there was hardly any difference in black tea brewed in either tap water or bottled water.  
The findings were published in the journal Nutrients.
'The average consumer for black tea isn't able to tell the difference,' said lead author Melanie Franks. 
'Whether it was tap water or bottled water, the taste differences are too subtle.
'Since black tea has fewer catechins than green tea due to the oxidation process in manufacturing, the type of water used seems less important to the everyday tea drinker.'
Jennifer Aniston 'drinks green tea throughout the day,' according to an interview with The Telegraph
Green tea, which originated in China and is made from Camellia sinensis leaves, is a well-researched area. 
ECGC has been found to stave off or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in a 2015 University of Missouri study, when combined with physical activity. 
But other components found in green tea - caffeine, amino acid L-theanine and other catechins have shown possible health benefits in studies. 
These include lower cholesterol, a lower risk of Parkinson's and even cancer. They have also been shown to boost metabolism.
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CAN GREEN TEA EXTRACTS DAMAGE YOUR LIVER?

Green tea extracts may cause liver damage, the EU food safety watchdog said in April 2018.
The European Food Safety Authority assessed the safety of green tea supplements from dietary sources. 
Taking more than 800mg of green tea catechins each day may pose health concerns, according to the body's review, but officials were unable to confirm a safe dose.
The watchdog called for further scientific trials into the effect of green tea catechins and for labels to announce the risks.
Retailers, including high street chain Holland & Barrett, sell the supplements. But most contain less than 800mg. 

Thursday 17 January 2019

Steal These 20 Longevity Secrets From the World’s Oldest People

If you eat well, exercise often, and avoid dangerous situations, science says that you should be able to outlive the majority of your peers and possibly even make it into the triple digits. However, living a long and healthy life isn’t always quite that simple—and according to many of the centenarians around the world, it might actually have less to do with these healthy habits and more to do with things like beer, bacon, and breakfast. Herein, we’ve compiled some of the smartest, silliest, and sassiest secrets to a long life from some of the world’s oldest people. 


1 Drink Wine at Lunch
For a recent article, USA Today writer Matthew Vickery traveled to Sardinia, a place where people famously live well into their 100s, and interviewed some of the villagers to learn their secrets to a long and happy life. One tip he got was one from 102-year-old Zelinda Pagieno about drinking in moderation. “Two fingers width of red wine, and no more, at lunchtime every day,” the centenarian said. “I’ve never smoked, but a little wine is good for you—and that’s something I still do now. We have very good grapes here.”

The emphasis here, however, is on just a little bit of wine. “I’ve already had mine for today. It’s one of the secrets, but just a little. Don’t abuse it.”


2 Work Hard
“Since I was young I have always worked,” Caterina Moi, age 97, told Vickery. “[My husband], Salvato, was a hard worker also. There were no machines to help you. We had to do everything by hand. When it came to working I’ve never said, ‘I don’t feel good, I can’t do this today,’ I’ve just got on with what needed to be done.”

3 Eat Fresh Food
“We ate what we grew,” said Moi. “If you wanted vegetable soup one day, you had to go collect the ingredients yourself. We didn’t need to think about eating healthy. We ate what we had, and it was healthy.”

4 Go with the Flow
It’s no secret that stress can wreak havoc on your mind as well as your body, and so it should also come as no surprise that when Betty Esser was asked about her longevity secrets on her 100th birthday, she attributed her success to a go-with-the-flow attitude. “I try not to get upset about things and I think I’m sort of easygoing,” Esser told NPR’s Here & Now. “I don’t let things disturb me.”

5 Find the Perfect Partner
Earlier this year, Saskatchewan resident Esmond Allcock celebrated a milestone that few ever reach: his 108th birthday. When asked about his longevity secrets, the widower and great-grandfather didn’t bring up healthy eating or exercise, but simply told InsideEdition.com, “I got a really good wife.” Even family members agree that the couple’s 72-year relationship has played a significant role in Allcock’s long life, with grandson Vince Lehne noting that “he just thought she was everything.”

6 Do Barre and Drink Beer
Now here is a health tip that everyone can get behind. When 100-year-old San Francisco resident Matilda Curcia was asked about how she’d managed to stay healthy for so long, she responded, “I have no pain and do my exercises every day. And have my beer. Eat my potato chips. That’s about all.” So there you have it folks: Per one centenarian, the secret to a long life is beer, potato chips, and a little bit of exercise.

7 Don’t Wear Makeup
When Adelina Domingues died on August 21st, 2002, she was the oldest person in the world at 114 years old. At the time of her death, many of her friends spoke about how wonderful and full of life she was, noting that she never needed any medications and never fractured a bone. But what was Domingues’ secret to a long life? Well, “I’ve never been to a beauty shop and I’ve never been vain,” the timeless woman used to say about how she’d managed to survive so long.


8 Drink Diet Coke
If you take what 104-year-old Theresa Rowley says about her health and wellness at face value, then the surprising secret to living a long and healthy life could be drinking more soda. On her birthday earlier this year, the Grand Rapids, Michigan, resident told ABC affiliate WZZM that her love of Diet Coke is likely what’s keeping her alive. Of course, it’s unlikely that soda is actually extending her lifespan—but at the very least, her one-can-a-day diet doesn’t seem to be killing her!


9 Eliminate Unhealthy Relationships
Emma Morano, who held the title of the world’s oldest person at 117 years old until she passed away, accredited her longevity to two things: her diet, which consisted primarily of raw eggs and cookies, and the termination of her abusive marriage. In 1938, following the death of her six-month-old child, the Italian woman separated from her husband, ending a short marriage that she had only agreed to in the first place due to death threats. “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” Morano once told the New York Times.


10 Be Kind
“The Lord blessed me, I think, because I’m good to my family and good to my children and grandchildren,” said Gertrude Weaver, an Arkansas resident who was one of the last living people born in the 1800s when she died in April 2015. Her advice for people who want to follow in her footsteps is simply to “treat people right and be nice to other people the way you want them to be nice to you.”


11 Don’t Skimp on Sleep
When speaking to TIME back in 2014, Weaver also noted that getting adequate amounts of sleep was vital to her success. “I do my sleep anytime,” noted the centenarian.

12 Enjoy Every Day
When Ari Seth Cohen, founder of the blog Advanced Style, came across 100-year-old Ruth, she was just leaving her Pilates class on the Upper West Side and looking undeniably fabulous. Of course, Cohen naturally felt inclined to ask how Ruth managed to stay so healthy for so long; the fashionista attributed her success to celebrating every day and never looking at the calendar. Her motto? “If you want to look this good when you are 40, start when you are 20.”

13 Use Your Legs As Much As Possible
Don’t take walking for granted. Not only is it great exercise, but it might also be the key to living well into the triple digits. “I attribute my longevity to a great extent to walking, not being in the back of the car strapped down,” 101-year-old George Boggess told WTOP.

14 Be Lucky—And Eat Ice Cream
Though some centenarians will humor you with their secrets to living forever, Paul Marcus is much more realistic with his advice. When people used to ask the man, who died in 2016 at 103 years old, about his tricks, he would respond: “One, you gotta have good genes. Two, you gotta be [extremely] lucky for 100 years. And three: Try not to eat anything that’s healthy. It’s true. I eat whatever I want. The secret to longevity is ice cream.”

15 Enjoy Many Cups of Tea
“Be happy and have plenty of cups of tea.” That’s what 108-year-old Margaret Young attributed her long life to. (And seeing as the English woman has lived through the sinking of the Titanic and both World Wars, it’s probably worth listening to her!)


16 Never Miss a Meal
Back in April, Minnesota’s Erna Zahn celebrated her 110th birthday surrounded by generations of family and friends. Throughout her long life, she’s credited her rather ordinary diet for helping her stay strong, encouraging others simply to “eat breakfast” and never skip meals.

17 Eat Bacon
When Ruth Benjamin of Marshall, Illinois, turned 109 in 2017, she thanked her husband, her aversion to cigarettes, and bacon for getting her so far. Yes, seriously—bacon. “I never smoked a cigarette in my life, I never drank liquor in my life, and I had one husband for 43 years,” Benjamin told WGN. “And I love bacon!”

Believe it or not, Benjamin isn’t the only centenarian who adores the breakfast staple. Before her death in 2016, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones would also start every day with four strips of bacon, eggs, and grits. Sure, they might not be doctors, but if there’s anyone to listen to, it’s two women who lived to be well over 100 years old.

18 Make New Friends
You’re never too old to meet new people and find new friends. On the contrary, 111-year-old Downing Jett Kay of Towson, Maryland, has said that her friendships, both old and new, are part of what keeps her going. Her motto? “Make new friends but keep the old ones.”

19 Do Some Brain Games
“I love playing cards, doing crossword puzzles, and reading to help exercise my mind,” Edris Mathiesen, then 102, told Prevention. According to her (and several other centenarians), staying sharp via brain games is one of the best ways to make it past 100.

20 Be Optimistic
Until her death in August 2016, Norma Martin, a resident of Sarasota, Florida, told friends that living a long life has everything to do with having a positive attitude. “I’ve always looked on the better side of life,” Martin, then 100, told Prevention. “I had a good life with my husband and two children. I just feel that I was blessed all my life.”

The 10 Best Science-Backed Hangover Cures

Everyone has their go-to hangover salve. Many folks live and die by Pedialyte or Gatorade, for example, citing inherent antioxidant properties. (For the record: There’s no scientific evidence to indicate those beverages are effective hangover busters.) Others swear by grease-soaked, bacon-and-potato-loaded breakfasts. (Though there’s no science to back that one up, either.) And some people get hyper-specific, like the late, great Anthony Bourdain, who once revealed his signature cure to Opie Radio: “Aspirin, cold Coca-Cola, smoke a joint, eat some spicy Szechuan food.” (Also: No evidence.)

But, even though these anecdotal, mythological hangover cures don’t actually do anything, there’s no need to worry. As it turns out, there’s still a veritable army of science-backed, highly effective solutions on the market. Whether it’s a little-known supplement or a nascent clinical trend, these fantastic fixes are sure to get you up-and-at-’em faster than anything you’ve tried yet.



1 Drink way more water.
When it comes to curing a hangover, the benefits of good old H2O cannot be emphasized enough. Remember: alcohol is a diuretic—a substance that makes you pee more frequently. In other words, drinking alcohol causes your body’s hydration levels to rapidly decrease. Many of the symptoms you feel during a hangover—pounding headache, irrepressible tiredness, bursts of minor vertigo—can be remedied altogether by simply drinking more water. A good rule of thumb: Take preventative measures. While you’re out on the town, drink a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you imbibe.

2 Get an IV drip.
Nowadays, you no longer need to head to the doctor to get an IV drip. Around the country, hangover-curing clinics are popping up. For instance, consider The Hangover Club. This service offers 1,000ml drips of electrolyte-packed solutions that purport to eliminate your hangover in 30 minutes flat. And if you’re feeling especially beat, you don’t even have to head into the clinic; their specialists will meet you at home. (Just be wary: The drips start at $119, with in-home services starting at $200.)

3 Eat some red ginseng.
According to a 2014 study in Food & Function, red ginseng can speed up the elimination of alcohol molecules from your bloodstream. So if you’ve had a lot of alcohol on any given night, be sure to pop a tablet before bed or stew up a cup of red ginseng tea. When you wake up, you’ll feel surprisingly sprightly. 


4 Make this mysterious mixture.
Research in the Journal of Natural Medicines indicates that a little-known substance called KSS Formula—an equal-parts mixture of ginger, brown sugar, and tangerine extract—markedly reduced the severity of several common hangover symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Sadly, few stores sell the stuff, so you’ll have to make it on your own.


5 Ingest some borage oil.
Borage oil has long been celebrated as a skin-smoothing supplement. But the stuff is also an unsung hangover remedy—as long as you ingest it in pill form. According to a study in Advances in Preventative Medicine, swallowing two pills of borage oil has a 90 percent change at mitigating hangover symptoms.


6 Try “Hair of the dog.”
“Hair of the dog” is a ritual beloved by party people everywhere, and if you give those folks an ear, they’ll swear by its hangover-eradicating efficacy. As it turns out, they’re not wrong.

Alcohol, as you likely know, is full of ethanol. It’s also full of something called methanol, as well—and research in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology indicates that methanol is, over a few hours, converted into formaldehyde, or the stuff that causes hangover symptoms. But here’s the kicker: According to research in the Western Journal of Medicine, consuming more ethanol at the tail of the that process actually halts the conversion. So wake up and have that brunch cocktail. It’s science-approved.

7 Drink your morning coffee.
Caffeine doesn’t technically “cure” a hangover, but if you’re among the 290 million Americans who are hopelessly reliant on caffeine, then you’re battling two maladies at once: A hangover and caffeine deprivation. Getting your caffeine fix will the latter, allowing your body to focus on curing the former. What’s more, caffeine, like alcohol, is a diuretic, so it’ll help flush your system out. Just remember to up your water intake—one cup for every cup of Joe.


8 Reach for your go-to pain relief.
Over-the-counter drugs won’t combat the hangover itself, but they’ll work wonders on many of the symptoms—from headaches to fatigue to any aches and pains you may have received walking into stationary objects the night before. So don’t skip this most banal of hangover cures. 


9 Hit the pavement.
For years, the scientific and fitness communities maintained that exercise is not an effective hangover cure. But, according to two studies presented at last year’s annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, engaging in high-intensity sprinting intervals can help speed up the elimination of alcohol from your bloodstream.

Your best bet? Running outside: According to the National Institutes of Health, oxygen also speeds up the rate at which alcohol is broken down.


10 Drink less.
Come on, folks. It’s not rocket science.