From sheep eyes to pickled herring
By Anne Marie Abraham, Contributor
You wake up with a pounding headache and youâre feeling nauseous. You can hardly remember the night beforeâexcept that you drank yourself silly. Classes start in an hour and youâre wondering how to get your mind out of its current numb state so that you can concentrate on your schoolwork. What are you going to do? Worry not. Try one of the following hangover cures from around the world. Any of these remedies will surely get you out of your predicament.
Scotlandâs orange soda, Irn-Bru, will solve your problem. This remedy is sickly sweet to the taste, will leave your teeth orange, and is guaranteed to work every timeâor so the Scots say. If youâre looking for a carbonated drink that is not as sweet and more settling to your stomach, the typical Canadian will drink ginger ale. This is because ginger is often used in medicine to prevent vomiting
Another liquid to solve your hangover predicament is some strong green tea. Because alcohol is a diuretic that dehydrates your body, Chinese will commonly drink green tea or water with lemon to rehydrate their bodies the morning after a night of heavy drinking. If tea is not to your taste, then perhaps large quantities of an Italian espresso will be more to your liking. Japanâs umeboshi, or dried sour plums, are also worth trying. Not only will they act as a hangover cure, they are also very nutritious.
If these cures fail, then maybe one of the more creative remedies will be the right one for you. The United States offers their famous âPrairie Oystersâ drink. This is a blend of tomato juice, Worcester sauce, and a raw egg. And if you feel you have the stomach to try Germanyâs solution, you could eat a pickled herring wrapped around a pickle or an onion. If you think that sounds bad, Mongolia has it much worseâthey advertise sheep eyeballs in tomato juice.
All these interesting cures make it seem as if the Irish had the best idea: in Ireland, they bury the ailing person up to the neck in moist river sand. What this actually accomplishes, Iâm not sure.
Doctors and the hungover seem to debate on what works best. Both understand that alcohol dehydrates the body and so both agree drinking water is important. Sleep and something light to eat, such as eggs, are also recommended as hangover cures.
