Vegetarian and Vegan Hangover Cure Foods

Wondering how to cure a hangover as a vegetarian or a vegan? When you drink too much alcohol, you can wake up dehydrated with low blood sugar and an imbalance of the salts (electrolytes) in your body. You may be nauseated and have a headache. Examine the truth and science behind familiar hangover remedies, and find out which vegetarian and vegan cures work best.

Water

Dehydration is likely the culprit behind many hangover symptoms. Whatever you eat for breakfast the morning after, be sure that you are drinking plenty of water. But you should be mindful that you don't further disrupt the delicate salt balance in your body by only drinking plain water. You can try adding a tiny bit (about 1/8 teaspoon) of salt and sugar and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to your glass. But don't bother searching for a measuring spoon with that banging headache—just drop a little pinch of each in your water.

Fruit Juices and Smoothies

Nothing like a giant glass of fresh orange juice when you're hungover, right? It's all in the sugar—the fructose, to be exact. Your blood sugar is likely to be low, so fructose helps to speed up the metabolism of all those nasty leftover tequila toxins. The vitamin boost helps, too. It doesn't have to be orange juice, any nourishing fruit juice will do. A fruit-based smoothie will do the same trick, and fill you up a bit more too. Here are a couple of juice blends and fruity hangover-cure smoothies to try:

• Blueberry spinach superfood smoothie
• Ginger plum smoothie

Bananas and Potatoes

Bananas are a great vegetarian and vegan hangover cure because they are rich in potassium, which is one of the electrolytes that your body loses while digesting Long Island Iced Teas the size of Australia.

Breakfast potatoes have long been a traditional hangover cure. They are bland and help settle your stomach, but they also contain quite a bit of potassium, as long as you keep the skins on. But keep it simple because greasy food doesn't help.

Other potassium-rich vegetarian and vegan foods to ease those hangover symptoms include white beans, spinach, and mushrooms. Here are a few breakfast potato recipes that you can serve alongside a sliced banana for a vegetarian hangover-cure breakfast:

• Vegan fried potato patties
• Tempeh and potato breakfast hash

Eggs, Red Pepper, Garlic, Onions, Broccoli

Cysteine is an amino acid (protein building block) that helps to break down toxins in the liver. Eggs have cysteine, which may explain why eggs have long been a folk remedy cure. Vegans can be assured that it's also found in red pepper, garlic, onions, and broccoli. Here are a few cysteine-rich breakfast ideas:

• Bell pepper omelet
• Tofu scramble with bell peppers (use red instead of green)
• Vegan breakfast quiche with broccoli

Sports Drinks

Sports drinks work by replenishing electrolytes lost while drinking. Adding a bit of salt and sugar to water works similarly. Rehydration may be key to curing hangovers, but sports drinks and water also help move the alcohol through your system quicker by diluting all those little remnants that are still hovering in your tummy and making it angry. Watch out for caffeine in sports drinks, as while caffeinated drinks may make you feel better temporarily, they can be dehydrating, which will only extend your hangover and delay your recovery.