Food & recipes

5 of the best morning-after foods

Had one sip too many this weekend? Get back on track with these nutritional powerhouses

GINGER

Make a brew with this medicinal root and your upset tum will thank you for it. Just finely chop or grate a couple of inches of fresh ginger and pour over a pint of boiling water. Brew for five or ten minutes then sip slowly. Voila! Hydration and a soothed stomach in a single glass.

EGGS

Gentle on a nauseous tummy the morning after, eggs help replenish some of the B vitamins depleted by quaffing a little too much of Santa’s sherry, plus they contain cysteine which helps to get rid of the excess toxins left in your body by alcohol. Get cracking!

ARTICHOKE

The globe was used medically as long ago as 400BC for disorders involving the liver and digestion. It’s now known to stimulate the liver to produce more bile. Cynarin, one of the active compounds in the plant, is found in the leaves in small amounts, but becomes much more potent when extracted and dried. The compounds in artichoke also help to reduce nausea, vomiting, intestinal spasms and gas.

COCONUT WATER

Many of the symptoms of a hangover are caused by dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic – it makes you pee out more liquid than you’re putting in to your body. Coconut water is rich in the minerals potassium and magnesium, which help your body torehydrate more effectively than drinking just plain old water. But it does contain calories so isn’t ideal as a complete replacement for your normal two litres a day sipping.

BANANAS

If you’re feeling shaky and weak when you wake up, the chances are that your blood sugar is very low. Eating a banana will help get it back on track, plus it will pack a mean punch of potassium, something you lose when you become dehydrated through drinking alcohol. Upping your level of this mineral back into normal territory will help with any cramps, nausea or sickness you’re suffering too.