There's an e-mail circulating the web boasting various banana benefits -- including hangover relief.While most of the claims (like this one) are based in fact, some are exaggerated, and other benefits are omitted.We've created our own scientific list available by clicking here.
Meanwhile, if you overindulged this holiday season, bananas may be your best friend.Hangover symptoms like headache, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound are largely due to dehydration, hypoglycemia and toxic overload.Bananas' unique nutrient combination works synergistically to combat these effects.
Rehydrate: Bananas are 75% water and therefore help rehydrate and detoxify.Try eating a banana before bed as extra water greatly reduces hangover symptoms by helping flush toxins from the system.Bananas are also filling, so you won't wake up ravenous for a big fatty meal that will just make matters worse.
Neutralize Free Radicals: Bananas' high vitamin C content counters the oxidative stress caused by elevated blood alcohol levels.One University of Pennsylvania study showed that vitamin C intake helped neutralize the free-radical damage associated with alcoholic liver disease.
Re-balance: Alcohol consumption wreaks havoc with your metabolism, increasing blood acidity and raising ketone levels (which may contribute to hangover breath).Fortunately, the natural fruit sugars in bananas correct this imbalance by interrupting the process.
Recover: Bananas protect against DNA damage to liver cells brought on by the stress of alcohol metabolism.Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 which helps repair the kind of DNA strand breaks that contribute to the onset of fatty liver disease in alcoholics.
Of course, the best way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation! While New Year's comes but once a year, regular heavy drinking raises stroke risk, damages the brain, widens waistlines and increases breast cancer risk.