While many a lost night out has culminated in the greedy glow of a fatty meat carousel, finding the styrofoam remains on your kitchen table the next morning is rarely cause for comfort. Luckily, new science suggests that, unlike those WhatsApp messages, your early-hours indulgence is one thing you needn’t regret.
(Related: 12 ways to beat a hangover)
As well as providing a calorie-dense crash mat for your hangover, succumbing to greasy temptation is a tasty salve for your beer-soaked liver. Research published in the Journal of Nutrition found that upping your intake of saturated fat can increase your liver’s resistance to oxidative stress – the kind that can eventually lead to cirrhosis and other kinds of liver damage.
(Related: Crush your hangover by adding this to your breakfast)
Paradoxically, it also protects you from the onset of ‘fatty liver’ – the first stage of alcohol-related liver disease – by helping your body break down fat more effectively. In the study, monounsaturated fat – the ‘good’ kind found in olive oil and the avocado brunches of Instagram’s smug wellness crowd – was not found to have any benefits when it came to curbing the effects of alcohol. It’s also believed that the long-chain fatty acids in saturated fat help maintain your gut lining, which is made more permeable when exposed to alcohol.
(Related: 6 things making your hangovers worse than they have to be)
Therefore, your late-night kebab is essentially the glue that holds your gut together and stops inflammatory compounds entering your blood and stressing out your liver. But that’s enough science for now – our heads are hurting. Just another 10 minutes in bed, yeah?
How to fuel your recovery from a hangover
1am – Pre-empt the pain with an ibuprofen. Be careful: overdoing it with the paracetamol will cause your liver more harm than good.
(Related: 7 signs you might be a functioning alcoholic)
10am – The amino acid cysteine, found in eggs, is well known for mopping up the headache-causing toxin acetaldehyde.
12pm – Just 15 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise will treat your thumping head with a mood-lifting hit of endorphins.
(Related: Your complete hangover food guide)
2pm – As you settle in with a boxset, swap your Coca-Cola for a Sprite. Researchers found it breaks down alcohol enzymes faster.
5pm – Pop a milk thistle supp – its active ingredient silymarin is proven to aid regeneration of damaged liver cells.
