Rhagfyr 2004 December
Health Matters
With the festive season upon us and alcohol part of some celebrations, there is the chance of an occasional hangover. Everyone has their own cure for this most unwelcome condition; however, do any of your cures work? If not, you may be interested to read my top 10 ‘remedies’. They are of course to be tried at your own risk!!
1. Dried Eels - Drunks in the middle ages would down a plate of bitter almonds and dried eel. May not taste too good first thing in the morning but it is nutritious and will make a nice change from turkey!
2. Salt Lick - American Indian tribes when first introduced to alcohol used to run until they broke out in a sweat. They would then lick their sweat and spit it out to rid the body of poison. I think this one should be tried in private!
3. Voodoo - Haitian voodoo people recommend sticking thirteen back pins in the cork of the offending bottle, worth a try; serious drinkers may need to bulk buy. Screw top bottles should be avoided if this remedy is to be tried!
4. Lemon Rub - In Puerto Rico, the locals cure hangovers by rubbing lemon under their ‘drinking arm’. Not recommended after shaving ladies. Some people think the way you rub the lemon is important, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, anticlockwise in the South. Useful one if you like lemon in your gin and tonic!
5. Soot - In 19th century England, chimney sweeps swore by the healing properties of a long, warm, soot milkshake. Soot collection points could be set up for those without a coal fire!
6. Rabbit Droppings - Apparently, in the Wild - Wild West, whiskyswilling cowboys swore by a stiff cup of rabbit-poo tea. I would recommend a good mouth wash before kissing anyone after this.
7.Sheep’s Eyes - In Outer Mongolia, drunks are said to slurp down a pickled sheep’s eye in tomato juice. This could replace the pickled eggs on the bar!
8. Assyrian Paste - In South Africa this is the cure for all hangovers. It is apparently made with one teaspoon of ground swallows beak, mixed together with a teaspoon of myrrh (very seasonal). They recommend eating it as quickly as possible and washing it down with a glass of water. I can imagine this finding a place in everyone’s fridge over Christmas! If all of the above fail, the more traditional cures could be tried.
9. Burnt Toast - This is supposed to work but I have never tried it. Even if it doesn’t, the terrible taste will take your mind off your headache for a while.
10. Hair of the Dog - A glass of clear alcohol such as vodka ‘the morning after’ has been scientifically proven to block the receptors in the brain that cause the hangover symptoms, it does work but only if you stick to the one glass!
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