Hangover Helper: LivLong, Gummies, Oysters and Algae

Well, folks, we're well into Holiday Season and halfway through December, aka Drunkcember. How have you fared?

Last Friday evening, I drank a lot of cocktails. I think the count was 7 cocktails (including two boozy eggnogs) and half a beer. I couldn't finish the beer. At one point at bar #3 I saw double. I was home by 10:30 p.m. and, I'm told, I passed out mid-sentence. I don't recall that, but after I found out I joked that passing out by 10:30 is how we drink when we're in our mid-40s.

Shortly after falling asleep I got up to get something from another room (my mind insisted that I needed to retrieve my journal from my meditation spot). I could not stand straight. I stumbled into walls.

Though I didn't feel nausea, I feared the hangover.

 The hangover did not come. 

Here's what I credit to a pain-free day after. This is what I did. Your mileage may vary.

Water

Everyone knows to stay hydrated. I didn't drink much water, but I had a few glasses while drinking.

Oysters (and algae)

I didn't eat much that evening but I had a ton of oysters, at two different places. Oysters with mignonette, hot sauce and horseradish.

It never occurred to me that oysters prevent hangovers, but my partner insisted that they have worked for him several times in the past.

I can't find any research on oysters and alcohol, but I do know that chlorella – a type of algae – is supposed to help. It's never helped me. As a health nerd, I've tried it all. According to experts, if taken at least two hours before a night of drinking (and maybe therein lies the problem), chlorella protects the liver before alcohol touches your lips. Chlorella is high in protein, as well as Vitamins A and B, iron, magnesium and zinc. In a clickbait-like headline, Metro U.K. proclaims, “This green, slimy algae could be the world’s best hangover cure”. The article, and the Huffington Post article it cites, shares that a Japanese study showed taking 4-6g of chlorella before drinking reduced hangovers by 96%. Chlorella helps pull alcohol from the liver.

Why did I leap from oysters to algae?

Protein and zinc might be key here.

Herbaland Electrolyte Gummies

I spotted an unopened sample bottle of my counter, so I opened it and a photoshoot and blog post were born.

The piña colada flavoured gummies are made with natural coconut water and provide the following:

• 125mg Potassium
• 75mg Calcium
• 35mg Magnesium
• 150mg Sodium

Learn more on the Herbaland website.

LivLong Canada Vitamin C

One of my current favourite supplement companies is called LivOn Labs. In Canada, the products are distributed by LivLong Canada.  Their vitamin and mineral supplements come as small sachets of gel that's meant to be mixed with a small bit of water. The gel is what they call the “Lypo-Spheric™” encapsulation of nutrients. Lypo-Spheric™ supplements are encapsulated in liposomes.

LivOn’s patented Lypo-Spheric™ Vitamin C encapsulates the C molecules in liposomes made from Essential Phospholipids, which protect the C from destruction by your digestive juices. Within minutes of taking Lypo-Spheric™ Vitamin C, liposomes filled with Vitamin C are transported directly into the bloodstream, and into the cells.

Of course, you don't need to buy LivLong brand vitamin C. Any high-quality brand will work. Don't think that you can drink a glass of OJ and call it a day, though. (Also, acidic substances are not great for your stomach when you've been drinking.)

If you are curious, you can order LivLong Canada Vitamin C here.

I had some packets of the vitamin C along with the following two nutrients:

Glutathione

One of the functions of glutathione is to neutralize toxic substances and assist the liver in removing them from the body, so of course, it's good for detoxing alcohol.

According to the LivLong Canada website (emphasis mine):

Glutathione becomes depleted when alcohol is consumed. This is because it’s needed to clean up the alcohol induced oxidative stress in the liver and clear out acetaldehyde. The body can’t replenish glutathione quickly enough when alcohol is present. As a consequence, acetaldehyde builds up, exasperating hangover symptoms and causing further oxidative damage.

Researchers found that glutathione supplementation can decrease the concentration of acetaldehyde in the blood thereby helping hangover symptoms. In addition to this, glutathione protects the liver from oxidative stress induced by alcohol- which helps keep it running efficiently day in and out.

LivLong glutathione might have saved me.

Buy LivOn Glutathione here.

Liposomal Lypo-Spheric Acetyl L-Carnitine

Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALC) is a highly effective form of Carnitine that is best known for its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and optimize brain function. It helps maintain healthy energy levels, brain power and nerve function. (Source: LivLong Canada)

I don't know if the ALC helped my hangover or not, but I had it, so I took it.

Get it here.

Enter to Win

Want to Win LivLong Canada Vitamin C and a branded shot glass? Enter here.

(Note: I work for Vista Magazine, but I also really like LivLong. It appeals to the health nerd in me. When I squeeze their products into a shot glass of water it looks artistic and reminds me of a lava lamp.)

Also, read this article – also called “Hangover Helper – that I wrote in December 2012 and reposted in December 2015. I forgot about it until the slug (end part of the URL) for this post was amended with a “2”, indicating that a post of the same name existed. (I've renamed this one a little.)

Sources:

• Healthline on chlorella
• Healthline on oysters