Ever notice how much more rough hangovers get after 25? Yeah, you and me both. Aside from alcohol straight up being poison for your body, if you’re looking for ways to reduce the severity of your hangover, we’re going to tell you about a couple of techniques and tactics to use, including the best vitamins for hangover prevention. Bottoms up!

Why Do Hangovers Get Worse As We Age

To make you feel a little better about your age related alcohol hangover intolerance, the science says that hangovers actually do get worse as we age. The nausea, headaches, fatigue and irritability that all come with a lovely little (or big) hangover aren’t just all in your head. In fact, as we age and drink too much, it takes longer for our bodies to metabolize and eliminate alcohol from the blood stream. If the alcohol hangs out in your blood longer, the chances of you experiencing a hangover the next day gets higher. 

Some other fun scientific facts about hangovers include glucose levels, dehydration, nutrition, decreased liver enzyme activity and even having fewer liver cells available in the body all contribute to the severity of hangovers. According to the statistics, 34% of all DUIs in the US are in the age group of 21-24 while over 64% of DUIs are for ages over 25. [R] If that alcohol is hanging around in your body longer, with a higher blood alcohol content, poor metabolism is going to keep that BAC higher and leave you with a greater hangover. 

We won’t bore you with what happens at the cellular level when you drink, and instead, let’s jump into the best vitamins for hangover prevention, shall we? 

Hangover Vitamins

Alcohol is a diuretic, and when you drink, you lose a lot of crucial vitamins and minerals. Most of which are b vitamins and vitamin c. yikes! Sure, you can take a cute little branded hangover vitamin pack, or you can just take vitamins on a daily basis for both overall health and hangover prevention. We prefer the latter, and the reason all boils down to consistency and overall wellness. Who wouldn’t want that?

RELATED ARTICLE: The Best Alcoholic Drinks To Order When On A Diet

Vitamins For Hangover Prevention: B-Complex

Now you might be thinking to yourself, b-vitamins for a hangover? Does that really work? In a study conducted in 2012, subjects took a b vitamin supplement before and after drinking alcohol. The supplement specifically contained vitamin b-1 and vitamin b-6, to which the participants reported an 88 percent reduction in hangover symptoms. [R] While B vitamins aren’t going to cure all parts of your hangover, like dehydration and your metabolism, when you overindulge in some alcohol your body’s requirements of B vitamins goes up.

• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine):
  
For people who drink often, Vitamin B1 is the most common vitamin deficiency from chronic alcohol abuse and binge drinkers. [R]
• Vitamin B3 (Nicotinamide or Niacin)
:
  When you consume alcohol, in order to metabolize it, your body calls on Vitamin B3 is a precursor to a co-factor called Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). [R] When you overindulge in alcohol or drink alcohol, the body requires even more than your daily recommended intake of this vitamin.
• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): 
  This vitamin for hangover prevention has been shown in studies to reduce the severity of alcohol hangover symptoms. When you consume alcohol, this vitamin is pushed out of the liver, which is required on daily basis to effectively make amino acids, carbohydrates, and fat. Without it, the body compromises its functioning, including liver function. 
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 
  This vitamin is responsible for protecting against free radical damage, regenerating antioxidants and supporting the function of other B vitamins. Fun fact :Vitamin B2 is the vitamin responsible for making your urine turn fluorescent yellow after you take multivitamins.
• Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin):
  Vitamin B12 plays an essential role in brain and nervous system functioning. It not only boosts mood and energy production, but it strengthens the immune system, skin, and hair health. This vitamin may also be responsible for a majority of the fatigue, dizziness, and even memory loss associated with a hangover. [R]

When you drink, since B vitamins are water soluble, they are excreted from the body. Without them, your body compromises its functioning and can contribute to the severity of a hangover. The more you drink, the worse it gets. Swolverine’s B-Complex contain all 8 essential b-vitamins in a vegetarian-friendly formulation, in addition to Choline, Inositol, and Biotin which are also considered part of the B-Vitamin family to optimize energy levels and brain function. 

RECCOMMENDED PRODUCT: B-Complex Tablets (30 servings, $16.99) 

Vitamins For Hangover Prevention: Zinc

Zinc is a pretty neat nutrient that is found in cells throughout the entire human body, used to fight off bad bacteria and viruses. Zinc is also used to make proteins and DNA at the cellular level. It’s a mineral present in some food and available as a dietary supplement. [R] With regard to a hangover and being a vitamin for hangover prevention, zinc is essential in the conversion of ethanol into acetaldehyde. Why does this matter? Well, when you drink and have sufficient amounts of dietary zinc in the body, you’re able to better metabolize alcohol faster than if you had low levels of zinc. [R]

If you’re looking to get more zinc in your diet to help with overall health as well as using it as a hangover vitamin technique, then we suggest upping your dietary intake of meat, shellfish, legumes, seeds, nuts, dairy, eggs, and whole grains. [R] If you’re not very confident in your dietary intake, we definitely recommend supplementing with ZMT from Swolverine which has 30mg of zinc per serving, which is 273% of your daily intake recommendation.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT: ZMT Supplement (60 capsules for $36.99)

Vitamins For Hangover Prevention: Vitamin D

Ever go out for a drinking binder and wind up sick the next week? Prior to going out, and really as an everyday practice, supplementing with a high quality vitamin D can be a great habit to get into. Why though? Well, alcohol is poison (as stated earlier) and in turn, when consumed, it weakens the immune system. By fueling your immune system with health boosting vitamins, like vitamin D, you can buffer your virus fighting system so that you don’t wind up sick. The sunshine vitamin might not directly help your hangover, but could help you not get sick and have a hangover, if you know what I mean.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT: 10,000 IUs Vitamin D3 Soft Gels In Olive Oil (90 servings, $16.99)

Vitamins For Hangover Prevention: Vitamin C

As far as this vitamin goes, it’s not exactly the immune boosting, hangover preventing vitamin that it’s all chalked up to be on the internet. While vitamin C does help with the immune system, helping with damage from free radicals as a powerful antioxidant, reducing inflammation and helping with the absorption of collagen, to name a few things, it doesn’t exactly help with liver inflammation, hangovers, or preventing them. [R]

Yes, there are some studies out there that state vitamin C can theoretically help with liver inflammation from drinking, it’s only been shown in small scale studies in rats with no evidence for humans. All in all? Take your vitamin C regularly and eat your vitamin C rich foods on the reg, but don’t expect it to be a direct vitamin for hangover prevention.

Vitamin C is found in food such as citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, mango, pineapple, and kiwi to name a few. Another great source of vitamin C is Swolverine’s once-daily multivitamin, which has 90mg per serving which equates to 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C. 

PRO TIP: drink your alcohol with a citrus mixer for a vitamin C boost but definitely avoid super sugary drinks, for both your waistline and your hangover's sake

RECOMMENED PRODUCT: Multivitamin (30 servings, $18.99)

Other Hangover Prevention Tips/Techniques

In addition to regularly taking vitamins and minerals through both food and high quality supplements, other techniques that you can implement when you’re out drinking include having a glass of water between drinks, eating before you go out, drinking in moderation and even not drinking at all (obviously).

In Conclusion

We recommend taking these vitamins, especially your B-Complex and your Vitamin D on a regular basis, not just as vitamins for hangover prevention. The reason? They’re often the vitamins that were most deficient of due to lifestyle factors and poor dietary intake. In fact, 92% of Americans have vitamin deficiencies (yikes!). Supplementing with these vitamins may reduce the severity of your hangover, but it’s important to keep in mind that in general, alcohol consumption depletes many different vitamins and minerals from the body, not just the ones listed. Our best recommendation? Supplement smart, drink your water, and have alcohol in moderation!

 Looking for an amazing B-Vitamin Complex?

B-Vitamins play a pivotal role in your overall health and well-being. B-Vitamins are considered the building blocks of a healthy body and support energy levels, cellular function, and brain health. Swolverine's B-Vitamins contain the entire B-Complex, in addition to Choline, Inositol, and Biotin which are also considered part of the B-Vitamin family. 

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