Toxic Overload: 5 Tips for Saying Goodbye to Unwanted Toxins

If you’re looking for one of the simplest ways to reboot your system after the bar, the club, or Grandma’s 90th birthday rager, a full-body cleanse may be your best bet.

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Google “how to detox from alcohol,” and you’ll discover page after page of miracle hangover cures. Everything from smelly gel face masks to mysterious tonics that may or may not be primarily pickle juice. The truth is there is no hangover cure. After a night of overindulging in all the food and drinks life has to offer, there are no shortcuts to feeling like your effervescent self again — or at least to stop your living room from spinning. Here are five ways to minimize the symptoms of a hangover, and be ready for anything the next day—and night!

Minimize a Hangover With These 5 Incredible Tips

1. Choose Foods Rich in Fiber

If you wake up convinced your digestive system needs an exorcism, start your day with a breakfast full of fiber. Fiber helps with digestion or, as our grandmother likes to say, “It keeps you moving.”

When your insides are full of brisket nachos and beer, movement is paramount. Fiber can reduce other symptoms of overindulgence, too, such as occasional bloating, gas, and upset stomach.

Wait — there’s more! Fiber also helps you feel full. While that may not seem helpful at first — that feeling of fullness may help you avoid feeding your hangover with unhelpful, greasy foods prolonging your hangover and intensifying your digestive discomfort.

Try These 3 Fiber-Rich Foods

Fiber can be found in a variety of foods. Here are three of our favorites, all of which are versatile and simple to incorporate into an assortment of diets.

Spinach

It’s full of fiber, as well as sulfur, folic acid, and vitamin C, three more things which can alleviate the symptoms of a long, calorie-drenched night out.

Bananas

These are your hangover’s worst nightmare. They’re full of fiber, plus plenty of potassium, something your body is sorely in need of after hours of cutting loose.

Oats

We lied. THESE are your hangover’s worst nightmare. Oats are arguably the very best thing you can eat after a night of too much food and booze. In addition to fiber, they’re loaded with iron, calcium, magnesium, several B vitamins and beta-glucans, a special type of fiber which can help reduce inflammation.

2. Sweat Out Your Indulgences

While moving from your cozy spot on the couch is likely the last thing you want to do after a night of seemingly endless sangria, completing a short workout session or two can help you feel better faster. Here are four of the best ways to flush sugars and irritants from your system.

Go for a Walk

A short stroll at a brisk pace is a simple way to keep things moving through your digestive tract. It helps your intestines do their thing (i.e., contract) and gets the blood pumping.

Take a Ride

Just like taking a walk, going for a brief bike ride can help your digestive system keep crushing it. This is crucial for bringing a speedy resolution to an upset, hungover stomach.

Strike a (Yoga) Pose

Toxic overload is no joke. If your social calendar’s been cramped lately, your digestive, circulatory, endocrine, lymphatic and urinary systems all may need a little TLC. Yoga practice is one way to ease the pains of partying as well as boost your mental health.

The following poses are particularly effective for digestive issues, as each helps your abs relax and go with the flow (so to speak):

Triangle
Boat
Standing forward bend
Downward dog
Upward dog
Bow

Do Some Crunches

Crunches may be the best workout you can do after a night of going hard at the buffet and open bar. In addition to encouraging movement, they also strengthen your intestines and bowels. Do them more often, and crunches can stop the symptoms of an upset stomach before they start. Do them even more often than that, and you’ll start seeing stubborn belly fat dissolve, too. Bonus!

3. Reset Your Body With an Herbal Cleanse

If you’re looking for one of the simplest ways to reboot your system after the bar, the club, or Grandma’s 90th birthday rager, a full-body cleanse may be your best bet. It’s a convenient, gentle, and efficient way to give toxins the boot and your entire body a fresh start.

From our mood-boosting XXtra Clean formula to our Green Clean shooters, we offer an exciting array of one-day herbal cleanses to help erase last night’s worst digestive decisions. Each relies on a proprietary blend of herbs to banish toxins:

Milk thistle seed extract, which supports liver function as well as bone and skin health
American ginseng root extract, which improves mood, reduces stress, and keeps your blood glucose in check
Uva ursi leaf extract, which supports urinary tract health and reduces occasional bloating

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4. Detox Your Skin and Mouth

If your stomach feels like a crime scene after a night of eating, drinking, and being (a little too) merry, your skin and mouth probably need a detox, too.

Dry Brushing

Dry brushing puts your lazy, hungover pores to good use by turning them into convenient exit routes for the toxins holding you back. Before you shower, use a stiff-bristled brush to brush the skin on your arms and leg. Use circular motions, starting from the point closest to your heart and working your way out.

With the proper pressure, dry brushing can aid circulation and prop open your pores. Doing it before a warm shower only enhances your cleanse, as the hot, humid environment will relax your skin and your pores even more.

Oil Pulling

A night of heavy drinking and eating can also wreak havoc on your kisser. For centuries, people have used oil pulling as a natural way to detox the mouth.

It works like this: First thing in the a.m., swish a tablespoon of oil around in your mouth for up to 20 minutes. (Swishing is the “pulling.”) When you’re done, the oil should be thin and kind of milky, and generally gross. Spit bacteria-laden glob of nastiness in the trash, and your mouth is sparkling clean.

Studies suggest using either coconut oil or olive oil can reduce the severity of both tooth decay and gingivitis. However, neither should be used as a substitute for brushing and flossing.

5. Hydration is Key

Next to building a time machine, going back 12 hours, and making better life decisions, staying hydrated is arguably the best way to battle overindulgence. Too much food and booze cause dehydration by various means, leading to familiar morning-after symptoms, including headache, extreme thirst, dizziness, weakness, and fatigue.

After putting on a masterclass in eating and/or drinking, start hydrating the moment you get home. Drink plenty of water before lights out. The following day, make water and herbal cleanses your new best friends. Detoxify herbal cleanses hydrate your bloodstream faster than water alone, so grab a Mega Clean and enjoy!

If you wake up hungover or in a full-on food coma, resist the urge to accept your thirsty, irritable, and thoroughly barfy fate. Instead, start working your way back to wellness one wise decision at a time. Eat well, get moving, flush those toxins, and, by all means, drink up — soft drinks, that is.