Apparently the hangover is a hot medical issue. The British Medical Journal actually did a study on the drinks that produce the worst hangovers. The following seven drinks are the worst hangover offenders:

1. Brandy –When I was younger I wanted to be classy, and I figured brandy was the classiest of drinks. Of course, instead of sipping from a snifter, I was chugging from the bottle. The next day was an epic hangover, so it comes as no surprise that brandy is #1 on the list.
2. Red wine – The fact that red wine causes brutal hangovers is no secret – ask anyone for a hangover story and there is a good chance it will involve red wine. Red wine is also notorious for hangovers because it contains tyramine, a substance that can bring on brutal headaches.
3. Rum – Dark rum will produce a more severe hangover than light run. Why? Read on to find out!
4. Whiskey – The study found that people who drank whiskey were twice as likely to experience a hangover as people who drank vodka.
5. White wine – White wine produces less of a hangover than red wine. Just like rum, the lighter the wine, the lighter the hangover.
6. Gin – Cheap gin can give you a killer hangover, but for the most part if you stick to gin you’ll decrease the likelihood of your hangover.
7. Vodka – While vodka is still capable of making you wish you never drank, it is the drink least likely to give you a hangover (outside of pure ethanol).

So why do different drinks give you different hangovers? Because every type of alcohol contains different amounts of congeners, a type of toxin that make us hungover.

The congeners are a by-product of the fermenting of alcohol, and are reduced in the distillation process. Clear drinks are distilled more than dark drinks, which mean clear drinks have fewer congeners and are less likely to give you a hangover.

As a general rule of thumb remember: clear drinks mean you’re in the clear the next day. Drink dark booze and you’ll be having a dark day tomorrow.

Two other things to keep in mind regarding what drinks give you the worst hangovers.

• Cheap booze tends to have more congeners in it than the good stuff. Avoid anything cheap if you want to avoid a hangover – especially cheap spirits, red wine, and champagne.
• If you are drinking wine that comes from a country where a small change in the climate make a big difference to the quality of wine (like New Zealand) that bad seasons will cause the wine to carry more congeners that cause hangovers.

There isn’t a standard hangover massage offering, which makes me all the more skeptical. So depending on the spa you go to, you could receive an essential oils rubdown, Swedish massage, a facial, or any number of other provocatively named offerings.

It’s pretty unlikely that any of the spa massages will actually cure your hangover. So save your money and give yourself a free hangover massage – the video below covers a massage routine that can help relieve hangover symptoms, especially headaches.

Being hungover at work. Not only do you feel like crap, you have to endure the smart remarks of co-workers – “looks like you had a good time last night!”

But with a little forethought and a lot of acting, you can be hungover at work and avoid repercussion. Here’s how:

The day before you drink

Shut Up – If you know you’re drinking that night and have to work the next day, don’t broadcast it. The less your co-workers and bosses know about your drinking plans, the less proof they’ll have that you’re hungover later. Don’t give them anything to work with.

When you wake up hungover

Shower – You reek of booze. This will be give-away number 1, even if you can’t smell it. Scrub up, then bathe again – in cologne or perfume. You need to mask the smell of alcohol. Unless you have awesome BO, some spray-on fragrance will have to do.

Don’t forget to brush your teeth and rinse too, because your hangover breath smells like a yak. A hungover yak.

Eat – You’re likely late for work already, so hit a drive-thru and grab some breakfast. You want something greasy and starchy that will help sop up the remaining booze in your stomach. Tim Horton’s Breakfast Sandwiches or McDonald’s McMuffins with a hash brown should do the trick.

Hungover at work

Don’t wear sunglasses – Unless you work outside this is a dead-giveaway. Rather than make you look less hungover, sunglasses make you look like a drug addict.

If your eyes are bloodshot, borrow a trick from potheads and use some Visine. Every convenience store sells it….I’ve been told.

Deny, deny, deny – Inevitably, someone will ask you if you’re hungover while at work. Never admit to your hangover – claiming a stomach flu and diarrhea will get you out of most conversations about your current sorry state.

Keep shutting up – Some people feel the need to proclaim their hungover status – and wonder why they they get passed over for every promotion. Don’t let hangover pride blow your cover. If you tell even one person that your hung, it will eventually spread through the entire office.

Grab a nap – Lunchtime equals naptime. Sneak off to somewhere private and get some sleep. Even a 15 minute nap will do wonders for how you feel while reducing your hangover symptoms.

Keep at it – Throwing in the towel half way through the day will blow your cover. No matter how hungover you are at work, you’ll likely get a second wind that can carry you through a good chunk of the day.

But if you absolutely have to call it quits before your day is through, wait until about 1:00pm and claim your lunch isn’t sitting right. Remember: no one questions diarrhea.

Pedialyte, for those who don’t have kids, is a drink to help children rehydrate when they get sick. It is specially formulated to replace lost fluids and electrolytes from diarrhea and vomiting so kids can rehydrate and feel better. And just like a sick little baby, your hung over body needs fluids and electrolytes to feel better.

Electrolytes and Hangovers

Electrolytes help your body absorb and retain liquid – without them you’ll get dehydrated easily. Over a night of drinking, your body will lose a lot of electrolytes since you go to the bathroom a whole lot more.

After a long night out, your body is lacking fluids and you’ve depleted your electrolytes. Getting lots of both fluids and electrolytes the next morning is key to curing your hangover. Pedialyte can provide both. It is packed with more electrolytes than Gatorade or Powerade – with less sugar. That means you can recoup faster without the gut rot.

Icy Cold Hangover Relief

Another great thing about Pedialyte for your hangover is that they come as freezer pops – cool off, rehydrate, and cure your hangover all in one. Plus they come in four different flavours. Who knew hangovers were so much fun.

If you have kids and you’re hung over, the hangover cure you need might already in your medicine cabinet!

We all know the feeling of a hangover headache – the throbbing pain that just won’t seem to go away. Even when the other hangover symptoms have faded, the headache seems to linger. So can you prevent the dreaded hangover headache? According to researchers, the answer is yes.

What Causes Hangover Headaches?

Like most other effects of alcohol, the hangover headache is caused by a number of culprits.

• Dehydration – The main cause of your hangover headache is dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases your rate of urination – it other words, booze makes you pee more. Keep this in mind when you go for your morning cup of coffee after a big night of drinking; coffee is a diuretic too, so it will only make you even more dehydrated.
• Solution – water, and lots of it. Sports drinks, like Gatorade, will also do the trick – they help replenish electrolytes that you lost over the course of the night.
• Lack of sleep – Part of your hangover headache is likely caused by lack of good, restful sleep. You might think you slept like a baby after drinking, but in actuality you are just falling asleep easier – since alcohol is a sedative. Chances are you woke up frequently during the night (whether you remember it or not), which disturbs your sleeping patterns.
• Solution – get some rest! Unfortunately, that isn’t always an option if you have work, school, or kids. If that’s the case, try sneaking a quick nap; a 15-30 minute nap can be just as restful as a full night’s sleep.
• Inflammation – Believe it or not, alcohol makes your blood vessels swell up. This explains why certain people get headaches right away while drinking.
• Solution – try a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like aspirin or ibuprofen.

So the next time your feeling the effects of a hungover headache remember - drink lots of water, get some sleep, and take some Advil!