Introduction: In China, where no banquet is complete without alcohol, it's hard to get by without it. People drink during holidays, at friend gatherings, for business and social events, to celebrate happy occasions, and even when feeling down or upset. Everyone knows that excessive drinking can harm the liver, but sometimes it's unavoidable. What can you do? Consuming foods before and after drinking can not only sober you up quickly and alleviate hangover symptoms but also protect your liver. Let's take a look at ten such foods.
1. Tomatoes
Eating raw tomatoes or drinking tomato juice can help sober you up, but the latter is more effective. Tomatoes contain a special fructose component that accelerates the breakdown and absorption of alcohol. Therefore, drinking more than 300ml of tomato juice at once can quickly relieve post-dizziness and help you sober up. For friends who are always toasting at banquets with the goal of not returning home sober, you might try drinking some tomato juice to help sober up. Of course, for those who drink heavily, using tomato juice to sober up is ultimately just a "symptomatic" treatment. To address the root cause, the best way is to avoid excessive drinking, especially long-term excessive drinking! Never drink more recklessly just because tomato juice has a sobering effect, as the alcohol still needs to be metabolized by our liver. Tomato juice only alleviates hangover symptoms and does not fundamentally reduce the harm to the body.
Lemon Tomato Juice
2. Bananas
The ancient Chinese medical text "Riyong Bencao" records: "Bananas, when eaten raw, break blood stasis, detoxify from alcohol poisoning; when dried, they relieve muscle heat, vexation, and thirst." "Bencao Qiyuan" states that bananas can "quench thirst, moisten the lungs, and relieve alcohol, clearing the spleen and lubricating the intestines." This shows that bananas are not only a superior fruit but also an excellent remedy for alcohol intoxication. After drinking, some people may feel chest tightness and a rapid, strong heartbeat. In this case, eating 1 to 3 bananas can help alleviate these post-drinking discomforts. This is because bananas contain substances that increase blood sugar levels. As blood sugar rises, the alcohol concentration in the blood decreases, thus helping to sober up and relieve palpitations and chest tightness. Additionally, bananas contain various trace elements and vitamins. Vitamin A promotes growth, enhances disease resistance, and is necessary for normal reproductive function and vision. Thiamine (Vitamin B1) can prevent beriberi, stimulate appetite, aid digestion, and protect the nervous system. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) promotes normal human growth and development. Besides stabilizing serotonin and melatonin, bananas also contain magnesium, which has a muscle-relaxing effect, making them a good choice for friends who often experience high work stress.
Banana and Purple Sweet Rice Balls
3. Grapes
Grapes contain minerals like calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron, as well as various B vitamins (B1, B2, B6), vitamin C, and vitamin P. They also contain many amino acids essential for the human body. Regular consumption of grapes is highly beneficial for neurasthenia and excessive fatigue. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that grapes have the effects of strengthening muscles and bones, benefiting qi and blood, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and expelling wind and dampness, with a particularly good effect on relieving vexation and quenching thirst. The fruit, roots, and leaves of grapes are used to sober up because glucose, vitamin B1, and vitamin C can break down ethanol and promote its excretion by the kidneys.
Modern science suggests that fresh grapes contain a large amount of tartaric acid. When this substance enters the human body, it reacts with the ethanol in alcohol to form esters, which can lower the blood alcohol concentration, making it less likely for a person to get drunk. Furthermore, the sour taste of grapes can also relieve nausea, nausea, and other stomach discomforts caused by drinking.
Black Tea and Raisin Soft Bread
4. Grapefruit
Grapefruit is fragrant, sweet and sour, cool and moist, nutritious, and has high medicinal value, making it one of the cherished fruits people love to eat. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that grapefruit pulp is cold in nature and sweet and sour in taste, with medical effects such as relieving cough and asthma, clearing heat and resolving phlegm, strengthening the spleen to aid digestion, and relieving alcohol and reducing vexation. The use of grapefruit to sober up was recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" long ago. When drunkenness sets in after drinking and you want to get rid of the alcoholic odor in your mouth, you can dice the grapefruit pulp, dip it in an appropriate amount of sugar, and eat it to freshen your breath. Moreover, the pectin in grapefruit can not only reduce damage to the arterial walls but also control low-density lipoprotein levels. Long-term use can alleviate the burden on the digestive system and has a positive effect in preventing heart disease. Grapefruit peel can be used to make tea to sober up. In autumn and winter, when appetite increases, after overeating, a cup of grapefruit tea can aid digestion and reduce the burden on the stomach.
Red Grape and Honey Grapefruit Drink
5. Watermelon
Watermelon is sweet and cold in nature, with effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, relieving vexation and quenching thirst, promoting urination, and lowering blood pressure. A glass of watermelon juice after drinking is very beneficial for preventing drunkenness because, once in the body, it can competitively inhibit the absorption of alcohol, reducing the amount of alcohol that enters the bloodstream. On the other hand, watermelon juice has a significant diuretic effect, which can promote the faster excretion of alcohol from the body. Watermelon juice itself also has the effect of clearing heat and reducing internal heat, helping to lower the body's temperature. Adding a small amount of salt when drinking can also help stabilize emotions. Furthermore, the sugar, protein, and trace salt in watermelon can lower blood lipids and soften blood vessels, and they are also effective in treating cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure. Watermelon frost, made from the rind and seed shells of watermelon, can treat canker sores, acute pharyngitis, and other throat conditions. The rind, flesh, and seeds of the watermelon are all edible and medicinal.
Freshly Squeezed Watermelon Juice