Suffering from 'end of booze ban' babalaas? Try these hangover cures

This joke was the star of a meme that circulated on social media  shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the latest alcohol ban was lifted on Monday.

If you were one of the first in line at your local bottle store the next morning, you're no doubt feeling a bit sorry for yourself right now.

Here are three sippable hangover cures that may help to banish your babalaas:

1. 'PUT DE LIME IN THE COCONUT'

“Put de lime in the coconut and drink 'em bot' togedder / Put de lime in the coconut, and you feel better”.  It seems there may be some truth to the lyrics of the 1972 song Coconut by Harry Nilsson as far as curing a babalaas is concerned.

Researchers from the Institute of Chemical Technology in India looked at how effective various ingredients were in boosting the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. This pair of enzymes helps our bodies break down booze, speeding up recovery after a heavy night.

Their study, published in Current Research in Food Science in 2019, concluded that a refreshing-sounding sip made from 65% pear juice, 25% sweet lime and 10% coconut water “could be used to overcome a hangover.”

“The consumption of this beverage with cheese, cucumber and tomatoes may further alleviate the hangover symptoms,” they added. That sounds like the recipe for a lekker sarmie to us.

2. BALANCING ACT

When you consider that alcohol is a diuretic and so causes you to urinate more often, it's no wonder that bathroom queues in bars were always impossibly long pre-pandemic.

This — coupled with the fact that too much booze can lead to vomiting, diarrhoea and sweating — means that dehydration is often the culprit behind common hangover symptoms such as having a dry mouth and feeling light-headed, weak and thirsty, explain University of Bath researchers Sally Adams and Craig Gunn in their article, Do popular hangover cures really work? 

“Drinking water may relive some of these symptoms, but dehydration is also typically accompanied with electrolyte imbalance,” the pair state. “A combination of water and an electrolyte supplement can therefore tackle some of the symptoms of your hangover.” 

3. LEMON AID

Creme Soda may fondly be known as “green ambulance” by hungover students around Mzansi, but would they be better off reaching for a different cooldrink? 

A 2013 study by researchers at the Sun Yat-sen University in China found that Sprite speeds up the breakdown of acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical your body produces as it metabolises alcohol that's responsible for some of those nasty babalaas symptoms.