Does Ginger Help With Hangover Symptoms?

1. Easing Digestive Symptoms

Alcohol is a notorious stomach irritant and causes it to release extra hydrochloric acid. Over time, the irritation can lead to ulcers and gastritis. The short-term fallout, however, is usually nausea, bloating, and constipation — some of the most unpleasant symptoms of the morning-after hangover.

Ginger, in turn, is a well-known GI hero and powerful antiemetic. Antiemetics are used to ease nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, pregnancy, motion sickness, and anything else that might leave us feeling queasy. In fact, some studies found that ginger works better than Dramamine to help us find our “sea legs” and calm the nausea associated with seasickness! Here’s how ginger helps calm the stomach:

• Ginger breaks up intestinal gas. While alcohol leaves us feeling bloated, this carminative effect (removing gas) helps “deflate the balloon,” providing instant relief. 
• It gets things moving in the GI tract. Studies show that the gingerol and shogaol compounds found in ginger stimulate the production of digestive enzymes, easing bloating and providing relief from alcohol-related constipation and nausea.
• It might interact with intestinal serotonin receptors. Did you know that 95% of our serotonin is produced in the gut? In addition to regulating our mood, serotonin plays a role in the sensations of nausea and vomiting, and the disruptive effects of alcohol on serotonin levels also contribute to the morning-after nausea. Ginger, in turn, helps undo some of the damage by binding to 5-HT3 receptors in the intestinal tract, which play a role in nausea, vomiting, and other sensations.

In addition to helping soothe the stomach, ginger’s GI powers help with some other pesky hangover symptoms. Plus, it has other powers as well!

2. Clearing Up Brain Fog

We all know that “thinking and drinking” are a tough combo — the depressant effects of alcohol make it hard to follow a conversation, find our keys, or remember what happened in that episode of Law and Order we started watching. And more often than not, we wake up with lingering brain fog that makes our thoughts fuzzy and disjointed.

The reason for the morning-after brain fog has to do with dehydration as well as with the disruption of our brain’s neurotransmitter balance. Here’s how ginger might help:

• Ginger protects the brain. Studies have demonstrated that ginger has neuroprotective effects by improving synaptic connections and decreasing loss of functioning associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
• It enhances cognitive function. A number of studies show that ginger significantly improves learning and memory, which helps offset some of the effects of brain fog. The cognitive benefits are attributed to ginger’s support of the cholinergic system (which is responsible for attention and cognitive processing), as well as to its anti-inflammatory properties, which decrease inflammation in the brain.
• Its digestive benefits also help the brain. Remember the gut-brain axis? By supporting healthy brain-gut communication, ginger can indirectly help clear the brain fog that a night of overindulgence leaves behind.

And while ginger won’t magically turn us into Einstein, it helps restore balance and give us an extra mental boost. It might be just what we need to get going and start the day!

3. Soothing Muscle Aches and Headaches

Remember how we said alcohol causes inflammation, which contributes to the morning-after aches and pains? Science says there are a few pathways at play. For one thing, alcohol makes our gut “leaky” by causing the intestinal lining to become more permeable, leading toxins to seep out into the bloodstream. Our immune system fires up in response, resulting in inflammation.

Moreover, alcohol metabolism triggers the production of so-called reactive oxygen species (ROS). These free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells in the body and promote inflammation.

Finally, alcohol interferes with the immune system directly, leading to the production of cytokines — small proteins that act as messengers in the immune system and trigger inflammation in response to a threat.

Enter ginger! Here’s how it helps reduce inflammation:

• Ginger reduces oxidative stress. With ginger in the picture, those free radicals that alcohol sets loose are up against a tough opponent. Research shows that the gingerol, shogaol, and paradol compounds in ginger have strong antioxidant properties that neutralize free radicals and decrease inflammation.
• It inhibits cytokine production. Ginger puts the breaks on the production of certain cytokines, keeping unnecessary inflammation at bay.
• It enhances anti-inflammatory pathways. Finally, ginger boosts the body’s natural anti-inflammatory molecules directly, preventing excessive inflammation.

The result? Those muscle aches and headaches might simmer down a bit with ginger in the picture. Plus, the anti-inflammatory properties also help ease the digestive symptoms even further by dampening the effect of leaky gut syndrome. It’s pretty cool how ginger’s helpful properties amplify each other!

4. Handling Hangxiety and Easing Irritation

You may be familiar with waking up to that indescribable “ugh” feeling of being sick and anxious at the same time after drinking too much. That’s hangxiety, and it’s largely the result of our brain trying to counteract alcohol’s depressant effects by releasing dynorphin, a neurotransmitter that leaves us feeling on edge for hours afterwards. Plus, alcohol messes with our heart, initially causing blood pressure to fall before leading to a rebound spike. 

Moreover, it increases our heart rate and sometimes leads to alcohol-related arrhythmia (a.k.a. “holiday heart syndrome”). With the delicate workings of our brain chemistry and heart rhythm disrupted in this way, no wonder we wake up feeling like we’re ready to jump out of our skin!

And while ginger won’t wipe out the jitters and blues completely, it can help. Here’s how:

• Ginger helps regulate GABA. Studies show that ginger helps reduce seizure thresholds by regulating GABA, the neurotransmitter disrupted by alcohol and epilepsy alike. The result? We feel calmer and are less prone to alcohol-related seizures that can be brought on by alcohol withdrawal or a particularly intense bout of drinking.
• It reduces stress by lowering cortisol levels. Science shows that ginger helps reduce cortisol — the stress hormone that puts us into “fight or flight” mode, draining the body’s precious resources. And while it won’t undo alcohol’s effects completely, that little extra boost of resilience can make a difference.
• It calms the heart. One of the most powerful science-backed effects of ginger? It helps offset alcohol-related heart damage and promote heart health by lowering blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels.

In the end, hangxiety might be something we have to ride out. But ginger will make the ride a bit easier! 

5. Fighting Fatigue

Finally, ginger can put some extra pep in our step by boosting our energy levels sapped by the dehydration, inflammation, blood sugar fluctuations, and sleep disruption related to drinking. Known for its energy-boosting properties, it can get us going a number of different ways:

• Ginger enhances blood circulation. Ginger gets our blood flowing, leaving us feeling warm and helping ease the shivers we might wake up with after a night of sweaty sleep. The result? We’re less likely to hibernate under the covers and might feel more empowered to face the day.
• It helps regulate blood sugar levels. The fatigue we feel after a night of heavy drinking is partially related to blood sugar fluctuations. While booze raises blood sugar in the long run, in the short term it leads to a crash as our body reroutes its resources to alcohol metabolism. Ginger, in turn, helps keep blood sugar stable by improving our sensitivity to insulin — the hormone that helps transfer sugar from our blood into our cells.
• It helps our overall energy levels. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of ginger take our overall vitality up a notch. When everything in our body is running smoothly, it’s that much easier to face the day! 

So when a hangover is leaving us feeling sluggish, ginger might be just the thing to get the momentum going. And once we’re up and about, it’s likely that movement will keep making us feel better (more on this later!).