November 01, 2018
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If you're feeling extra groggy this morning, it could be from a post-Halloween sugar hangover.
One of the most sugar-coma-inducing holidays — lookin’ at you Halloween — has come and gone, we’re all inevitably feeling a little sluggish, perhaps a little flushed from all the sugar running through the veins and likely a little bloated all from the festive treats taken for the past week or so.
We’re all kind of battling a sugar hangover. And, yes that’s possible.
“Sugar hangovers are real in that you feel lousy after consuming a hefty dose of sugar,” Kim Larson, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told The Huffington Post in 2016.
Here are six easy ways to combat the sugar-induced brain fog, irritability and fatigue you’re likely facing as a result of overindulging on Halloween.
Everyone starts their day off with a beverage of choice — whether it’s coffee, tea or water, and adding a dash of cinnamon is a great way to begin your hangover recovery, according to MindBodyGreen. It's a blood-sugar stabilizer, don't you know.
Activated charcoal and probiotics make great antidotes to the ill-fated sugar hangover, according to What Great Grandma Ate. After chowing down on all sorts of sugar, your gut will surely be out of balance, which is a great time to get in some probiotics of any kind ranging from sauerkraut to kombucha and even a probiotic supplement. “Activated charcoal is very effective in absorbing toxins or poisons out of the body by attaching to these substances then excreting them out — and can help reduce digestive discomfort after an alcohol OR sugar binge,” What Great Grandma Ate explains.
Just as you would with a “real” hangover, sweating out the toxins is a sure-fire way to overcome a sugar hangover, too. Real Simple assures: “If you've eaten a lot of sugar, counteract it with physical activity. Going for a walk will help burn off some of that sugar right away.”
Not to mention that this is a helpful tip because of the high sugar count in alcohol, nutritionist Cynthia Pasquella tells 24Life that alcohol can actually increase sugar cravings, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid here!
What turns into sugar immediately in our bodies? Oh yeah, starchy carbs. Needless to say, these are best avoided when wrestling with a sugar hangover. But Beyond Diet assures that avoiding carbs of all kinds is not necessary — just opt for fresh and bright vegetables.
This is more of a personal tip from me to you: After our office’s Halloween party, during which I certainly ate a few too many Sour Patch Kids and gummy worms, I have been CHUGGING water in hopes it’ll help flush out all of the sugar I consumed. Slowly but surely, my sugar-induced flush is subsiding.
