• The most popular food posted using #hangoverfood are eggs (14.4%), which are rich in the amino acid cysteine that helps fight symptoms of a hangover, followed by burgers (11.2%), fry-ups (9.6%), fried chicken (5.6%) and Chinese (4%)
• Survivor created concept imagery using artificial intelligence for “a photograph of food that is good for a hangover”
• There are 325.1 million views on videos using #hangovercure on TikTok, and the most popular piece of advice is to submerge in cold water (40%)
There are nearly four millions posts on Instagram and 1.6 billion views on TikTok using #hangover, prompting the team behind www.survivorlife.com, a food supplement aiming to minimise the damage caused by alcohol, to explore social media’s most popular cures and foods to treat hangovers.
When hungover, UK adults love eggs. An analysis of the top 250 posts on Instagram using #hangoverfood found that 14% of foods directly involved eggs, ranging from an egg and steak sandwich to bacon and egg butties, cheesy scrambled eggs, eggs and chips and eggs benedict.
Eggs are rich in cysteine, a key amino acid which helps break down acetaldehyde, which is what causes the symptoms of a hangover. Additionally, the various minerals found in eggs help the body rid itself of the toxins found in alcohol.
Following closely behind eggs were burgers and classic fry-ups, which were the go-to meal for 11% and 9% of Instagrammers respectively. Some of the more outlandish hangover alternatives were a Nutella pizza, bacon and parathas (a Pakistani flatbread), salad plus shrimps and grit, each with one post (0.4%).
The full list of top 10 foods were:
1. Eggs: 14.4%
2. Burgers: 11.2%
3. Fry-ups: 9.6%
4. Fried chicken: 5.6%
5. Chinese: 4%
6. Chicken wings: 3.6%
7. Chips: 3.6%
8. Pizza: 3.6%
9. Hot dogs: 3.2%
10. Roast dinner: 3.2%
Survivor also used artificial intelligence system DALL·E 2 to create concept imagery of the public’s ideal hangover food, though not necessarily the most beneficial recovery meal. Using “a photograph of food that is good for a hangover” as the prompt, the following images were created:
Contrary to the pictures above, eating greasy foods is far from beneficial for anyone struggling with a hangover. A common urban myth is that eating a greasy meal when hungover will help ‘absorb’ the residual alcohol, but by the time a person has woken up the next morning, all the alcohol has been broken down or remains in the bloodstream, not the stomach. What remains are the toxins, in particular acetaldehyde, as well as a number of symptoms such as inflammation, dehydration, sleep deprivation, and low blood sugar. Eating a heavy meal will further burden an already overwhelmed liver.
Analysing the top 25 posts on TikTok using #hangovercure, a hashtag with 325.1 million views on the platform, the most popular piece of advice to cure a hangover was submerging in cold water (40%). This included both hungover sufferers and medical professionals advising that anyone struggling with a hangover should dunk their face in water, swim in the ocean or take a cold shower.
Sudden cold water submersion triggers the diver’s reflex, a series of physiologic changes which shifts blood away from muscles, slows heart rate and suppresses breathing – offering a brief reprieve from the worst hangover symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, light sensitivity and nausea.
TikTok posters also recommended drinking plenty of water whilst out, before going to sleep and after waking up (20%), avoiding Tylenol (paracetamol) (16%), consuming carbohydrates for breakfast (12%) and drinking coffee and tea to consume caffeine in the morning (12%). Some pieces of advice were clearly satire, with one user recommending a combination of embarrassment, guilt and self-loathing to deny and suppress a hangover and another swearing by chugging an entire jar of pickle juice as an effective method.
Laurence Cardwell, co-founder and CEO of www.survivorlife.com, commented:
“There’s plenty of anecdotal advice on how to fight against hangovers floating across social media, some of which is unfortunately less rooted in evidence and science. Finding hangover cures and techniques to prevent a hangover the next day are an age-old riddle. There’s nothing wrong with a pleasant drink, but we have a responsibility to look after our body and reduce the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption.”