Hungover?

If you took my advice yesterday and opted for a Guinness instead of a shamrock shake, there's a good chance you misunderstood me and opted instead for several Guinnesses, or Guinni, as I prefer to call them.

If this is the case, you might have a hangover and will therefore benefit from this CNN article about hangover cures.

The article concludes that the only sensible thing for a hangover is water, but that's not what I find especially illuminating. Far more interesting is the "What is a hangover?" section that goes through the laundry list of torture you inflict on yourself every time you get blasted, including stomach irritation, sleep disruption, cell poisoning and brain damage (!)

There is also evidence that a hangover is a marker that you may be damaging your brain with alcohol, Medina said. Research suggests that hangover symptoms are related to abnormalities in the brain's white matter, which may occur in binge drinkers. A lot of withdrawal from substances is related to poor cognitive and brain outcomes.

So print the article out and tape it to your kegorator. Next time you want to tie one on, have a quick read and it might help you cut yourself off after a brew or two. Given prevention is the best medicine, that's the best hangover cure of all.