What's the best thing to eat after drinking alcohol?

November 17, 2025 •

3 min read

Heavy alcohol consumption can deplete key nutrients and lead to dehydration, which makes knowing what's the best thing to eat after drinking alcohol crucial for recovery. When you're feeling run-down, focusing on the right foods can help replenish your body's resources and aid in a smoother bounce-back.

Quick Summary

Address dehydration, low blood sugar, and nutrient loss by choosing gentle, nutrient-dense foods after drinking. Opt for electrolytes, bland carbs, and proteins while steering clear of greasy, spicy, and overly sugary items that can irritate your system.

Key Points

Hydrate and Replenish: Focus on water, coconut water, and broth-based soups to restore fluids and lost electrolytes like potassium and sodium.
Soothe the Stomach: Combat nausea and irritation with bland foods from the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) or ginger tea.
Eat for Energy: Consume eggs and whole-grain toast with honey to boost low blood sugar and provide protein and amino acids for detoxification.
Incorporate Nutrients: Add leafy greens like spinach to your meal or smoothie to restore vitamins and minerals depleted by alcohol consumption.
Avoid Greasy and Spicy Foods: Steer clear of hard-to-digest fatty, oily, and spicy foods that can further upset your sensitive stomach.

The Science Behind the Hangover

Understanding the physiological effects of alcohol helps explain why certain foods are beneficial for recovery. Alcohol is a diuretic, promoting fluid loss and potentially leading to dehydration, a key factor in hangover symptoms like headaches and fatigue. It can also irritate the stomach lining, contributing to nausea and discomfort. Alcohol metabolism depletes essential vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. Additionally, it can cause low blood sugar because the liver prioritizes processing alcohol. The body also produces acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct, during alcohol metabolism.

The Best Foods for Recovery

For Rehydration and Electrolyte Replenishment

Coconut Water: Provides electrolytes like potassium and sodium for rehydration.
Bananas and Avocados: Excellent sources of potassium lost due to alcohol's diuretic effect.
Broth-Based Soups: Supply sodium and water to rehydrate and replenish salts.

For Nausea and an Upset Stomach

Ginger: Known for its anti-nausea properties and can be consumed in various forms.
The BRAT Diet: Consists of Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast, offering bland, easy-to-digest options for sensitive stomachs.
Oatmeal: Provides magnesium, B vitamins, and fiber to soothe the stomach and offer sustained energy.

For Low Blood Sugar and Energy

Eggs: Contain cysteine, which aids in breaking down acetaldehyde. They are also a good source of protein and B vitamins.
Whole-Grain Toast with Honey: Offers complex carbohydrates and fructose to help stabilize blood sugar and metabolize alcohol.
Smoothies: A blend of fruits, coconut water, and greens provides nutrients, electrolytes, and hydration in an easily digestible format.

Putting Together a Post-Drinking Meal

Combining these foods can create effective recovery meals. For example, scrambled eggs with spinach and whole-grain toast offer protein, vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates. A banana smoothie with coconut water is a quick way to get nutrients and hydration. Chicken noodle soup provides hydration, salt, and easily digestible carbs.


Best Post-Drinking Foods	What to Avoid	Why It Works
Eggs	Greasy, heavy meals (pizza, burgers)	Eggs provide cysteine, which aids in breaking down toxins. Greasy foods are hard to digest.
Bananas & Avocados	Spicy, acidic foods	Replenish potassium. Spicy foods can further irritate an already inflamed stomach lining.
Oatmeal & Toast	Overly sugary treats (pastries, candy)	Deliver steady energy from complex carbs, preventing blood sugar crashes associated with refined sugars.
Broth-Based Soups	Caffeine (especially large amounts)	Rehydrates and replaces lost sodium. Caffeine is a diuretic that can worsen dehydration.
Ginger Tea	'Hair of the Dog' (more alcohol)	Soothes nausea. More alcohol only delays the inevitable hangover and adds to your body's burden.

What to Avoid Eating

Certain foods can exacerbate hangover symptoms. Greasy, fatty foods are difficult to digest and can worsen nausea. Spicy and acidic foods can irritate the stomach lining. Large amounts of caffeine act as a diuretic and can worsen dehydration. Consuming more alcohol is also counterproductive, prolonging symptoms.

Conclusion

Effectively managing a hangover involves a gentle approach focused on rehydration, electrolyte and nutrient replenishment, and easily digestible foods. Prioritize water, electrolyte drinks, and bland carbohydrates initially. Gradually introduce nutrient-rich options like eggs, bananas, and leafy greens. This strategy supports the body's natural recovery process. For more information on treating hangovers, you can consult sources like the Cleveland Clinic.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, despite the popular myth, eating greasy food the day after drinking can make a hangover worse. Fatty foods are difficult to digest and can irritate an already sensitive stomach, potentially increasing nausea and indigestion.

While plain water is essential, electrolyte-rich beverages like coconut water or sports drinks are excellent for rehydration. They replenish minerals like potassium and sodium that are lost due to alcohol's diuretic effect.

Eggs contain cysteine, an amino acid that helps your body produce glutathione. Glutathione is an antioxidant that assists the liver in breaking down acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism.

It's best to approach coffee with caution. As a diuretic, it can further dehydrate you. While the caffeine might temporarily combat fatigue, it won't cure the underlying hangover and can be followed by a worse crash.

Ginger is a well-established remedy for nausea. Consuming ginger, whether in tea or another form, can help calm an upset stomach and soothe discomfort caused by alcohol irritation.

When feeling nauseous, opt for bland and easily digestible foods. The BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) is a good starting point. Broth-based soups or a light smoothie can also be gentle on your stomach.

Eating before or during drinking is ideal to slow the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. However, eating after drinking is still beneficial for restoring nutrients, rehydrating, and stabilizing blood sugar levels.