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In Good Taste
By Bryce Adamson, Manager and Executive Chef at Gili T Resort
Good day all and welcome to the end of 2013 in paradise. Reflecting back on this year, it’s been a truly wicked ride! I started off the year as the Executive Chef at Qunci Villas, which went on to win 2013 Leading Resort in Indonesia, and in May, I got my own resort to run! What a buzz! Speaking of buzz, I’m going to do something different in this issue as – let’s face it – no one cooks at this time of year! Restaurants are full, no one sweats over a stove all day (except the pro chefs!), so I’m not going to do a recipe this time. Instead I’m going to give all our great readers a little insight and international wisdom with regards to 1st January. Yes, I’m referring to the dreaded hangover most of us will be suffering come the first day of the New Year. Working at many places around the world and imbibing in quite a few others, I compiled the best and worse food and drinks to help you start off the New Year feeling a little less like the Walking Dead!!! Wrath of Grapes or the Hops of Death – the need-to-know little bit of science for everyone. Typical hangover symptoms (dry mouth, rabid hunger, nausea, sensitivity to light, headache, achy muscles, diarrhoea, and decreased motor skills) are all caused by changes in body chemistry, including dehydration, hormones, chemical reactions within the body, and the toxic chemicals in alcohol. The science of hangovers (and how to prevent them) is largely unstudied (really now where are our tax dollars going!), which is why people have been inventing their own “cures” for centuries. Though there is no one thing cures that all, certain foods are better for rebalancing your body than others. After waking up with a pounding head, aim to restock the body with necessary fluids and nutrients like fructose, vitamins, amino acids, and minerals that can help break down toxins or lessen the body’s negative reaction to the chemicals in booze. Oi, it’s morning!!! DRINKS THAT HELP: Water. What else?! The elixir of life should be your number-one priority after
waking up with a pounding head. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it pulls liquids out of the body. When nothing’s left in the tank, the body will draw water from any available source, including the brain – hello, headache! Drinking some H20 before heading to bed can help prevent some painful hangover symptoms, and grabbing the water bottle in the morning doesn’t hurt either. Coconut water. Sugary sports drinks can do good for a hangover but being in the land of coconut trees, even better to get fresh coconuts and drink the juice! Coconut water has five of the electrolytes found in human blood, while most sports drinks only have two.
In Good Taste
there’s no reason to eschew all Japanese food. Like traditional chicken soups, miso soup is a great morning remedy – the broth rehydrates and restocks sodium levels, while the fermented miso can help aid digestion. Oats. Hard to look at the morning after but, take this superfood for a spin when you’re feeling less than stellar in the morning. A hot bowl of oatmeal has plenty of essential nutrients like B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and iron. Oats can help neutralize acids in the body and raise blood sugar levels, giving you an instant energy boost.
Tomatoes. Leave the Bloody Mary, take the tomato juice. Tomatoes contain Ginger tea. DO NOT GET COFFEE. For lycopene, an antioxidant that reduces a soothing brew, look no further than local inflammation in the body. Tomatoes also herbal teas. Studies also show that ginger contain fructose and vitamin C to give the tea can reduce nausea and motion sickness. liver a boost. Add a little honey to sweeten it and FOODS AND DRINKS TO AVOID: replenish your washed away blood sugars. Greasy food. Contrary to popular wisdom, Fresh fruit juice. (Avoid citrus juices! heading to the local greasy spoon is not a More on that later). Pour a glass of great hangover cure. A large, fatty meal is watermelon, apple or mango juice to kick better at preventing a hangover than curing start the recovery process. The fructose one. Chowing down on a big burger before in sweet fruity drinks gives the body the liquor starts flowing can help insulate some instant energy, and may even help the stomach, preventing alcohol from boost metabolism to get rid of those being absorbed into the stomach lining nasty alcohol toxins. Juice also contains and bloodstream. A fried feast the morning vitamins and plenty of water to get the after can actually irritate a sensitive body rehydrated. stomach, so leave the basket of fries for Pickle juice. This ancient hangover later. remedy is crazy but true, as long as Hair of the dog. This wacky expression you have a strong gag reflex! The sour comes from a Norwegian folk saying that liquid contains vinegar, salt, and water, claims the best cure involves the substance which can help rehydrate and replenish electrolyte and sodium levels. To make the that did the damage in the first place. Scandinavian wisdom aside, boozing most of it, sip 2 shot glasse before hitting in the morning is not the solution to a the party and another 2 in the morning. hangover. An alcoholic beverage can help FOODS THAT HELP: take the edge off in the morning, but it will further dehydrate the body and lead to Bananas, kiwi fruit, and spinach. These even worse hangover symptoms (and liver brightly coloured fruits and veggies are damage) later in the day. loaded with potassium, an important electrolyte that is depleted due to alcohol’s Coffee. Zero energy, pounding head… diuretic effect. Not vibing for a salad first sounds like the right time for a cup of Joe. thing in the morning? Add some yogurt Nope! Like alcohol, coffee is a diuretic, and blend these bad boys into a hangover- so that latte will only dehydrate the body fighting smoothie. even more. Coffee is a vasoconstrictor – a substance that causes blood cells to swell Eggs. This breakfast staple is a brunch – so a morning espresso will only take a all-star for a reason. Eggs are chock full headache to the next level. of hardworking amino acids like cysteine and taurine. Taurine boosts liver function Orange juice. A glass of this mellow and can help prevent against liver disease. drink may help you rise and shine during Cysteine breaks down acetaldehyde, the the week, but lay off the OJ after a night yucky headache-causing chemical that’s on the town. Sour citrus like orange and left over when the liver breaks down grapefruit can irritate an already sensitive ethanol. Spinach omlettes are fantastic! stomach. Soto ayam or chicken noodle soup. Nothing says “wild one” like a bowl of chicken noodle soup, eh? It might not be the most conventional hangover food, but a cup of noodles can restock sodium and water levels in the body. Chicken and some vegetables contain cysteine, which give the liver a much-needed boost. Miso Soup. Sushi is the last thing most people want to eat with a hangover, but
I hope this helps a few of you to make 1st January a little less painful... the only real tried and true way I’ve gotten over hangovers is to sleep til 2nd January! Ho Ho Ho and have a Happy New Year!!! If you’re looking for a hangover cure on Gili T, or if you just want a reason to escape to paradise, come visit us at The Terminal Restaurant where we’ll be happy to whip up some delicious cures for you!