Reduce hangover symptoms and mitigate 'hungover munchies' - hunchies - by cracking an egg

With the festive season about to kick off, it’s time to prepare for the dreaded ‘morning after the night before’ and cracking a couple of eggs could provide the perfect antidote; not only are eggs a quick and easy way to ease your hangover trauma but they also help prevent the insatiable munchies that are commonplace when hungover.  

Among their arsenal of nutrients, one of the key benefits of eggs is that they contain hangover-busting cysteine.  Cysteine is an amino acid which helps to break down acetaldehyde, a nasty biproduct of alcohol metabolism that is responsible for the debilitating symptoms of a hangover, including headaches and nausea.

Health might not be the first consideration when trying to beat a hangover, but eggs are packed full of nutrients, including vitamin D, vitamin B1, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, selenium and zinc.  Eggs are also a complete protein package which means that they are super satiating - they’ll keep you feeling fuller for longer - and could save you from succumbing to the ‘hungover munchies’ or hunchies.   

Nutritionist, Cat MacDonald says: “Hangovers are a universally unwelcome side effect of the festive season, but there are some easy ‘cheats’ to limit the pain.  Eating eggs for the obligatory hangover breakfast is not only a delicious way to start the day – and very welcome after an alcohol-fuelled evening – but eggs also help the body to metabolise alcohol, shifting that hungover feeling so you can start to feel normal again.  So, ditch the bacon sandwich as eggs are without doubt, the best choice for a hangover.”
Conservatively speaking, just one festive night out and one day of voracious hunchies can be equivalent to an extra 3 days’ worth of calories (see table). 

Cat Macdonald continued: “Counting calories usually goes out of the window during the festive season, but just one night of overindulgence can seriously bump-up the numbers and that’s before the hunchies kick-in. 

“Eggs are the perfect, nutrient dense food and thanks to their special protein package, they’re proven to keep you feeling fuller for longer, so they can help to prevent you from overindulging in calories after the excesses of the night before.”

Make sure you have a pack of eggs ready and waiting in the fridge as we head into party season. Look for the British Lion mark which means the eggs have been produced to the highest standards of food safety. 

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Table of food and calorie intake - the night before and subsequent Hunchies