Party Season-- Hangover Cures

---By Claire Tyrell Translated by Liu Fang Ru

Despite all good intentions, I was "over served" again last night, but luckily I've asked around and done my research. If you, too, like your hangover remedies as varied as the bevies you'll be supping, read on ... though Taiwan Fun guarantees nothing!

The practical: Line your stomach with fatty foods before partying, avoid dark coloured drinks (which can often cause worse hangovers) and follow the old English adage "don't mix the grape and the grain". And drink plenty of water before sleeping.

Hangovers are largely due to dehydration, loss of salts and low blood sugar levels, so sports drinks and re-hydration sachets are ideal. Or anything containing vitamins C and B1 (rice, cereals, fruits...) and multivitamins.

Other suggestions:

Cabbage - Apparently, in heavy-drinking Russia, hangover cures include salted cabbage juice. Macedonia, too, has a homemade cabbage/salt solution, and Germans have been known to drink the brine of jarred sauerkraut. One reference claims the ancient Greeks also saw the cabbage's hangover value.

Eggs - Ranging from a fried egg sandwich to the hardcore individuals who swear by downing a raw egg! Sources do say eggs contain elements that help combat the excess of harmful free radicals produced.

Eastern Wisdom - Ginger tea, as it is generally accepted that ginger is a natural antiemetic, which prevents vomiting. While dehydrating caffeine should be avoided as a pick-me-up, try nature's own boost, ginseng.

Western Wisdom - "Hair of the dog"-namely keep drinking, with a Bloody Mary being an old fave. Hangovers are also caused by a rapid fall in blood alcohol levels, so topping up (in small amounts!) takes the edge off ... or perhaps just delays the inevitable?!

Finally, you could try: Hot Mexican food, Vietnamese "pho" noodles, Australia's Vegemite, Mongolia's pickled sheep's eye in tomato juice, or my voodoo fave from Haiti-stick 13 black-headed pins into the offending bottle's cork.

Now ... just how many bottles were there last night?