Drinking alcohol in excess can make you look wrinkled and haggard, can destroy vital organs and, in general, ruin your life. For the problem drinker, we strongly recommend the leading self-help organization for combating alcoholism-Alcoholics Anonymous. Headquartered in New York City, the organization is a support group for people with drinking problems.

Home Remedies
Before you have a drink, sprinkle nutmeg into a glass of milk and sip it slowly. It may help absorb and neutralize the effects of alcoholic beverages. The Greek philosopher and teacher Aristotle (384-322 BC) advised his followers to eat a big chunk of cabbage before imbibing. Cole slaw-which is made from cabbage and vinegar-is said to be an even more effective intoxication preventive. The best way to hold your liquor is in the bottle it comes in! One way to help you do that is, when sober, look at a man or woman who is drunk. It's not often a pretty sight.

Sober Up
The following remedies are for people who have drunk too much alcohol-that is, they may make them more alert and communicative. However, do not trust or depend on those people's reflexes, especially behind the wheel of a car. If a drunk person imagines that the room is spinning, have him/her lie down on a bed and put one foot on the floor to stop that feeling. Honey contains fructose, which promotes the chemical breakdown of alcohol. If you know that the drunk person is not allergic to honey and is not a diabetic, give him 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey. Follow that up with 1 teaspoon of honey every half-hour for the next couple of hours.

Hangover Help
In simplified terms, a hangover is the disagreeable physical effect-a headache or nausea,for example-caused by drinking too much alcohol. Hangovers can make a fun night turn into a bad morning. Hangovers can also be caused by an allergy or sensitivity to what you drank. Using homeopathic theory (like fights like), put 1 drop of the alcohol in a glass of water. Take three sips. If the hangover symptoms do not disappear within five minutes, then drink the rest of the glass of water. If you still don't feel better in a few minutes, then your hangover is not allergy-caused. For the morning after, take 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a glass of water.

Evening primrose oil (soft gels are available at health food stores) is said to help replenish the amino acids and gamma-linoleic acid that's lost when you drink alcoholic beverages. Take 1,000 milligrams (mg) with lots of water or orange juice before you go to sleep. Too late for that? Okay then, take it when you wake up and are desperate for anything that will help you feel human again.

According to the Chinese, a cup of ginger tea will help calm an unsettled stomach caused by a hangover. To relieve eye, ear, mouth, nose and brain pain from the hangover, knead the fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and the index finger on both hands. For a pounding hangover headache, massage each thumb, just below the knuckles.