According to ancient body knowledge, drunkenness and its attendant symptoms of headache, nausea, and dizziness are caused by an imbalance between your humours. You can cool your humour down by avoiding excess wine.
Don’t Be a Barbarian
Water will help temper the heat of your wine. The Greeks, Romans, and others frowned on anyone who consumed their wine “neatly” as they believed it showed a lack of self-control.
The Scythians of the north, and especially the “barbarians,” were vilified by the Greeks and Romans because they drank undiluted wine. This was a sign of their lack of civilization. The wise man Anacharsis, who lived in the sixth century BCE, is said to have come from Scythia.
The vine produces three types of grapes: one is for pleasure, another is for intoxication, and the third is for disgust.
You can enjoy the first grape without the other two grapes poisoning you.
Stick to white for women.
Drink white wine instead of red. According to the ancients, wine is hemopoietic, which means it produces blood. They did not realize that blood circulates throughout the body. Instead, they believed that food and drinks were converted into blood by the liver. The blood was then distributed to other organs that used it to perform breathing functions.
Wine, which is a hemopoietic product, can be useful, but it should only be consumed in moderation, as excessive blood can cause all kinds of harmful ailments. Because it looks more like blood, red wine is more hemopoietic and can make you sick if consumed in excess.
It is especially relevant for women because, according to ancient cultures, they are less able than men to convert food into blood.
Wear flowers in your hair.
Wear a wreath made of flowers or ivy while drinking, just like your daughter (niece), granddaughter (or neighbor) did at the festival. The scent of roses and myrtle can help to relieve headaches. Avoid flowers that have a strong smell, such as lilies.
You may not believe it, but Greek and Roman doctors wrote entire treatises on the topic of curative swags. Sadly, the works have been lost except for a few short extracts. I don’t know if the wreath that you hung on your front door for Christmas can serve this healing purpose.
Sour humor
You can add some flowers or herbs to vinegar and drink it. The vinegar will neutralize the wine that is already soured in your stomach.
You will be cleansed if you cannot stomach the vinegar that you drank. This was seen as a good outcome in ancient medicine. In fact, getting rid of bad humor is a good effect.
Activate your almonds
According to the great pharmacologist Dioscorides (1st century CE), eating five almonds will help you avoid getting drunk. You’re likely to have received a gift of nuts from a great-aunt.
Get to know the cabbage.
Use your Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetables. The Greeks, and even the Romans, believed that vines and cabbages were natural enemies. The vine was thought to be able to detect the aroma of cabbage and would not grow near it. In other words, cabbage can counteract a lot of wine. Raw cabbage is better than cooked.
Classics to read
You can sober yourself up by following the advice of Vindanius Antolius, a fourth-century author from Beirut. Discuss ancient history. Stories like the death of Cleomenes, king of Sparta, who went mad due to his habit of drinking clean wine, will give you some sobering examples.
You can also distract yourself from the onset of intoxication by listening to or retelling ancient tales. This may send you to bed, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
