# Why do I crave sweet beverages the morning after a night of drinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564 "2004-10-16T18:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/1 "2004-10-16T18:37:15Z")
I bring it up because I went out drinking last night and _didn’t_ wake up craving a sweet beverage (usually it’s orange juice). Then I realized that last night I did something I never do: I ate a couple of donuts before I went to bed. Is there a connection here? If so, what is the connection between consupmtion of sweets and boozing it up. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/2 "2004-10-16T18:46:31Z")
I thought drinking usually led to low blood sugar, hence why, in my college days, a big Sunday brunch was always so important for recovery from hangovers. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/3 "2004-10-16T18:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Alcohol can sabotage a normal and protective process in the body, where the liver is no longer able to release sugar when blood levels dip too low > **[WebMD - Better information. Better health.](https://www.webmd.com)** > > The leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information. Providing credible health information, supportive community, and educational services by blending award-winning expertise in content, community services, expert... (Note that the page is directed specifically at diabetics; I don’t have a cite for exactly how pronounced the effect is in non-diabetics.) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/4 "2004-10-16T20:05:19Z")
This is a semi-informed guess, but if you normally crave OJ after drinking, I bet it’s more for the vitamin C than the sugar. I believe the body needs extra vitamin C to deal with the alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/5 "2004-10-16T21:04:30Z")
Of course, if it is a sweet beverage with Vitamin C that you crave, a tasty strawberry dacquiri is alway sin order. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/6 "2004-10-16T21:55:20Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > This is a semi-informed guess, but if you normally crave OJ after drinking, I bet it’s more for the vitamin C than the sugar. I believe the body needs extra vitamin C to deal with the alcohol. But what if the human mind didn’t know that orange juice contained vitamin C? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/7 "2004-10-16T23:40:03Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > This is a semi-informed guess, but if you normally crave OJ after drinking, I bet it’s more for the vitamin C than the sugar. I believe the body needs extra vitamin C to deal with the alcohol. All these ‘theories’ that taking vitamins cures hangovers, or that alcohol depletes certain vitamins, strike me as complete bullshit. I’ve heard no actual evidence for them, but they seem to have become something akin to common knowledge. Vitamin C doesn’t last very long in the body as is; you probably are pretty much out of it by morning anyway, and what’s the evidence that the body (a) requires more vitamin C than usual when drinking. (b) that people have a particular, general craving for foods high in vitamin C the morning after, and © the donuts I always crave when I’m hungover have vitamin C in them? ---
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-crave-sweet-beverages-the-morning-after-a-night-of-drinking/269564/8 "2004-10-17T00:12:29Z")
I think I crave orange juice because I got into the habit of drinking it. It can be a can of coke , but I don’t keep that stuff around the house.