========================================================================= | Section 8: Drinking To Excess | ========================================================================= Many years ago I used to study alcohol metabolism. I may not have kept up on very recent stuff, but, from what I have read of the responses so far, I may have the only scientifically tested information you'll receive. Removal of alcohol takes several pathways. It is removed directly in the kidneys and in the lungs (blown off in the breath) and it is broken down in the liver. Several people have pointed out that dehydration plays an important role in the hangover. That is true. You have probably had other headaches that feel much like hangovers when you have been sick or if you have exerted yourself on a hot day. Dehydration is a major part of these. What noone has told you is *why* alcohol makes you dehydrated. Alcohol is a diurhetic (sp?) which is just another way of saying it makes you dehydrated. Basically, removal of toxins from the blood stream is a water-intensive process. It is not exactly the chemical process of treating the alcohol that uses the water (as someone else said) but rather the fact that the toxins are carried accross the membranes in the kidneys disolved in lots of water. So it is the direct removal of ethanol that can lead to the dehydration. All the suggestions about drinking water or gatorade are good ideas. The water also carries off lots of electrolytes, so gatorade is a good idea. There is another important component to the hangover besides dehydration and that is acetaldehyde. The breakdown of ethanol in the liver is a two-step oxydation carried out by two separate enzymes. The first, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), converts ethanol to acetaldehyde. The second, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), converts acetaldehyde to acetate. Acetate is harmless, aldehydes are extremely toxic (you know what formaldehyde, which is not very different from acetaldehyde, can do to tissue). Now, one problem is that not all people have equally efficient enzymes. You may have heard that many Asians (and native Americans) cannot drink without getting very ill. That is because they carry a form of the gene for ALDH that makes a slower form of the enzyme. To make matters worse, many also carry a fast form of ADH, so they really build up toxic levels of aldehyde. The particular combination of enzymes a person has, has alot to do with individual tolerances. You may also have heard of a drug called "antabuse," (disulfuram) which is given to alcoholics and makes them sick if they drink. The drug works by in-activating ALDH, leading to a toxic buildup of aldehyde. Also, treatment of severe alcohol poisoning usually involves the use of a drug that blocks ADH, that is, prevents the person from breaking down the alcohol at all. This way, they body will have time to clear some of the alcohol through the kidneys and lungs before the body gets flooded with aldehyde, which will kill the victim. You metioned dark and sweet drinks. Alot of this has to do with other toxins in the product--the tannins in red wine for example. Considering you system is taxed enough by the alcohol alone, asking the liver and kidneys to clear lots of other things is insult to injury. Everything I have said up until now has been fact. I am going to provide you some educated guesses (not my own) pertaining to some of your other questions. There are some guesses as to the relationship between sugar metabolism and ethanol metabolism. Both steps in alcohol metabolism convert NAD to NADH(H+) (the "dehydrogenases" remove hydrogen--I guess that is obvious--and the place your body puts hydrogens is on NAD or FAD or FMN to make NADH etc.). The full names of these molecules are Nicatinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide and Flavin MonoNucleotide. You may recognize these names as similar to the "B" vitamins (Riboflavin, Nicatinamide). They are the B vitamins, which everyone will tell you are important in energy metabolism. In the metabolism of sugars, as I am sure you remember, you make ATP (riboAdenosine Triphosphate). You also store energy in something we call "reducing equivelents." This is nothing more than a source of Hydrogens which can be used to "reduce" (the opposite of "oxydize") the spent ADP and AMP back to ATP. OK? So reducing equivelents is another way to make ATP and is the end product of energy (Sugar) metabolism. Here's the payoff: The reducing equivelents are stored as NADH and FADH etc.--reduced B vitamins. So the guess is that having to metabolize lots of sugars along with the alcohol ties up all the B vitamins in the the reduced form. So there is not enough oxidized NAD available to participate in the metabolism of ethanol, or, more importantly, aldehyde. This is what is behind the suggestion that you take B vitamins when you drink and also the suggestion that you not consume sugar and alcohol. I think the guess is a reasonable one. But it is not proved. Another thing people may have told you that fructose might help. This is because fructose throws something of a monkey wrench into sugar metabolism. It slows it down (I won't bother you with why). That may free up more of the oxidized B vitamins for aldehyde dehydrogenase. But, I am not convinced of this. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Dr. I. M. Bibe's Anti-Hangover Tips -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Well, having done YEARS of research (;-D) on hangover cures, here are my scientific findings: 1. There is one preventive measure that is absolutely foolproof for every person in the world: Don't ever drink. You'll be guaranteed to avoid hangovers for the rest of your life. 2. Since 99.9% of the people who are concerned with hangovers will never follow method #1, then the next best preventive measure is this: Never drink enough to get really drunk. That way, hangovers will be rare, if not nonexistent. 3. Since almost everyone who has ever had a hangover will refuse to comply with methods #1 or #2, then this is the next best preventive measure: Always force yourself to do this shortly before retiring from your drinking activities to allow your body to succumb to unconsciousness: Take a couple or three aspirin, acetominophen, or ibuprofen pills with a full glass of water (or two glasses of water). Granted, if you're full of beer, the last thing you'll want is a lot of water. And, while this method will probably result in at least one extra middle-of-the-night trip to the bladder-relief room, it WILL pay off the next morning. This method is about as sure-fire a preventive (for ALL people) as you'll find. It really works. Mind you, it's not a CURE. You'll still feel a little ragged, but it can truly save you the next day. Trust me. I know it's not easy to make yourself do this at the end of a long night of lovely alcohol abuse, but if you try to make it a routine operation before going to bed, you'll thank yourself the next day. This can also be a tricky maneuver if you've had so much that you're actually falling down/ stumbling/passing out-drunk. Try your hardest to make yourself do it though. (Also be SURE you know what pills you're swallowing.) 4. Methods #1, #2, & #3 apply to ALL people. From this point on, we enter the mysterious realm of experimental preventives. The problem here is that all people are not alike in such things as size, weight, metabolism, chemistry, etc. So, what works for me may not work for you. But I offer these as good ideas to try when you've done what 89% of us do - namely, said to hell with methods #1, #2, & #3. You've just opened your eyes to find yourself crumbled into a collapsed mess, hopefully in a bed, hopefully in somewhat familiar surroundings, but, worst of all, awake. Your mind gradually manages to reconstruct some sort of memory of some portion of the previous night's activities. You feel like the worst part of hell (this is the cue for the proverbial "I'll-never-drink-again" declaration, one of the most pitiful demonstrations of bull$#!+ in all of human behavior). You need help. Quick. A little understanding of what a hangover actually IS really comes in handy here. It's a combination of a few physiological things: a) dehydration - the alcohol has forced evaporation of a certain vital portion of the body's water; b) nervous shock - you're coming off the effects of a mild overdose of a depressant drug, so your nerves are displaying the great Newtonian natural law of action/reaction by going into a relatively hypersensitive state; c) malnutrition - pumping all that alcohol and liquid through your body has effectively flushed away a significant supply of your storage of vitamins and nutrients, chemicals which would stimulate natural defense systems, but you're running seriously low on them now. So..... What you need to do is take some restorative steps to begin a recovery process. This means doing the same things that you should've done in method #3 (it's really too late now, but it can't hurt). It means rest and as little nervous stimulation as possible. It also means trying to eat something that will help to replace the nutrients you've lost. That really should be in the forms of fruits/vegetables, NOT fatty, greasy junk, not dairy foods, something that isn't too tough on the already beat-up digestive system. Bananas are great for key vitamins. But I'll tell you what I've found to be a real miracle medicine for me - tomatoes! Strange but true. This came to me by pure accident. I was a suffering bastard one day following a night of revelry, and I knew I needed some food, but I found myself in a situation where I didn't really have any choice about the lunch that I'd been served. It was a basic Italian-American dish that included a tomato sauce (something like lasagne or spaghetti). In less than an hour after eating, I felt rejuvenated, almost back to normal! I couldn't believe how quickly I had gone from hangover hell to basically ok. I figured it was just a fluke. But the next time I was in a similar situation, I deliberately tried it again, and it worked! This sort of explains half of the reason that a Bloody Mary is the standard morning-after drink. (The OTHER half, of course, is that more alcohol - "hair-of-the-dog" - acts to relax your shattered nerves and numb the pain in the head, but more alcohol is also a great step on the road to alcoholism, not a habit I'd suggest.) So, next time, try it. Maybe a little light pasta with a meatless, greaseless, tomato sauce. Cold gazpacho or a mild salsa may work too, but your stomach will be in no mood for onions and peppers. A glass of V8 may be just the thing. Citrus juices tend to bother the stomach too; but tomatoes are highly acidic, so I can't explain that part. 5. If you know you're going to be drinking a LOT of something, there are certain definite DON'Ts: -Don't mix a lot of different types of alcoholic drinks (liquor, then wine, then beer). Loudon Wainwright wrote a song about this: "Drinks before dinner and wine with dinner and after-dinner drinks/ Single-entendre/Help me, Rhonda/Locate my cufflinks/ Come with me and you all will see that it all be alright/ Rudolph the red-nosed wino will guide our sleigh tonight." -Don't overdo it with colored liquors (red wine, whiskeys, cordials, dark rum). A cheap red wine hangover is absolutely THE WORST. Death without actually passing into the next world. -Don't overdo it with sweet blended concoctions. This is the classic mistake of high-school idiots, dumb college undergrads, and basic novice drinkers (who will probably never drink again). All of these sick sugary trendy drinks with cream of whatever, and doughnut-flavored schnapps, and layers of nifty floating colored syrups and liquers. Oh, please. Gag. Gallons of Coca-Cola mixed with hard liquor. Imitation raspberry-flavored margaritas and "daiquiris". (Raise your hand if you've ever even SEEN a real daiquiri.) The combination of all of that sugar in the stomach with the mandatory alcoholic kick in the head - the end-result is almost always the same. (I STILL remember the sight of the sidewalk outside of a cheezy teen bar in Underground Atlanta back when they served 18-yr.-olds.) Most kids still have to learn the hard way. Some people think it's a rite of passage to "adulthood". Yeah, right.