2023-12-30 06:33:55
You can toast, but in moderation. Image: imago images/Westend61
What causes a throbbing headache, dry mouth, and nausea? Is there any cure?
“Beer is not bought, it is rented.” And the added cost of renting it is the hangover. That’s what a biology teacher said. But how does alcohol really affect our body and brain, and how much do we know about hangovers?
Alcohol is metabolized in the liver by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. When broken down, ethanol forms acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical that the body must eliminate before it begins to cause serious damage.
Studies have shown that hangover symptoms peak near the time when all the alcohol has been converted to acetaldehyde. This is when the blood alcohol content returns to zero.
But it’s not just alcohol that contributes to a hangover: other compounds in alcoholic beverages also play a role, such as sulfites, which are especially common in darker drinks, such as red wines and whiskeys.
Hangover symptoms and their causes
Alcohol affects multiple systems in the body, which explains the numerous symptoms of a hangover. This is what we know:
Dehydration: Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases urination. Alcohol suppresses the release of vasopressin, a hormone that tells the kidneys to retain fluid. This loss of fluid causes mild dehydration that contributes to headaches and fatigue.
Headache: Headaches are a staple of hangovers. One reason is mild dehydration, caused by a small shrinkage of the brain due to water loss. Second, alcohol is a vasodilator, meaning it can trigger migraine attacks in people prone to them.
Nausea: Alcohol irritates the stomach lining and increases the release of stomach acid, causing nausea and an upset stomach.
Fatigue: In addition to staying up late, alcohol consumption causes fragmented and interrupted sleep, which causes tiredness and irritability the next day. Additionally, alcohol increases overall inflammation in the body, caused by a general immune response to eliminate harmful chemicals. This contributes to the general malaise you may feel when you have a hangover, such as when you are sick.
The worst hangovers could have a genetic origin
It’s obvious that drinking more alcohol causes worse hangovers, but it’s never that simple. People’s experience with a hangover is very varied: some get it worse than others, and also with less alcohol.
One reason could be genes. Studies have shown that many people metabolize alcohol worse in the liver due to genetic variations. The culprits are two enzymes important for breaking down ethanol: alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase.
In fact, about 45% of hangover severity is due to inherited variations in the genes that encode these enzymes. Genetic variations that cause alcohol sensitivity and hangovers are especially common in people of Asian descent. On the other hand, between 10 and 20% of drinkers report not having a hangover, even after consuming large amounts of alcohol. Either they are better able to pretend to be healthy, or their liver is more efficient at breaking down alcohol.
There are no real proven hangover remedies.
There are many popular cures including raw eggs, coffee, sex or isotonic mixtures, but none of them are a definitive hangover cure. All they do is replace the nutrients, fluids and endorphins lost during a hangover. Sure they are restorative, but they are not going to make the hangover magically disappear.
But a study has found that an effective way to speed up recovery is to defecate. The reason is that ethanol remains in the stomach and intestines for a long time after consumption, from where it continues to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The study authors call this “intestinal drinking.”
The intestine absorbs ethanol faster than the liver can metabolize it, meaning that defecating is an effective way to evacuate ethanol from the intestine that has not yet been absorbed into the blood.
But the best way to avoid a hangover is to simply have a healthy day, go to bed early, and give up alcohol.
(jo/ers)
#hangover #overcome