Pear juice, coffee, water, or Hair of the Dog won't cure alcohol hangovers

A July 2015 junk-science news article claimed pear juice cuts hangover symptoms.  A more recent news piece suggests that traditional hangover prevention tactics like loading up on greasy food or pounding water aren't really effective.  An article called Bourbon Legends on alcohologist.com back in 2013 debunked all those over the counter remedies, urban legends and old-wives tales about how to beat back the misery.  Instinctively, everyone knows there is no Holy Grail of hangover helpers, and one sure-fire prevention method. (Share the YouTube video or read the full article.)

Old tactics like 'Beer before liquor, never sicker' just defy math.  Having three beers before two shots of tequila or two shots before three beers still adds up to five drinks. The stomach and small intestine are responsible for absorbing the alcohol and make no distinction. All alcohol varieties metabolize at the same rate.

Other nutty experiments include eating pasta before bed, popping pain relievers and downing coffee. Eating before bed only widens the waistline. Popping acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol) while or after drinking can permanently damage the liver. Drinking coffee only makes a wide-awake drunk.

It's merely urban legend that wine and diet drinks avoid hangovers. Wine – especially red wine – is actually worse than vodka, gin or other clearer drinks. Red wines contain tannins, which can turn a bad headache into an all-dayer.  A 2013 study appearing in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (see related examiner.com article) determined that diet sodas increase blood alcohol concentration (BAC) because of how the stomach processes the artificial sweeteners.

Throwing up only empties the stomach and it's too late anyway. Alcohol is absorbed very quickly by the stomach and small intestine linings, which may have already begun to speed the alcohol to the bloodstream well before the finger-in-the-throat trick. 'Hair of the Dog' fixes nothing.  Morning drinking is a sign of alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism. More alcohol never helped anyone. It only postpones the hangover, which has its worst symptoms when the BAC reaches .00.

The only proven cure is time... or just not drinking.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60 #21 - Hangovers

Hair of the Dog... popping a prophylactic dose of Tylenol... these are just two lies laid open in the new episode.  See the only proven hangover cure (transcript) at youtube http://youtu.be/k8pJCBwBXxY

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

Cinco duh Mayo: Tequila myths, drunk driving facts

A staple of the Cinco de Mayo celebration of Mexican heritage and pride is tequila. The humorists note the agave beverage's side effects as a desire to fight in order to show off your new-found super-human strength, unexplained urges to pole dance, increased risk of your clothes falling off and discovery of a new apartment (because you don't wake up in yours). The drinking humor aside, here are five not-so-funny tequila facts.


1. Darker alcoholic beverages (e.g. red wine, brandy, whiskey and tequila) may contain chemicals called congeners -- kind of like impurities. Congeners give a liquor most of its taste or odor, and contribute to or worsen hangovers. These substances include small amounts of chemical by-products of fermentation, such as acetone. Look on a bottle of nail polish remover for another use for acetone. (Here are cinco myths I've posted about hangovers.)

2. Urban legend spins a research study into health benefits of drinking tequila. Science does not back up any health benefit.  In 2007, Mexican researchers found the agave plant – the key ingredient in tequila – has a high level of inulin, which is credited with helping digestion, reducing cholesterol and retaining more calcium in the body. (Inulin is not to be confused with insulin.) Guillermo Toriz, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, notes, "Inulin is very good to the digestive system because it helps you to grow good bacteria." That is the good news for the agave PLANT. Toriz says all of the health benefits found in the plant that produces it are lost when it's fermented to make alcohol.  It's one of those "wishful thinking" attributes drinkers try to pin on alcohol use I mentioned April 12.

3. An open clinical trial was carried out in 2004 on eight healthy non-obese, young male volunteers who were given tequila, one shot daily. The tequila-specific study found a significant increase in their glucose concentration. This can lead to prediabetes: When a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes.  It is a potentially dangerous health condition leading to type 2 diabetes.

4. A single margarita can carry half of the daily calorie requirement (see related article). Tequila consists of more calories than vodka, rum and whiskey. That's before the margarita mix. One mix claiming “all natural flavors” listed it's main ingredients as high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sugar, corn starch, etc., totaling 30 grams of sugars and 33 grams of carbs per 4 ounces. . . and who has seen a small margarita on Cinco de Mayo?

5. Cinco de Mayo has become one of the biggest drinking holidays in the United States, and one of the deadliest. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011 — the latest year for which statistics were available — 35 percent of crash fatalities that occurred on May 5 were alcohol-related.


These health and safety risk are above and beyond the troubles of alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism.  With the holiday, any holiday, drinkers can and do find a way to drink.  Many are able to drink responsibly, which doesn't necessary mean "risk free."
www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the April 13 Sound Health Options show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.  

Welcome to Christmas 2.0

This is the Christmas 2.0 -- the first sober version -- for many people in recovery. Congratulations on the gift you've given yourself and loved ones and please pass on a little courage to those who are still working on the old version.

 

Four of five dieters blame alcohol for weight-loss failures

A survey of the weight-conscious conducted for diet company Forza Supplements Oct. 24 found 81 percent admitting drinking ruined their plans to slim down. One fourth of the 1,000 surveyed reported consuming a quarter of their weekly calorie intake in alcohol alone.

More than a third of respondents consumed 1,000 calories in alcohol alone on a single night out with friends. The survey also found a third drank some alcohol at least three times a week, 25 percent said they drank excessively twice a week and 15 percent admitted to have a heavy night of alcohol three times per week.

A company representative presented four ways alcohol consumption sabotages plans to slim down. The first reason – well known to those with the disease of alcoholism – is that alcohol compromises inhibition and good judgment. “The reason that excess boozing is so damaging to diets is because it makes us deviate from our diet plans and consume more food than planned,” says Managing Director Lee Smith. The food is usually calorie-laden bar fare, typically a burger (490 calories), pizza (675), two pieces of fried chicken (400) or a bag of chips (312).

Smith said the second reason is biochemical. Alcohol suppresses leptin, a hormone. “Leptin tells the body to stop eating and negatively affects many other brain chemicals that are involved in appetite suppression.”

The third reason is that the body recognizes alcohol as a toxin. "Your body stops processing nutrients from the food you’ve eaten while it takes care of the ‘bad guys’ first. As a result, your body burns empty alcohol calories (those low in nutrients) for energy while the digestion of nutrient-rich food is put on the back burner.” The result is a 73 percent reduction in fat burning. “By the time your body gets to burning food calories, it might not need the energy and ends up storing the extra calories you’ve eaten as fat cells.”

Another reason for the lack of weight loss is that alcohol itself has calories. Plenty of them. (See “Alcohol plugs100 calories per day into diets of U.S. adults.”) Pilsener or lager beer usually comes in at around 148 calories in 12 ounces. Drinking light beer, offers about a third fewer, at around 99 calories per 12 ounces. Dry wine contains fewer calories than sweet: 106 calories for five ounces of dry wine and champagnes… double it for five ounces of sweeter wines. If you drink a glass of wine before dinner, another glass with dinner and a sweet wine for dessert, that’s more than 400 calories in addition to the meal.

Liquor calories depend on the proof for whiskey, tequila, gin, rum and vodka. Eighty proof contains 97 calories per shot (1.5 ounces). One hundred proof has 124 calories. How you mix the hard liquors will add calories faster. A whiskey sour will have 122 calories and a gin and tonic has 171 calories, a pina colada, 262 calories, and a large margarita can have as many as 400 calories.

“Women on a boozy night out typically drink three glasses of wine, plus a cocktail (such as a margarita) and a shot of spirits and mixer, all adding up to just less than half their daily calorie intake of 2,000 calories,” says Smith.

One other, more obvious thing about the weight-loss difficulty is what alcohol does to motivation: Who feels like exercise when hungover?
-- from examiner.com (See full article)
www.alcohologist.com



Also, please check out the author interview with Scott Stevens on "All That's Written" 10/11/13
www.alcohologist.com

SATURDAY REWIND: Five myths about hangovers.

This week there was a slight murmur in the news about Sprite soda being able to ease a hangover.  I've got to believe the Coca-Cola Co. wasn't the source of the news, rather someone with an idea that hangover is normal and Sprite is a normal way out.  (There may be science behind the claim, too.)The following article from the alcohol research news archive recommends the best hangover cure:  Don't get bombed.  Or instead of downing Sprite the morning after drinking too much gin, how about drinking Sprite instead of the gin?  Not solutions likely to be embraced by everyone... I get that.  Here are five hangover myths busted.

Hangovers are serious business because of what alcohol does to the digestive and central nervous systems, but there are a lot of myths that may make your condition worse, not better.

Myth: Eating pasta before bed, popping pain relievers and downing coffee will ease the symptoms.
Fact: Eating before bed only widens your mid-section. If you eat something heavy before drinking, it may slow absorption of the alcohol you drink later and could help you avoid the hangover. Popping acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol) while or after drinking can permanently damage your liver. Drinking coffee only makes you a wide-awake drunk. The main stress on the body immediately following a night of too much drinking is dehydration. Alcohol displaces the water in your body. You want to feel better faster, drink more water throughout the night – alternating between water and your drink of choice – and drink water throughout the next day.

Myth: Hangovers are for men and binge drinkers.
Fact: Men have a higher percentage of water in their bodies, therefore more water to displace. A man and woman drinking the same amount, even if they were close to the same size, would result in the woman having more alcohol in the bloodstream and a bigger hangover. Any person can have a hangover after just a couple of drinks, especially if they don’t drink often.

Myth: Wine and diet drinks are best for avoiding a hangover.
Fact: Wine – especially red wine – is actually worse than vodka, gin or other clearer drinks. Red wines contain tannins, which can turn a bad headache into an all-dayer. Diet drinks help cut some of the calories, but alcohol has enough on its own (see related examiner.com story). The natural sugars in some fruit juices make for a better mixer for avoiding hangovers, but cost more in calories obviously.

Myth: Alcohol will help me sleep it off.
Fact: Alcohol blocks your Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, so you don’t rest well. There’s a big difference between waking up and coming to. Also, your body is working overtime to process the toxic alcohol while you sleep, and your sleep will not be restful with your liver working that hard.

Myth: Hair of the Dog fixes everything.
Fact: Morning drinking is a sign of alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism. More alcohol never helped anyone. It only postpones the hangover, which has its worst symptoms when the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches .00. Your body can process about one drink (wine, shot, beer or mixed drink) per hour. If you had six glasses of wine at midnight, your BAC would hit .00 about six a.m. If you had six shots from six p.m. to midnight, your BAC would hit .00 around two a.m. If you had more, you’re going to feel worse later, once the BAC hits bottom. Many drinking and driving arrests happen the morning after because the body still hasn’t processed all the alcohol from the night before.

The only thing that works is time... or just not drinking.

For people concerned about their drinking and the hangovers, the CAGE self-test is a reliable indicator:
Have you ever felt you should Cut back on your drinking?
Have people Annoyed you about your drinking?
Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?
Have you ever had an Eye-opener drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
A score of just two yes answers suggests a significant risk of problem drinking that should be discussed with a doctor.
--from examiner.com (see full story)

www.alcohologist.com