Fun Facts!

Facts About Hangovers Part I

Hangover is the worst part after drinking a lot of booze because it makes you feel nausea, dizziness, headaches, and regretful because of doing something humiliating last night. Also, according to alcohol experts, it is an indication that you did something not very smart perhaps too much alcohol intake or other substances along with alcohol which contributes to your hangover. Below are 10 facts about the hangover.

1. Smoking exacerbates hangover

Not only smoking affects your health and the health of second and third smokers, but it can also worsen your hangover. The exact reason is unknown but researchers conjectured that smoking can cause people to drink more. Another surmise stated that chemicals in cigarettes can increase the overall pharmacological effects of alcohol. The combined effect of nicotine and alcohol boosts the release of dopamine, a 'feel-good' brain chemical, which increases your alcohol intake.

So just like in a relationship, you must stick to one, or else you might face unfavorable consequences.

2. Darker liquors can worsen your hangover

Dark-Hued drinks such as bourbon, brandy, red wine, and rum contain high concentrations of compounds called congener. In fact, the darker the color of the liquor, the more congeners it has. Congeners are responsible for the distinct aroma and flavor of the liquor and the byproducts of fermentation that are metabolized by the body into formaldehyde, a highly toxic substance that contributes to your misery of getting a hangover early in the morning.

Thus, avoid colored liquors, not because you are racist but because you choose to prevent yourself from getting a hangover.

3. Hangover might be influenced by your genetics

Life is not always fair when it comes to hangovers. A hangover is closely linked to how the body breaks down alcohol and its byproducts. Certain genes are directly responsible for key enzymes, like aldehyde dehydrogenase, that break down acetaldehyde, the toxic alcohol's byproduct. Acetaldehyde is a naturally forming relative of formaldehyde that becomes a harmless combo of acetate and water. The amount of acetaldehyde that lingers in your body and for how long it stays is the real culprit of the drunkenness and crappiness you feel in the morning. Unfortunately, another study showed that most Asians do not have the enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde, which makes them susceptible to hangovers.

So blame your parents for getting drunk so easily.

4. A tip to prevent a hangover: Eat before drinking

Eat protein-rich foods such as meat, nuts, and cheese to keep the stomach busy. It slows the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. It would delay the opening of the pyloric valve, which allows the consumed food to pass into the small intestine.

The small intestine is where most alcohol is absorbed into the blood. But if you cannot find any foods that are rich in protein, eat anything that makes your stomach busy. But it does not guarantee that it can prevent you from getting drunk. It just slows down the absorption of alcohol.

But when the time you threw up, eat again but if no food is detected, eat your vomit just to keep your gut busy.

5. Carbonated beverages make hangovers worse

A study found that people who drink flat champagne had lower blood alcohol content than those who drank it with its bubbles. The carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages such as champagne and beer makes the rate of alcohol absorption faster. The bubbly alcohol is more likely to reach the small intestine quickly which heightens blood alcohol level that leads to severe hangover symptoms in the morning.

So pop all those bubbles before drinking it.

6. A pounding headache from a hangover is caused by dehydration

Alcohol makes us produce more urine causing the body to dehydrate. Dehydration itself can cause nausea, headache, and dizziness. The alcohol suppresses the secretion of the hormone, arginine vasopressin, which is responsible for telling the kidneys to conserve and recycle body water. Without it, more vital water gets lost in the urine, lowering the body's water level. But not only water is lost, electrolytes too because urine contains potassium, sodium, and other electrolytes. Since alcohol makes us pee more, the production of electrolytes goes imbalanced. These electrolyte disturbances have been linked to a number of symptoms, including a headache, nausea, and aches.

But that does not mean you have to drink your pee to maintain a balanced amount of electrolytes. Drinking additional water might help diminish alcohol's dehydrating effect.

7. Hangover is worse for women than men

All humans are walking waterbag, they contain 80% of water but varies between the sexes. Women have less body water because they have more body fat which holds less water. Whereas men have more muscle which is mostly made of water. When a man and a woman drink the same amount of alcohol, the poor woman will always have a higher blood content because there is less water to dilute.

So women have a lower tolerance to alcohol and probably an opportunity for men to go to a cheap motel. So, ladies be careful but it would be okay to get drunk if the guy is hot and rich.

8. Inflammation might be the real culprit

Alcohol releases cytokines, an inflammatory molecule from the liver. It is the same molecules released when you acquire flu, resulting in a headache, nausea, fatigue, and the sick-feeling that encourages you to stay in bed, allowing the body's energy to be used by white blood cells to combat the entered foreign invaders. Thus, it is natural for the liver to respond to the inflammation brought by the alcohol by releasing those painful cytokines.

But if you do not really want to experience a hangover, remove your liver. Surely it won't release any cytokines that make you sick.

9. There is no remedy for a hangover

There is no pill ever created to address all the painful physical problems caused by the beverages you take. Alcohol has so many effects; its metabolites have effects, its congeners have effects. However, there are substances that might help reduce the hangover's symptoms like activated charcoal. It reduces the effects of congeners. And there are some studies showed that extraction from prickly pear may combat the inflammation involved in hangovers. But as mentioned before to prevent a hangover is to drink moderately, fill your stomach, hydrate yourself, or better yet don't drink, which most experts considered the best remedy.

10. Dance

Using the consumed energy from alcohol, you can use it by hitting the dance floor. It can keep you from drinking much. Also, it enhances the body's overall metabolic rate which clears out the alcohol in the bloodstream faster, hence preventing you from acquiring the severe symptoms of the hangover.

Even if you do not know how to dance, just dance. Never mind the people who are recording your crazy dance. Keep dancing like no one is watching. It is the only way to avoid a hangover in the morning.