The Science Behind Hangovers

The dehydration one can get from mountain climbing mimics a hangover quite closely. In either case, the preventive is to drink plenty of water. One problem is forgetting to to do this after having tee many martoonis.

Nice post. Milo

Dehydration is a primary factor. As mentioned before , dehydration not only loses water, but many of the cellular salts in suspension . If one loses the water and salts through exercise, or just being out in the desert with no water, the Dehydration is a constant diminishing effect, whereas the alcohol induced effect is artificial, happens in a much shorter time frame, and does not allow the body to predict and adjust. That being said, I was always told, that when going out on a night of drinking, that after 3 beers, one should consume a glass of water in between drinks, for the rest of the evening--Following this program, you reduce the amount of alcohol, keep up your hydration, and reduce the hangover--You still must pay the Devil for loss of nutrients and sleep, but you will be functional. The worse part of hangovers is waiting for the damn things to go away, and they never stop reminding you of last night, (If you can still remember)--

So what is everyone preventive measures or cure for a hangover?

Myself I have always practice on one of those trips to the john in the early morning to down a large glass of water with two Alka-Seltzer. Before going going back to bed.

plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is!

Drink water with the alcohol, a couple of ibuprofen before bed, take a couple hits of 100% Oxygen in the morning, and a shot of alcohol in the morning to get rid of the Hair of the Dog (that bite me last night).

"So what is everyone preventive measures or cure for a hangover?"

Start experimenting with alchohol at a young age.

1. Go camping with a bunch of similarly-minded friends. Drink whiskey until you pass out. Get tossed out by the park police. Drive home at 2am with one eye squinted shut.

Whiskey is my personal time machine. I need to only catch a whiff of the stuff and I'm 35 years younger.

2. Go to a shooter party. Drink shots of Sambuca until the bottle is empty. Open another bottle. Get booted out of the cab because you have no money. Crawl home. Leave a puddle of puke at the back door for your room mates to find.

It took me two days to recover from that one. Another time machine.

I don't get hangovers any more, because I don't drink too much. Lessons learned.

Whiskey is my personal time machine. I need to only catch a whiff of the stuff and I'm 35 years younger

Not to mention you become a phenomenal singer and comedian extraordinar

...with Ninja Powers!

I've discovered that, being mainly a beer drinker, some beers will give a far worse hangover than others. I refuse to drink Bud, and used to like Busch because of its lack of hangover effects, but for some reason that has changed. Heineken is pretty decent for not giving me a headache, as is Killian's. I should make a list to share of my personal good and bad beers, but I got work to do.

I stopped drinking Bud for the same reason--Hangovers and dull headaches--Other beers can be taken in much larger quantities without any problems.. Also, some wines (I suspect with high sulfates and sulfites maybe), give me hangovers, while others leave no trace--Go figure?.. Eating lightly, when imbibing seems to help, and eating something salty before going to bed, (Or passing out, whichever comes first), seems to help--Probably with water retention...

The Gatorade thing sounds good, but not with beer, or rum. Too many sugary drinks can lead to bad hangovers also it seems..

Of course, prevention, as mentioned, is the best cure..

Poor, poor deluded soul... none of those are beer.

That was just a couple of examples. I drink a wide variety of beers, included micro-brewed beer. My all-time favorite was Guinness fresh from the tap in a little hotel in Ireland. I was on a business trip, and the hotel along with the food and drink there was all paid for. I could have filled a bath tub with all the Guinness I drank over the span of 2 weeks.

For another example of a beer that gives me a bad headache, it's Becks.

Drinking doesn't cause hangovers ... waking up does!

Sort-of makes one wonder why people do it at all, doesn't it?

The most incorrigible drink problem is why humans can actually hold two glasses of pop each simultaneously, though only drink one of them at a time.

My first photographic evidence of an hangover, as a one years old, in Italy, Easter Monday,when all of Italy goes on a picnic. The town priest took me in his arms and carried me around to greet all his parishioners having the "scampagnata". I got to dip my little finger to taste too many glasses of wine.

Fast forward twenty years in Canada, forty-three years ago, working in the summer with a surveying crew with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. While celebrating the birthday of one of the crew members, I mixed Chianti with Red Cap Lager... That's it. I spent the next day lying on a granite boulder in the middle of a field somewhere in Ontario.

Lesson learned: Always dip in moderation and never mix wine and beer.

May the spirit of Christmas bring all of you Joy, Health and a Prosperous New Year.

Cheers/Salute/Cin cin

Vince