Sunday 30 August 2015

5 EFFECTIVE WAYS OF AVOIDING ALCOHOLIC HANGOVERS.

One of the dark side of alcohol is the fact that they produce dreadful feeling which precedes the morning after a heavy drinking spree when blood alcohol level are lower and these feeling tend to worsen when the blood alcohol level returns to zero.

These dreadful feeling is literally called hangover characterized by:-
  • Feeling drowsy
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Feeling of uneasiness
  • Nausea
  • Lack of appetite
  • Poor concentration
  • Dry mouth or mucous membrane. 
Ethanol is the active component of alcohol and once ingested is metabolized by dehydrogenase enzyme to acetaldehyde which is more toxic.

HOW TO OVERCOME ALCOHOLIC HANGOVERS 

IF YOU HAVE TO DRINK, DO IT IN MODERATION. 
Having one drink for a woman and up to two drinks for a man per day is considered as moderate alcohol intake. Ethanol in alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde which is more toxic and its accumulation in the body is associated with severe hangover. Taking alcohol in moderation is a single and most efficient way to avoid hangover simply because formation of acetaldehyde is less with moderate alcohol intake.

DON'T MIX ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
During fermentation or distillation process of alcoholic beverage, apart from ethanol, there are other chemical substances produced called congeners which may include acetone, esters e.t.c. Congeners, besides ethanol, also aggravate the hangover symptoms. Different alcoholic drinks are produced differently and have different congeners. Individuals are advised to use drinks with less congeners to avoid hangover exacerbation. With regard to these facts, consumption of different alcoholic brands will worsen hangovers while consuming only a specific brand probably with lesser congeners will help to mitigate the severity of hangover.



TAKE ADEQUATE WATER IN BETWEEN DRINKS
Alcohol causes diuresis i.e loss of water from the body through urine. This has been linked with body dehydration, dry mouth and may be the cause of headache. Taking adequate water during and even after alcohol drinking spree will help to moderate the hangover symptoms.

ENERGIZE YOUR BODY
Alcohol cause low blood sugar level. Taking heavy meals can be helpful ti alleviate certain hangover symptoms like fatigue. 

TAKE ANOTHER ALCOHOLIC DRINK.
Hangover is evident about 24 hours after a drinking spree when the blood alcohol level have a significant decline. Hangover peaks at a point when the blood alcohol level are at zero. There is a common phenomena in which people take an additional alcoholic drink in order to relief themselves from the hangover symptoms. Taking another alcoholic drink to mitigate hangover symptoms could be a sign of impending alcohol dependency and individual should work on sopping or cutting down on alcohol consumption.


REFERENCE:
PubMed.gov, US National Library of Medicine,National Institute of Health. "Interventions for preventing or treating alcohol hangover: systematic review of randomized controlled trials" By Pittler MH, Verster JC, Earnst E, 2005 (viewed on January 2015)

Hangover- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, December 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hangover (viewed on January 2015)