Thursday, January 13, 2005
Celebrating 2005 - "hhair of the dog" and other remedies
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
When last met, I asked an old friend whether he still drinks four ounces of Scotch daily (“Anstie’s Limit, makes me a standard risk,” this old underwriting executive always claimed). “Heck no, I switched to vodka since I stopped playing golf, Scotch kills your antioxidants, “ he replied. I never expected to hear such language from Charles, also known as Handsome, who took his vitamin C straight from the bottle, with a little soda, and since his retirement has been on the golf course daily and at the poker table twice a week, unfailingly. But at 92 one can be expected to slow down a little.
This came up in a discussion of New Year’s celebration aftermaths, men’s talk. Is there a serious cure for hangover? The customary advice is to limit your alcohol intake to one drink every five hours. Otherwise, keep looking for inventions. A month-old article by Jonathan Glater in the Paper of Record provided some new thought.
The scientists support Charlie’s switch to vodka, advising that the darker the drink the heavier its content of congeners, poisonous byproducts of fermentation. Rums are the lightest, then tequila, Scotch and bourbons, the heaviest. Tannin in wine (more so in red) and some ingredients in dark beer or stout such as Guinness also carry the same curse.
Scientists say that congeners may set off flights of cytokines, molecules released from white cells to fight off inflammations, viruses and other attackers. This causes the hangover, an achy flu-like feeling. Alcohol related problems, including hangover, allegedly cause $150 billion worth of damage a year in the US. Can a hangover cure effect some savings? Yes, by making the body less vulnerable, and avoiding hangover- related mistakes of judgment, and of motor and critical skills.
As to cures, the Times article mentions a prickly pear extract that staves off such hangover symptoms as dry mouth and nausea, and an activated calcium carbonate and activated charcoal extract, marketed as Chaser, two caplets of which are claimed to work for three hours of drinking six drinks. Charcoal, which does not bind to alcohol, could in theory block the congeners. There are more cures which the Times does not mention, the most interesting being RU-21, claimed to be a James-Bondish spies’ medicine, used by the KGB agents to keep a clear head. The most important hangover cure still is to drink a lot of water between shots. Dehydration goes with booze, a diuretic. Water slakes thirst, dilutes the alcohol and lessens the desire to drink.
The several hangover cures noted in literature do not seem to claim an bility to reduce intoxication, they only lessen the poison acetaldehyde, to which the body converts ethyl alcohol, and which, in the heavily strained liver, is turned into acetic acid (vinegar), then into carbon dioxide and water, both eliminated through the kidneys and lungs. Drinking too much overloads the liver and lets the poison escape into the bloodstream and damage mitochondria (the energy-extracting body cell element) and other organs.
As to folk medicine – the MDs claim that raw eggs do not work (although they contain cysteine, an anti-acetaldehyde, available as a food supplement). “Hair of the dog,” drinking a small dose to quiet the nerves, is counter-productive, leading to worse results down the road; hot coffee and big breakfasts or carbonated drinks are not much help. Some of the Irish remedies - a breakfast of tattie (potato) bread, soda bread, eggs, black pudding, white pudding, optionally with baked beans poured over – sound fascinating. Orange juice, Gatorade or other sports drinks that replenish electrolytes may help; aspirin and ibuprofen are useful pain relievers. Tylenol may burden the liver some more.
Tomato juice may hold off the dehydration, by virtue of its salt content, a minimal justification for the beloved Bloody Maries (although you may want to keep in mind my Emergency Room Mary, the drink for when you’re short of time and ingredients – vodka, Ragu spaghetti sauce and water, other pungent sauces optional ).
Wally Dobelis offers his best New Year’s wishes to the readers, and the best Holiday headache cure – drink moderately, if at all.
When last met, I asked an old friend whether he still drinks four ounces of Scotch daily (“Anstie’s Limit, makes me a standard risk,” this old underwriting executive always claimed). “Heck no, I switched to vodka since I stopped playing golf, Scotch kills your antioxidants, “ he replied. I never expected to hear such language from Charles, also known as Handsome, who took his vitamin C straight from the bottle, with a little soda, and since his retirement has been on the golf course daily and at the poker table twice a week, unfailingly. But at 92 one can be expected to slow down a little.
This came up in a discussion of New Year’s celebration aftermaths, men’s talk. Is there a serious cure for hangover? The customary advice is to limit your alcohol intake to one drink every five hours. Otherwise, keep looking for inventions. A month-old article by Jonathan Glater in the Paper of Record provided some new thought.
The scientists support Charlie’s switch to vodka, advising that the darker the drink the heavier its content of congeners, poisonous byproducts of fermentation. Rums are the lightest, then tequila, Scotch and bourbons, the heaviest. Tannin in wine (more so in red) and some ingredients in dark beer or stout such as Guinness also carry the same curse.
Scientists say that congeners may set off flights of cytokines, molecules released from white cells to fight off inflammations, viruses and other attackers. This causes the hangover, an achy flu-like feeling. Alcohol related problems, including hangover, allegedly cause $150 billion worth of damage a year in the US. Can a hangover cure effect some savings? Yes, by making the body less vulnerable, and avoiding hangover- related mistakes of judgment, and of motor and critical skills.
As to cures, the Times article mentions a prickly pear extract that staves off such hangover symptoms as dry mouth and nausea, and an activated calcium carbonate and activated charcoal extract, marketed as Chaser, two caplets of which are claimed to work for three hours of drinking six drinks. Charcoal, which does not bind to alcohol, could in theory block the congeners. There are more cures which the Times does not mention, the most interesting being RU-21, claimed to be a James-Bondish spies’ medicine, used by the KGB agents to keep a clear head. The most important hangover cure still is to drink a lot of water between shots. Dehydration goes with booze, a diuretic. Water slakes thirst, dilutes the alcohol and lessens the desire to drink.
The several hangover cures noted in literature do not seem to claim an bility to reduce intoxication, they only lessen the poison acetaldehyde, to which the body converts ethyl alcohol, and which, in the heavily strained liver, is turned into acetic acid (vinegar), then into carbon dioxide and water, both eliminated through the kidneys and lungs. Drinking too much overloads the liver and lets the poison escape into the bloodstream and damage mitochondria (the energy-extracting body cell element) and other organs.
As to folk medicine – the MDs claim that raw eggs do not work (although they contain cysteine, an anti-acetaldehyde, available as a food supplement). “Hair of the dog,” drinking a small dose to quiet the nerves, is counter-productive, leading to worse results down the road; hot coffee and big breakfasts or carbonated drinks are not much help. Some of the Irish remedies - a breakfast of tattie (potato) bread, soda bread, eggs, black pudding, white pudding, optionally with baked beans poured over – sound fascinating. Orange juice, Gatorade or other sports drinks that replenish electrolytes may help; aspirin and ibuprofen are useful pain relievers. Tylenol may burden the liver some more.
Tomato juice may hold off the dehydration, by virtue of its salt content, a minimal justification for the beloved Bloody Maries (although you may want to keep in mind my Emergency Room Mary, the drink for when you’re short of time and ingredients – vodka, Ragu spaghetti sauce and water, other pungent sauces optional ).
Wally Dobelis offers his best New Year’s wishes to the readers, and the best Holiday headache cure – drink moderately, if at all.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 4:46 AM 
