The hangover: everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

The hangover: everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

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19.12.2016
2016-12-19

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Marina Levicheva

You we perfectly know that after a heated and lengthy dinner parties, during which control over the drinking of cocktails was lost, inevitably, comes the reckoning — the hangover. And even if you try not to get carried away with alcohol at the holidays to give it will be more difficult than usual.

In this regard, is to understand what a hangover can do to prevent it and how to relieve the symptoms with maximum efficiency, if the holiday was a success.

Why is the hangover so called

Even the philosophers of Ancient Rome wrote about the fact that abundant food during the feast can calm the stomach, so, obviously, the problem had hangovers known to mankind long before the word appeared in the lexicon. The Guardian reports that the first symptoms of a hangover has been described about 3,000 years ago in the “Surest-Samhita” — a treatise on Indian medicinal herbs. There is a condition called pramada (paramada), and was characterized by thirst, pain in head and joints, as well as the unusual weight of the body.

The word “hangover” appeared in the English vocabulary in the 19th century, but meant not the consequences of a fun celebration, but uncovered after a business meeting tasks. And only in the early 1900s, it began to be used for alcohol.

The causes of hangover

The hangover is developing together with the desire of the body to bring the alcohol content in blood to normal — that is, to zero — and is accompanied by headache, nauseam, dry mouth, disruption of the digestive system, excessive sweating, problems with concentration and attention, drowsiness or hyperexcitability.

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One of the most common causes of all of this the metabolism in our body toxic compounds contained in alcoholic drinks. For example, the alcohol almost always contains a small amount of methanol (along with ethanol), which in the intestine breaks down into toxic formaldehyde and formic acid. This occurs for approximately 10 hours after consuming alcohol, making you feel bad.

In addition, alcohol reduces the production of antidiuretic hormone that the body uses to retain water. It provokes serious dehydration — so that, going forward, without abundant and frequent drinking to cope with the symptoms of a hangover are unlikely to succeed.

What is explained by cognitive disorders due to alcohol? Short-term memory loss, mood swings, unmotivated anxiety, — all this the result of the processing of alcohol in the blood, which are made of tiny molecules and cytokines. Many of the cytokine receptors is the hippocampus part of the brain responsible for memory function. Scientists suggest that the increase in the concentration of cytokines in the body and leads to impaired functioning of the brain.

Why some people don’t suffer from hangover

According to studies, approximately 28% of people admit that they never experience hangovers. In trying to understand why this happens, scientists have conducted a lot of experiments that have led to the conclusion that it is a combination of several complex factors, including genetic and environmental. Some research also suggests that heavy hangover often suffer from people with “alcohol history” — that is, those whose relatives have suffered or suffer from alcoholism.

It is important to understand that a hangover is not a situational story, which your body will be completely forget in a few days. So, the researchers were able to prove that in the long term hangover albeit slightly, but the effect on the cerebral cortex. This, in turn, leads to deterioration of memory, concentration and attention.

Why a hangover is harder with age

It is considered that the older we get, the more severe the hangover. However, from a scientific point of view it is not. Or, more correctly, at the moment there is no convincing scientific evidence that age exacerbates hangover. However, a number of experts suggests that in some cases this can happen due to the fact that with age our body loses the ability to effectively handle the toxins of alcohol.

Does fast food hangover

Fast food Breakfast seems like a great idea in case of a hangover, but if it’s as good as we think? Experts in nutrition point out that in a dense and greasy Breakfast makes sense — alcohol lowers blood sugar, and carbohydrate foods can quickly return it to normal. On the other hand, instead of a Burger and fries is always better to choose something more healthy. For example, “English Breakfast” which includes eggs with bacon and tomatoes, sausages, roasted mushrooms, white beans in tomato sauce, toast with butter and coffee with milk.

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Over the centuries has been tested many “folk remedies”: Romans recommend drinking raw eggs, the ancient Assyrians had prepared medicinal infusion of cranberry, and Mongolian soldiers in the era of Genghis Khan, cope with a hangover, eating pickled sheep’s eyes. Fortunately, modern pharmacy you can find a lot less terrifying instruments which promise almost instant results. Another thing is that none of them of this result does not, so before meal you should take 6-8 tablets of activated charcoal, which absorbs toxic substances and celebration — to eat, focusing on protein and vegetables rich in fibers.

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