Researchers have bad news for hangovers

The old popular aphorism, “Beer before wine and you’ll feel good; wine before beer and you’ll feel weird” was recently dispelled by a team of European researchers. The team conducted a study to examine whether a particular order of drinking helped to experience a less severe hangover. However, for the 76 percent of Americans, who experience a hangover after a drinking session, researchers have bad news. According to their study, no matter how hard an individual tries to alter the order in which they drink different alcoholic beverages, they would still face a hangover if they drank too much.

The difference in the order of consumption does not affect the severity of the hangover

In order to find a way to help people facing hangovers, the researchers, as part of this study, recruited 90 German individuals in the 19-40 age group to consume alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, or both. . After randomly dividing the participants into three groups, the researchers asked the first group to consume 16 ounces of lager beer. After this, they were asked to drink four large glasses of white wine. The second group was asked to initially drink all four glasses of white wine. After that, they were asked to consume two and a half pints of lager beer. The third group was made to drink white wine or lager beer. All three groups were medically supervised overnight.

The researchers waited until the effects of the alcohol hangover completely wore off and everyone made a full recovery. The following week, the scientists gathered everyone for a second round of drinks. They had the groups drink in the exact opposite order of what was followed last time. For example, the group that drank beer first was made to drink wine first this time and the group that drank wine was made to drink beer first instead. The third group that drank either of the two (beer or wine) was made to drink what they did not consume the last time.

The study results showed no differentiation in terms of the intensity of the hangover caused by drinking any of the alcoholic beverages, beer or wine, in any particular order. Lead author Joran Kochling, a researcher at the University of Witten / Herdecke, said the study discarded the old saying that if a person drinks beer before drinking wine, it gives the person a less severe hangover.

Vomiting and perceived drunkenness associated with severe hangover

Even after controlling for factors such as age, sex, body weight, hangover frequency, and drinking habits, no substantial differences were found in hangover scores. Women were found to have a more severe hangover compared to men. Blood and urine tests were also done to predict hangover intensity, but to no avail.

However, there were two factors that appeared to affect the intensity of hangover symptoms the next day. These included the level of intoxication that people experienced when drinking and if they vomited. Individuals who scored higher on a scale of 1 to 10 for how drunk they felt toward the end of the binge and individuals who vomited while or after drinking rated their hangovers as severe.

Pay attention to the red flags while drinking

According to Kochling, the truth is that drinking too much of any type of alcoholic beverage can lead to a hangover. He said the only way to predict how bad a hangover will be is to realize how drunk you feel and if you feel sick. He added that all people should be aware of these warning signs while drinking. If people ignore these warning signs when drinking, dehydration, tiredness, headaches, sensitivity to light and intestinal problems, in the form of a hangover, would follow the next day.

Although the amount of drinks that trigger a hangover varies from one individual to another, a hangover means that an individual has far exceeded the allowable limit set by their bodies and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As moderate alcohol consumption. . The CDC considers one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men as moderate consumption.

Hangover nature’s way of shaping future behavior

The researchers acknowledged that this study has its own restrictions. For example, they were unable to assign a control group to consume a non-alcoholic beverage, as the participants were not interested in being part of a group that did not drink alcohol.

Co-author Dr Kai Hensel, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Cambridge, said that while hangovers are unpleasant, they do have a significant benefit. They act as a shield that would likely guide people through time, to alter their future drinking behavior.

Seeking help for alcoholism

It is possible for anyone to be affected by alcohol addiction, regardless of age, gender, or social position. One of the stepping stones to effective recovery from alcoholism is detoxification. The detoxification process helps the body rid itself of all the toxins accumulated in the body as a result of years of alcohol abuse, control withdrawal symptoms, and prepare the body and mind for the treatment of alcohol addiction.