Healing Hangovers

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Reported August 7, 2006

Healing Hangovers

NEW ORLEANS (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- While nearly every health organization says no more than one alcoholic drink a day for women and two for men, there are times when well-intentioned people exceed that limit. So what can you do to ease the hangover blues?

Nearly half of American adults drink alcohol, and nearly 8 out of 10 will wake up with a hangover at least once this year.

Hangover researcher Jeff Wiese, M.D., says most hangover sufferers are full-time employees, and those missed work days equal a lot of lost dollars. "$11 billion all the way to $48 billion," Dr. Wiese, of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, tells Ivanhoe.

So if you're going to have a drink or two ... or three or four, how do you handle the hangover? Pre-medicating? Or how about drinking a shot of the liquor you picked the night before?

Dr. Wiese says the shot of alcohol is a common myth -- it just delays the inevitable. And pain pills only hurt your liver more. However, there is some science behind taking vitamin b supplements before drinking.

"The whole B complex of vitamins is important for liver function, which is going to be important for metabolizing the alcohol," he says. Another study shows prickly pear cactus supplements cut the risk of a severe hangover in half.

But pick your poison carefully. Dark liquor like whisky or tequila causes worse hangovers than light-colored vodka or gin.

Dr. Wiese says, "Until we get a society that just comes together and says, 'Hey, responsible drinking is the way to go,' then i think it is still worth knowing if there is a way that we can make alcohol safer."

Drinking water helps you stay hydrated but doesn't help your other hangover symptoms. And Dr. Wiese says sports drinks are actually better for dehydration than water.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Madeline Vann, Public RelationsTulane University Health Sciences Center

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