Hung over and alcohol

[morteno]

Do you ever drink alcohol to ease the pain when you're hung over? I know from myself that alchol greatly helps to remove some of the uncomfortness. A couple of beers is usually does the trick, but a drink might be even better if the pain is caused by beer. I've also had some Port the day after and a chilled, mellow LBV is my preferred choice here (perhaps because of lazyness as I usually keep one open bottle in the fridge).

And when should the alcohol be comsumed? I guess the anwers is as soon as the stomach can handle it. Usually I start, if a Sunday, when the early NFL game gets transmitted (7pm). It might have been dangerous had I lived in the US! (I lived half a year in Boca Raton, Florida, a couple of years ago and I must say I really miss the many NFL transmissions, but I don't think it would be too wise to start drinking at 1pm though

And what's the situation like if we speak of being hung over due to a vast consumption of Port?

[DRT]

I find that 1 glass of beer around lunchtime on a day when I have a hangover greatly eases the pain. But 6 or 7 glasses just starts the porcess all over again so that you can postpone the hangover until the following day

Being hugely hungover on port is something I have never experienced as I rarely touch the stuff

[Luc]

A few on can testify , visiting a porcelain god is possible

[g-man]

A few on can testify , visiting a porcelain god is possible

EWWW you take a dump before putting your head in?!?!?!

[Luc]

g-man , the porcelain gods do not discriminate
Wheather It receives a dump or a Fonseca '63

[Overtired and emotional]

It may be wishful thinking, but I feel that hangovers are caused by drinking poor stuff. Ergo, Port Forum members ought never to suffer them unless cruelly tricked or reckless.

I associate hangovers with thumping headaches and nausea caused by 50 pence bottles of wine, and improvident drink mixing as an undergraduate. The effects were ameliorated by a beer as soon as possible next morning. Vigorous drinking nowadays tends to do nothing worse than leave me exhausted. A year or two back, a particularly successful dinner at home left a decanter of port unscathed. Much to my surprise, I polished the lot off the next evening, a feat without precedent or repetition I might add. Strange to relate, it certainly improved my state of mind, and had no ill effects.

[DRT]

It may be wishful thinking, but I feel that hangovers are caused by drinking poor stuff.

I agree. This is not wishful thinking, it's fact. 1 bottle of cheap crap wine from Tesco will give you a stinking hangover. 2 bottles of Niepoort Charme 2004 will give you a warm glow and an apetite for a good breakfast.

[Glenn E.]

There are two primary causes of hangovers - dehydration and formaldehyde.

Dehydration is fairly obvious... if you consume too much alcohol without something to buffer it, you'll get dehydrated and develop a nasty headache. My personal tolerance level seems to be adequately buffered by drinking a glass (about 12 oz) of water before going to bed. Your personal tolerance to dehydration also plays a role, of course.

Formaldehyde is created in the human digestive tract by the conversion of methanol impurities found in... that's right, cheap alcoholic beverages. There's no good way to buffer formaldehyde, though you can build up a tolerance to it. Also, between 25% and 50% of people do not suffer from the symptoms of formaldehyde toxicity and so will not develop a "hangover" from drinking cheap wine.

So there you go. Drink the good stuff, have a glass of water before bed, and you'll be fine.

[DRT]

Drink lots of the good stuff, have a glass of water before bed, and you'll be fine.

That is the motto I live by.

[g-man]

Formaldehyde is created in the human digestive tract by the conversion of methanol impurities found in... that's right, cheap alcoholic beverages. There's no good way to buffer formaldehyde, though you can build up a tolerance to it. Also, between 25% and 50% of people do not suffer from the symptoms of formaldehyde toxicity and so will not develop a "hangover" from drinking cheap wine.

So there you go. Drink the good stuff, have a glass of water before bed, and you'll be fine.

Are you really serious?? So all those times in college when we were saying ... "We don't get hangovers whenever we get drunk on dom" is really true?!

[jdaw1]

My guideline is to drink alcohol at about 4%. So if drinking a bottle of 20% port, something like four bottles ┰ˆ five pints of water, throughout the evening, greatly improves the following day. If drinking 5% beer, a pint or two of water before bed fixes the balance.

[Alex Bridgeman]

I'm not as scientific as JDAW, but what I find works for me when I am drinking port is either:
(a) drink no more than two modest glasses of port; or
(b) drink one glass of water for every glass of port consumed

The first is great for times when I am on my own and sipping through the evening.

The second is great for offlines when large quantities (1-2 bottles per person) of port are consumed. The water seems to have two effects - clearly it flushes out the system and doesn't allow any concentration of toxins to develop or dehydration to set in but the second effect seems to be that I have less time for drinking towards the end of the evening!

[Glenn E.]

Are you really serious?? So all those times in college when we were saying ... "We don't get hangovers whenever we get drunk on dom" is really true?!

Yup!

I originally intended to be a chemist (so how did I become a Producer for games? it's a long story...) and this is something we learned in basic organic chemistry. It's also part of the reason that moonshine can make you go blind.

[mosesbotbol]

Keep the water to booze 3-1 and you should be able to rock the most epic port events.

Drinking water out of a silver chalis the before bed/next day works well for me.

I also recommend http://www.emergenc.com/ before going to bed!

[Andy Velebil]

I also like to drink plenty of water, but after really big events a large amount of Pedialite seems to do the trick. Its loaded with electrolytes and other stuff that I can't pronounce. Its made for kids so they don't dehydrate when sick, but works great after a long night of drinking. I'm sure Glenn can explain why it seems to work for me, i just know it does.

[Glenn E.]

Sadly, the tidbits of chemistry that I remember are not connected in any useful manner. And I'm reaching the age now when I feel the need to confirm the tidbits via Google before I post them because I can no longer rely on my memory to be accurate!

Coincidentally, Food Detectives (a TV show on the Food Network) did a segment on hangover cures that my wife and I watched tonight. They re-confirmed the dehydration and formaldehyde hangover effects but also pointed out that withdrawal, alcohol-induced low blood sugar, and alcohol-induced nausea (caused by upsetting the pH balance in the stomach and by damaging the lining of the stomach) are also common hangover effects.

Pedialite is obviously designed to prevent dehydration, but the electrolytes and other ingredients probably help combat any low blood sugar or nausea components of your hangover as well. So it makes sense without knowing the exact reason.

[Overtired and emotional]

Alex repeated a reliable piece of folklore, namely one glass of water for each glass of port. It is a trick which seldom fails.

[benread]

Alex repeated a reliable piece of folklore, namely one glass of water for each glass of port. It is a trick which seldom fails.

We are going to need a lot of water on 8th October!