[HN Gopher] Alcohol without the hangover - scientists are findin...
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       Alcohol without the hangover - scientists are finding ways
        
       Author : meany
       Score  : 50 points
       Date   : 2023-07-29 13:59 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.wsj.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.wsj.com)
        
       | thoughtegting wrote:
       | Some DHM (Dihydromyricetin) before heading out for drinks does
       | the trick for me every time
        
       | bluefishinit wrote:
       | I love my IPAs but I have to admit that the UK does social beer
       | right. 3% or even 2.5% ales are the way to go if you want to
       | socially drink. We have a concept of a "session" beer in the US,
       | which is lower ABV but the selection of really good, really low
       | gravity beers is the best in the UK as far as I can tell.
        
         | Helmut10001 wrote:
         | I really like Full Sail Session IPA, every time I visit the US
         | I get some. Germany is really lacking behind this hole
         | development, the beer is just very poor these days here.
        
           | fileeditview wrote:
           | What are you talking about? Even most common supermarkets
           | have a small variety of IPAs and other craft beers. And even
           | without them there are small breweries everywhere in southern
           | Germany which have great "classical" beers..
        
           | wheels wrote:
           | Crew Republic, one of the biggest German craft beer
           | producers, makes a session IPA.
        
         | walthamstow wrote:
         | Londoner here. These beers exist and are part of the historic
         | English beer tradition but are few and far between in city pubs
         | these days. Pubs have started to stock Radlers like
         | Schofferhoffer which is my go to, or a half pint (284ml/~10oz)
         | of a strong beer like IPA.
        
           | rcarr wrote:
           | This. You used to be able to get a few "session ales" in pubs
           | which were under 4% and meant for long drinking sessions, now
           | because of the rise of craft beer you're lucky if you get
           | one. Meanwhile, there's always a ton of options over 5.5%
           | which used to be unheard of.
        
         | quaffapint wrote:
         | I have been on the hunt for the past year in the mid-atlantic
         | area of the US looking for <4% beers. The closest I've come is
         | a German grapefruit beer (Schofferhofer), but it doesn't really
         | have that beer taste. Most US 'light' beers are around 4-4.2%.
         | 
         | Moosehead for example makes a Moosehead Light for the states at
         | 4%, but they also offer Cracked Canoe which is only 3.2% but
         | not sold in the states (available in the Canada, UK and Costa
         | Rica of all places where I tried it).
        
           | yCombLinks wrote:
           | I drink miller 64. It's 2.8%. I like it, very light.
        
           | slenk wrote:
           | Founders All Day IPA is like 4% if you can find it
        
           | MrMan wrote:
           | [dead]
        
           | gdprrrr wrote:
           | Here in Germany, it's common to mix beer and sprite 50:50 for
           | a 2,5% drink. It keeps more of the beer taste than you'd
           | think.
        
             | mstipetic wrote:
             | It most certainly does not
        
             | joncrocks wrote:
             | In the UK it's called a Shandy.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandy
        
             | User23 wrote:
             | A Radler.
        
         | shaftoe444 wrote:
         | In theory yes but the problem is many people here (England) end
         | up picking the session beers and then drinking 10 of them.
        
           | drcongo wrote:
           | ...before moving on to the stronger ones.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | gniv wrote:
         | I was first introduced to 3% beer in Norway. It was crazy
         | expensive (due to taxes on alcohol) and really good. I was
         | disappointed that I couldn't find anything similar in the US.
        
           | danielfoster wrote:
           | That's a shame to hear. While I understand why Norway taxes
           | alcohol, placing such high taxes on a low-alcohol alternative
           | encourages purchase of higher alcohol options in the same
           | product category.
           | 
           | Ideally low alchol beer would have a mild tax discount to
           | encourage sustainable consumption.
        
           | nicholasbraker wrote:
           | I'm in Sweden on vacation now (and still binging HN..) and
           | they have 3,5% variants of most major brand of beers like
           | Carlsberg, Heineken and others, It's great! It tastes like a
           | real beer, but without the buzz I usually get after a six-
           | pack.
        
             | soderfoo wrote:
             | Falcon Export is my go to local beer here in Stockholm.
             | It's also available in 3.5%.
             | 
             | Hope you enjoy your visit!
        
             | adamfarhadi wrote:
             | 3,5% is actually the maximum ABV you can get in
             | supermarkets in Sweden by law. For anything higher ABV than
             | that you need to go to the government-owned chain called
             | Systembolaget or go to a bar or restaurant that has a
             | license to serve alcohol.
             | 
             | Because of the restrictions though, craft breweries have
             | been making some great <3,5% beers that they sell at
             | supermarkets.
        
               | laurels-marts wrote:
               | > 3,5% is actually the maximum ABV you can get in
               | supermarkets in Sweden by law. For anything higher ABV
               | than that you need to go to the government-owned chain
               | called Systembolaget
               | 
               | Jesus that sounds terrible. I get the good intent I
               | suppose but the hell..
        
               | blackguardx wrote:
               | It used to be the same in Colorado until recently. State
               | law mandated only 3.2% alcohol by weight (~4.0% ABV)
               | could be sold in grocery stores or consumed in state
               | parks. It changed with a state-wide referendum.
               | 
               | There is a theory that this law is why craft beer boomed
               | in Colorado. It is easier for small breweries to sell
               | beer through a mom & pop liquor store than a national
               | chain grocery store. Folks were more used to buying beer
               | at liquor stores than other states.
        
           | m0llusk wrote:
           | There is currently a big surge in low alcohol concentration
           | brewing with a range of new options available. You should
           | check out distributors for more. I find many options at Whole
           | Foods so this stuff must be approaching the mainstream.
        
         | eterps wrote:
         | > 3% or even 2.5% ales
         | 
         | I am not familiar with those, can someone give some examples of
         | these types of beers?
        
           | sam_lowry_ wrote:
           | This is close to home-brewed kefir.
        
             | boomskats wrote:
             | Your joke made me chuckle. I then googled it and realised
             | the kefir I make and drink every morning apparently has
             | 0.5-2% alcohol.
        
           | bluefishinit wrote:
           | The brown ales can be very low gravity. Usually you get low
           | gravity stuff from a cask. I've had lighter ales that are
           | really low too, but I think they are hard to find.
           | 
           | https://learn.kegerator.com/london-brown-ale/
        
           | alasdairking wrote:
           | Yeah, this is like "pints of mild" in 1980s old man pubs in
           | the North. I am skeptical such beers exist now in any
           | mainstream pub or bar.
        
             | ljm wrote:
             | Boddy's was a staple back up north until the Manchester
             | brewery at Strangeways shut down. Going back a fair while
             | now though.
             | 
             | Feels like these days the selection of cask ale is more
             | limited but you have more variations on an IPA than you can
             | shake a stick at.
        
           | flir wrote:
           | I can't, and I'm in the UK. Even UK-brewed Fosters, widely
           | conidered to be flavoured water, is 3.7%.
        
             | pfannkuchen wrote:
             | Even humans are basically flavored water.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | eggy wrote:
       | Great, fry your brain and rot your liver without feeling a thing!
       | Is the stock public?
       | 
       | A hangover is feedback that you have poisoned your system that
       | most animals would then learn from and avoid, but not intelligent
       | humans.
        
         | znpy wrote:
         | Actually it's been observed that some animals willingly seek
         | fruits that have fallen and have started fermenting to get some
         | buzz.
         | 
         | Such animals don't have an alcohol industry and a logistics
         | network though.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | LeanderK wrote:
         | What's the purpose of live if you won't allow yourself to enjoy
         | it a bit? So yeah, I'll do it, have fun and socialise with my
         | friends. Of course within bounds, we're adults after all.
         | 
         | I bet/hope there are less harmful alternatives out there but
         | unfortunately there's not a lot research afaik on different
         | chemicals.
        
           | yieldcrv wrote:
           | Other substances are gaining popularity specifically because
           | people are learning enough about them to have a conversation
           | beyond grade school scare campaigns.
           | 
           | People are objectively noticing that they can get a social
           | lubricant without a hangover, without liver damage, without
           | esophageal damage, without lung damage (not an alcohol thing,
           | just a reference to smokers of anything), and that alcohol is
           | more toxic than more tightly regulated drugs.
           | 
           | I believe the person you were responding to was pointing that
           | out, while I believe you wrote a false dilemma as nobody here
           | is talking about abstaining from mind altering substances,
           | they find it absurd to try to force making alcohol the
           | substance of choice, given that harm reduction already exists
           | for recreational use of other substances.
        
             | tblt wrote:
             | Could you share what some of these substances are?
        
               | yieldcrv wrote:
               | THC (weed)
               | 
               | Psilocybin (mushrooms)
               | 
               | examples of substances that fit the criteria above and
               | where many people would like more research to exist on
               | longer term recreational use.
        
         | Eumenes wrote:
         | This is on par with the trend of biohacking ... from ozempic,
         | ADHD meds, transgender hormone therapies, to cheating hangovers
         | ... You can't cheat nature, for long at least.
        
           | drewrv wrote:
           | As someone who had their appendix removed yesterday, I'm
           | grateful that cheating nature can actually be done safely and
           | effectively.
        
         | pakitan wrote:
         | It's not necessary for this drug to have the same negative
         | effect, just because it has similar positive effect as alcohol.
        
         | andrepd wrote:
         | I don't know about you but I feel that I'm drunk long before
         | the hangover kicks in :)
        
       | hash872 wrote:
       | Wasn't synthetic alcohol part of the Star Trek mythos? It's been
       | a long time since I've watched TNG but I seem to remember it was
       | part of their world, at one point I have a vague memory of
       | someone handing Picard a bottle of 'real' alcohol and him being
       | amazed- 'this is the real stuff??' he asks? Or something to that
       | effect.
       | 
       | Maybe that's what Guinan was always serving at the Enterprise
       | 'bar', synthetic alcohol. (Does Data ingest it? Can he?)
        
         | thumbuddy wrote:
         | So synthesized ethanol will be the same in every respect as
         | purified naturally sourced ethanol except perhaps down to the
         | balance of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen isotopes.
         | 
         | But yes startrek was/awesome regardless.
        
         | AuryGlenz wrote:
         | Synthehol. It's never really fully explained how it affects you
         | other than you can kind of readily shake it off.
         | 
         | There are plenty of instances in Star Trek of people drinking
         | the real stuff though. Picard himself had a family winery. I'm
         | guessing he was amazed at a bottle of Romulan Ale, which was
         | illegal in the same way Cuban cigars were here.
        
           | ben_w wrote:
           | In the show, Romulan Ale is also extremely strong; Worf
           | nurses a hangover from it and says it "should be illegal" and
           | LaForge replies "It is"; while in DS9 several of the human
           | main cast infiltrated a Klingon event and had to take
           | something to avoid dying from drinking so much Blood Wine.
           | 
           | (That said, I don't know if it's been canonically stated
           | Blood Wine is ethanol based, so future writers might just
           | decide that's because Blood Wine is based on methanol rather
           | than ethanol, and the ABV is unsurprising...)
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | xmddmx wrote:
       | I'm drinking 12% ABV AleSmith Speedway Stout, which also has
       | coffee in it. This beer is so good, it should probably be
       | illegal, along with Romulan Blood Wine.
       | 
       | That being said...
       | 
       | I read an interesting thing about the interaction of Tylenol
       | (acetaminophen / paracetamol) and alcohol.
       | 
       | Common wisdom: "don't drink alcohol while taking Tylenol, as it
       | leads to liver damage"
       | 
       | Yes, Tylenol breakdown has a toxic metabolite. Chronic alcohol
       | use induces certain liver enzymes, one of which increases this
       | metabolite.
       | 
       | So if you are a hard-core drinker, taking Tylenol is bad, in
       | general.
       | 
       | However, since alcohol is also a target of this enzyme, it's
       | actually _better_ to drink alcohol with Tylenol (since the enzyme
       | will prefer reacting with ethanol vs. acetaminophen) vs. taking
       | the Tylenol alone.
       | 
       | One can imagine why the FDA doesn't put that on the
       | "instructions" label.
       | 
       | (I'm not a biochemist, so don't sue me if you blow out your liver
       | based on bad advice).
        
       | funkychicken wrote:
       | I love the idea of the nasal naltrexone. Naltrexone has been
       | known for years to reduce the number of drinks consumed (by
       | blocking opioid receptors).
       | 
       | I wish we could figure out a better system for accessing
       | medications like this -- like perhaps allowing pharmacists to
       | prescribe low risk medicines in more states.
        
       | miduil wrote:
       | I've been three+ years sober, really can recommend. Life is much
       | different now, things that used to be fun aren't anymore - but
       | I'm making strong connections nevertheless.
        
         | mentos wrote:
         | Waking up early on a Saturday without a hangover is what I look
         | forward to. I'll just sit in bed and revel in it now ha
        
           | SavageBeast wrote:
           | For my own personal experience, the worst part about drinking
           | regularly - and I mean nightly if we're being at all honest -
           | seems to be the people you meet. Having cut down drastically
           | and switched from Volume Drinking kind of venues to Boutique
           | Cocktail Venues I find I'm spending my time around a smaller,
           | higher quality group of people while at the same time
           | drinking less and enjoying my few drinks much more.
           | 
           | [EDIT] I suppose in hanging out with drunks every evening, it
           | normalized the idea of being drunk every night. What I was
           | doing seemed normal because everyone I hung out with was
           | doing the same thing. Thats a good way to start a bad habit.
        
       | nunez wrote:
       | Pacing my drinks (sip every ten minutes; bigger drink of water
       | between sips) and Pedialyte or Gatorade Zero after drinking if
       | I've had a lot is the only system that works for me.
       | 
       | I'm 36 and haven't had a serious hangover[0] in a very long time.
       | 
       | As an added bonus, since I drink way slower when doing this, I
       | can enjoy my drinks more and pay less for fewer drinks.
       | 
       | Additionally, because I drink fewer drinks when I go out, I'm
       | much more selective about what I drink, which means I'll opt for
       | higher quality stuff or a good NA if no good options are
       | available.
       | 
       | YMMV of course.
       | 
       | [0] I define "serious hangover" as "unable to get out of bed;
       | serious nausea; serious brain fog." The worst hangover I've had
       | since doing this is mild brain fog that recovers after a few
       | hours.
        
       | 1ba9115454 wrote:
       | I've switched to alcohol free beers. They're a bit sweeter but
       | for me it's fine.
        
         | eatonphil wrote:
         | Likewise! I'm trying not to drink much anymore. But I always
         | want something cold and fizzy. So it's a switch between
         | refrigerated carafes of water, seltzer, and zero-alcohol beers.
         | Although I feel incentivized not to have even the zero-alcohol
         | beers since it's still 60 calories. While the seltzers I find
         | are 0.
         | 
         | Any beer recommendations? I haven't tried much outside of the
         | locally-supplied zero-alcohol Heineken and Corona.
        
           | cota wrote:
           | Asahi Dry Zero has 0 alcohol, 0 calories.
        
           | defphysics wrote:
           | My favorite is Run Wild from Athletic Brewing Co.
        
           | gniv wrote:
           | > Any beer recommendations?
           | 
           | Where? In eastern US, Athletic Brewing makes really good
           | hoppy ales. The ones from Brooklyn Brewery are good too, but
           | a bit heavy for my taste.
           | 
           | In continental Europe, Germany has a large selection of
           | lagers, good but not great. Clausthaler is an example. Also,
           | I like the Czech beer Staropramen.
        
         | dgb23 wrote:
         | I like drinking a beer or two sometimes during the week. It's
         | tasty, cool and calming. Alcohol free beer is great for that.
         | 
         | However most alcohol free beers don't taste nice. Takes a bit
         | of shopping around to find a brand that doesn't taste like
         | Ovomaltine.
        
           | thehappypm wrote:
           | Brew Dog is great
        
         | nprateem wrote:
         | I checked the sugar content of one the other day and it was
         | like 12% sugar or something ridiculous.
        
           | jebarker wrote:
           | Yeah, the average NA beer appears to have the equivalent of
           | about 3 teaspoons of sugar. So about the same as regular
           | beer.
        
         | moribvndvs wrote:
         | So far, my favorite has been Guinness' NA. It's _almost_
         | imperceptible from the normal canned draught. My only real
         | hangup with it is the extra plastic waste via the widget.
        
           | jebarker wrote:
           | I really like the Guinness NA too. But I heard someone say it
           | had a hint of BBQ sauce to it and now I can't help but taste
           | that when I drink it!
        
           | jmspring wrote:
           | Another vote for Guinness NA. Mikkeller also makes good NA
           | beers, but pricey at $24/6 pack.
        
       | andrewl wrote:
       | It looks interesting. There's a good bit of information, and
       | marketing, of course, at gabalabs.com.
        
       | electrondood wrote:
       | 500mg NAC before drinking, then a pint of water + fish oil + B
       | vitamin complex before bed = zero hangover.
        
       | Animats wrote:
       | That's GABA Labs.[1] They've been working on this for years. They
       | have a product, called "Sentia". It's plant-based and "natural",
       | which avoids some regulatory problems. Their better product is an
       | entirely synthetic molecule.
       | 
       | It's self-limiting. It's said to produce a pleasant buzz, but
       | more of it won't produce drunkenness.
       | 
       | You can buy Sentia. It's insanely expensive.[2]
       | 
       | [1] https://gabalabs.com/
       | 
       | [2] https://sentiaspirits.com/collections/non-alcoholic-spirits
        
         | wincy wrote:
         | It's less expensive than a good quality whiskey. Honestly I
         | might try some. 50cl == 500ml, so a liter for PS54 doesn't
         | strike me as even "very expensive", unless I've made some major
         | metric maths error.
        
       | Nihilartikel wrote:
       | Reading about this venture to make anf popularize GABA tickling
       | drug without the self limiting ill effects is worrying in the
       | long term.
       | 
       | Such things exist, and sure, one is fine.. but one a day for a
       | week and then you are heading for an undescribably hellish
       | withdrawal.
       | 
       | I had a brief dalliance with Phenibut for anxiety self
       | medication. It targets GABA receptors, and boy does it work. But
       | read about it in the forums and then you'll find the horror
       | stories of people trying to quit, or running out and having
       | months of nightmares and shakes and paranoia. I noped out of that
       | in time, thankfully.
        
         | mewpmewp2 wrote:
         | Also used to enjoy Phenibut quite a bit. Felt a bit like
         | Alcohol without the "stupid". Although the onset time wasn't
         | the best to handle and there was huge difference whether I took
         | it on empty stomach in the morning or at some point later in
         | the day. Haven't done it for a while though. Sleep was also
         | amazing. Easy to fall asleep and so sweet. Definitely shouldn't
         | use very frequently like you said. Best to leave at least 2
         | weeks inbetween. I had periods of using it every day.
        
       | SomeRndName11 wrote:
       | Alcohol is the most boring psychoactive substance ever, even
       | Benadryl is more fun. I really do not understand those who enjoy
       | the experience.
        
         | dragonmost wrote:
         | Am I wrong? No it's the other people that are wrong
        
         | pr0zac wrote:
         | You shouldn't assume the effects you get match those of other
         | people. People experience different effects because of
         | differences in brain/body chemistry and genetics. People that
         | get "asian flush" for instance process alcohol in a way that
         | results in more toxic metabolites thus making alcohol literally
         | more poisonous and less enjoyable for them.
         | 
         | Holds true for other substances as well. My brother absolutely
         | loves weed and finds it relaxing but I cannot use even a small
         | amount without crippling levels of anxiety. Meanwhile anything
         | that works on GABA (alcohol included) completely removes
         | anxiety for me in a way that's so enjoyable I have to be
         | careful with the whole class of substances. Because of a
         | genetic quirk modafinil has little to no effect if I take it
         | but I use prescribed amphetamines 3-5 days a week. Human bodies
         | are complicated!
        
           | SomeRndName11 wrote:
           | Precisely. Most people "enjoy" alcohol because it is socially
           | accepted drug, but for many people so many other substances
           | would be a lot more enjoyable, without collateral damage of
           | alcohol for society. Alcohol is a poor choice for
           | recreational drug for many, for the exceptions those who
           | likes depressants.
        
             | anthony_d wrote:
             | Sounds like you didn't actually read the comment you're
             | responding to. Any chance you work in politics?
        
               | spiderice wrote:
               | GP's comment is a perfectly acceptable response to GGP's
               | comment. Yours however..
        
         | xmddmx wrote:
         | Are you Italian?
         | 
         | I was shocked, about 15 years ago when some Italian friends
         | (who were very drug familiar) said how much they liked that
         | they could buy Benadryl (diphenhydramine) w/o a prescription
         | here in the USA.
         | 
         | I was like " _?_???* " this is not a party drug.
         | 
         | (note: there are folks who use it in massive overdoses as an
         | ACh deliriant [1] but that's not my cup of tea)
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliriant
        
         | popularrecluse wrote:
         | cool
        
       | PedroBatista wrote:
       | Oh great, I'm sure this will end as well as the pain pills from
       | Purdue..
       | 
       | There is a sizable minority of people who don't have a "governor"
       | when it comes to drinking, we call them alcoholics.
       | 
       | Then there is a big group of people who have some moderation, but
       | part of that "moderation" are the hangovers and by the late 20's
       | they start to hurt much more than consecutive nights of boozing
       | can offer.
       | 
       | Let's hope this is yet another pseudo-science piece to fluff some
       | careers and little more, otherwise I'm guessing it could in the
       | early 80's again when coke "was fun and gave you energy to do
       | more even at work".. ( not the company line, but the general
       | feeling in the streets )
        
         | ttul wrote:
         | David Nutt is an esteemed scientist. He previously chaired the
         | UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. He is " David
         | Nutt is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal
         | College of Psychiatrists and the Academy of Medical Sciences."
         | 
         | Source: Wikipedia
        
       | bratgpttamer wrote:
       | I read something a while back where the owner/CEO/VP/Head Brewer
       | of Sam Adams, who was expected to go to certain beer/brewing
       | events and basically have a beer with each vendor, would eat a
       | packet of yeast beforehand.
       | 
       | He claimed it allowed him to make his rounds and sample
       | everyone's beer without getting drunk/hungover.
        
         | distortionfield wrote:
         | Whoa, I had never heard of this before but there seems to be
         | something to this.
         | 
         | https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/07/10/327854051/al...
        
         | thumbuddy wrote:
         | I can't imagine a mechanism where that's plausible, but it
         | wouldn't be the first time I felt that way and was shown
         | something surprising. He probably just built up a tolerance.
        
         | danwilkerson wrote:
         | Sadly, debunked:
         | 
         | https://www.mashed.com/439154/can-eating-yeast-really-
         | preven....
        
         | znpy wrote:
         | That doesn't really make sense. Yeasts consume sugars and emit
         | alcohol and co2 ad byproducts. They can't process alcohol and
         | too much alcohol kills the yeasts.
         | 
         | If anything, eating yeasts should make things worse, as yeasts
         | might have a chance to digest some sugars and produce more
         | alcohol (unlikely to happen, if you ask me)
        
         | yuppie_scum wrote:
         | I used to see Jim Koch at those events and he'd be pretty lit
         | up.
        
       | rdn wrote:
       | Looks like a rebranding of GHB
        
         | chasebank wrote:
         | I think you're right. I've always wondered why they don't water
         | down GHB to be the equivalent of a low ABV drink. The only
         | scary thing about GHB is its relative potency to volume. It's
         | honestly a wonderful drug.
        
           | GordonS wrote:
           | Didn't David Nutt suggest this several years back? I seem to
           | recall hearing he was really trying to make a go of it too.
        
           | rdn wrote:
           | It is a pretty nice alternative to alcohol, and since their
           | name is GABA Labs, and GHB can be synthesized from GABA, I
           | assume they will be selling some analog or even rebranding
           | and packaging GHB properly for consumption.
        
       | jdjdjdjdjd wrote:
       | I have discovered that for me personally, taking magnesium
       | before, during or shortly after having drinks greatly reduces
       | hangovers. I typically get really strong headaches the day after
       | from 2-3 drinks. If I take a 100mg magnesium supplement it is
       | massively reduced. Alcohol depletes magnesium from your body so I
       | guess it counters that.
        
         | Frost1x wrote:
         | I just hydrate and take a multivitamin when I do plan on
         | drinking a bit. And drink lots of water after.
        
           | zgluck wrote:
           | Drinking lots of water before going to bed works really well
           | - when you remember doing that...
        
             | IanCal wrote:
             | In my university days I advocated for a tactical sandwich.
             | Something easy to eat, probably salty like a blt and with a
             | glass of water - had at the time you feel you transition
             | from drunk to hungover (that's what makes it tactical). I'd
             | make it before going out, and set an alarm for 3-5 in the
             | morning. The alarm wakes you up, you inhale the food and
             | drink and fall asleep immediately. Made (in my detailed
             | scientific studies) a big difference.
             | 
             | Drinking less would have been the much more sensible
             | option.
        
             | amelius wrote:
             | +1 yes, this is the most important trick.
        
         | pgt wrote:
         | NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) is a precursor to glutathione, which is
         | used up by your liver to break down the primary toxic
         | metabolite of alcohol: acetylaldehyde. NAC is known as an OTC
         | hangover "preventative," but don't take it chronically because
         | it is a mucolytic and messes with other processes.
         | 
         | Aside: as a non-alcoholic fermentation, kombucha contains a lot
         | of acetylaldehyde, so avoid it during a hangover.
        
         | mabbo wrote:
         | This is interesting. I take a high absorption magnesium pill
         | daily. I'm not sure what the full reasons are but it seems to
         | improve my sleep apnea and mood (though the mood may be from
         | sleeping better).
         | 
         | But alcohol always seems to counteract that effect.
        
         | kradroy wrote:
         | Magnesium saves me too. I've had persistent leg cramps since my
         | teens. If I look at my right calf the wrong way, it seizes up,
         | _especially_ after a night of drinking. All of that went away
         | when I started taking 200mg supplements daily. Big, big
         | difference.
        
         | consumer451 wrote:
         | I have the exact same personal anecdote. That and also one
         | glass of water per drink.
        
         | amelius wrote:
         | Chronic alcohol consumption can also cause thiamine deficiency.
        
       | predictabl3 wrote:
       | Random, but this makes me wonder about Gabapentin. I had a family
       | member take it and apparently acted very erratically, and reports
       | online indicate that it might have similar effects as those
       | boasted by these new drinks.
       | 
       | Can any of the (armchair) pharmacologists shine any light for me?
       | Thanks! I googled some, but I think I'm too inexperienced to even
       | have a foothold to know where to start for researching or really
       | even knowing what I need to understand to guess at this.
        
       | Gud wrote:
       | Or better yet, legalize a wide range of drugs, slap some warning
       | stickers on them. Like the Nutriscore you see in many countries,
       | where an A rating won't be too bad for you(green tea) and an F
       | rating will lead to certain death(Fentanyl)
        
       | andrewstuart wrote:
       | A hangover is primarily dehydration.
       | 
       | Just drink alot of water during your drinking session or before
       | bed.
        
         | thehappypm wrote:
         | It's a lot if things, but also a buildup of acetaldehyde, which
         | is really nasty.
        
       | spacemadness wrote:
       | The more interesting thing here to me is the nasal spray that can
       | supposedly help alcoholics want to drink less. That could help a
       | lot of people stay sober-ish if it's effective, albeit there is a
       | psychological component to just wanting to enter oblivion that it
       | might not be effective for.
       | 
       | Out of curiosity I tried the hangover cure on Nootropics Depot
       | and found it to not really help at all. Not drinking helps the
       | most so I stick with that normally these days.
        
       | thesz wrote:
       | My personal trainer once told me that athletes that become
       | alcoholics belong to either endurance sports of various kinds or
       | to archer or pistol shooting. The shooting sportsmen use small
       | amounts of alcohol to reduce tremor [1], and small amounts of
       | alcohol became bigger with time.
       | 
       | [1]
       | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jhe1972/14/2/14_2_99/_p...
       | 
       | The situation in endurance sports is very different. Very
       | elevated count of mitochondria in cells of endurances athletes
       | make their whole body a liver, basically - these mitochondria
       | organelles get rid of alcohol metabolites during sleep very
       | effectively. Top level endurance athlete drinks to heart content
       | and does not experience a hangover the next day. It is all good
       | and well for some time, athlete can drink everything for a long
       | time, until he has his body physiologically depend on the
       | alcohol, now this endurance athlete is an alcoholic.
       | 
       | I saw an example of alcoholic former endurance athlete once in my
       | life. It was not pretty. He drank anything he can find (or what
       | he brought in) and sleep the work day throughout, delivering
       | nothing.
        
       | yawnbox wrote:
       | Acetaldehyde (from consuming alcoholic beverages)(1) is a Group 1
       | carcinogen, along with things like Asbestos. Does it fix that?
       | 
       | [1] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-
       | prevention/understanding-...
        
         | zaphod420 wrote:
         | I've been taking zbiotic before drinking. It's a probiotic that
         | eats the Acetaldehyde. It works surprisingly well!
        
         | AndrewKemendo wrote:
         | Yes and...
         | 
         | This is not ambiguous: There is no safe amount that does not
         | affect health.[1]
         | 
         | "We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It
         | doesn't matter how much you drink - the risk to the drinker's
         | health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
         | The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you
         | drink, the more harmful it is - or, in other words, the less
         | you drink, the safer it is,"
         | 
         | It is possible that a totally sober and mentally healthy person
         | can determine that the benefits of alcohol counterbalance the
         | health risks. I've heard a dozen meandering explanations here
         | and they all boil down to "I like it and it seems to be helping
         | my life more than hurting it." That seems reasonable.
         | 
         | However not everyone has the same risk profile, or even the
         | same moral grounding, so demonstrating to others that there are
         | few relative risks to alcohol consumption or not (based on your
         | personal threat model) biases the threat models of others.
         | 
         | It helps nothing to continue to reject some of the strongest
         | correlations we have and risks imbuing incorrect epistemic
         | biases to others via demonstration. Accept the fact that you
         | are taking a risk instead of trying to brush off the scientific
         | consensus and be vocal about the risks given the fact that this
         | literature is not accessible to most people.
         | 
         | [1]https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-
         | of-...
        
           | maxerickson wrote:
           | In an absolute sense, it also isn't safe to take a sip of
           | water.
        
             | AndrewKemendo wrote:
             | No these aren't the same risk calculations and in fact use
             | different measurement language - this is important because
             | it's an actual argument that is fallacious and regularly
             | used.
             | 
             | This is the same poorly argued version of: "Milk is a
             | gateway drug" when we're evaluating a claim like "x% of y
             | users used z drug before starting y, therefore z induces y"
             | but actually irrelevant when asking for causal precursors.
             | 
             | That is a completely separate type of claim and argument.
             | 
             | "Risk to health" increases with abstention of water, the
             | direct opposite of the mechanism for alcohol.
        
               | Etheryte wrote:
               | Your own argument is exactly the same though, just for
               | alcohol.
        
               | [deleted]
        
           | archagon wrote:
           | I feel like these kinds of statements are not very helpful.
           | Knowing that even a single drop of alcohol is harmful without
           | calibrating that risk does not give me enough information to
           | alter my behavior. Fermented foods are inherently a bit
           | alcoholic; does eating them mean I'm doomed? If not, then at
           | what point does imbibing alcohol turn into a real health
           | hazard? What are the risks compared to, say, eating
           | prosciutto or grilled meats?
        
             | AndrewKemendo wrote:
             | Yes well luckily there's an entire field dedicated to this
             | problem: actuarial science
             | 
             | It's pretty accurate at this point
             | 
             | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuarial_science
        
         | anjel wrote:
         | Why I always took 300-500mg of acetyl L Carnetine capsule
         | before commencing an evening imbibing. It handily blocks
         | Acetaldehyde formation quite handily. Doesn't protect your
         | cardiac rhythms in the least however, and this is a another
         | attendant risk of accrued long-term damage as with
         | Acetaldehyde.
         | 
         | https://www.wikihow.com/Minimize-Cancer-Causing-Acetaldehyde...
        
       | OJFord wrote:
       | The (main) problem with alcohol-free 'beer'/'wine'/etc. isn't the
       | lack of drunkenness feeling?
       | 
       | Especially beer has improved a lot but it's not there yet, I
       | don't see how developing synthetic 'alcohol' will help when we
       | still can't remove, or make the drink without causing, real
       | alcohol?
       | 
       | As for hormone shots to treat an already acquired hangover... It
       | seems niche/less than ideal - I don't think many people would
       | want that as a regular expected thing, 'I am going to drink
       | heavily and then take a hormone shot in the morning' sort of
       | thing? And isn't it a solved ('banana bag') problem? Or is it the
       | idea that you could buy injectable hormones for home use whereas
       | you can't (and probably shouldn't want to) self-cannulate at
       | home, and that's the only way(?) banana bags can work (because it
       | takes more than reasonably fits in a syringe? Needs to be
       | administered at a more gradual flow?)?
       | 
       | Personally I hope we find a way to remove alcohol without
       | impacting taste at all, and then you can buy either version of
       | the same drinks. I'd probably still get both, I do acknowledge
       | the alcohol plays _some_ role in me enjoying the drinks, but I
       | can imagine having say an alcoholic pint or two, then alcohol-
       | free. Or an alcoholic gin  & tonic followed by AF wine. But until
       | it's as good...
        
         | mcronce wrote:
         | > The (main) problem with alcohol-free 'beer'/'wine'/etc. isn't
         | the lack of drunkenness feeling?
         | 
         | That depends on your goals. I like to catch a buzz once in a
         | while but the majority of the time I'm drinking is because I
         | really love the flavor of my favorite cocktails and the quality
         | would be very poor as mocktails.
         | 
         | Using a Mai Tai as an example, of I could get a couple 0ABV
         | rums, I could sub clarified orange juice for the orange liqueur
         | and probably have something pretty good with no booze in it.
         | I'd be quite happy with that.
        
           | OJFord wrote:
           | Exactly, re-reading I think my phrasing (or rather use of
           | question mark) was ambiguous but that's exactly what I mean,
           | the problem _isn 't_ the lack of 'buzz', it's the taste not
           | being as good.
        
         | jebarker wrote:
         | I'm not a chemist, so this may be false, but I've heard it's
         | almost impossible to make NA drinks that are very similar to
         | the real thing. The reason I heard is that whilst ethanol has
         | no flavor itself it does enable/carry (whatever that means)
         | interactions between other chemicals meaning there are flavors
         | present that will never be there without ethanol. Would love to
         | know if that's actually true...
        
       | darkmarmot wrote:
       | We could replace alcohol with GHB. Done.
        
         | martinald wrote:
         | GHB is horrendously addictive and has absolutely brutal
         | withdrawal symptoms. It's drastically worse than alcohol in
         | those two senses.
         | 
         | Plus overdoing it even marginally (as in taking 50-100% more
         | than the "recommended" dose) results in you going into a
         | complete coma, which can happen with alcohol but more like
         | 5-10x.
        
       | monkey_monkey wrote:
       | https://archive.is/jUUsw
        
       | sourcecodeplz wrote:
       | The hangover is an essential part of drinking. It's what stops
       | you from starting all over again the next day / week.
        
       | boomskats wrote:
       | I've had a subscription to David Nutt's Sentia Spirits [0] for a
       | few months, which uses an extract from GABA Labs. I enjoy the
       | mild effect and I do think they're onto something, but I have to
       | mix it as it tastes a bit soapy (that's the red, I've yet to try
       | sentia black).
       | 
       | I like the idea that the subscription to Sentia funds the
       | development of Alcarelle (the product mentioned in the article),
       | but the overwhelming reason I subscribe to it is just to support
       | Professor David Nutt[0]. He is a true scientist with true
       | integrity and will be remembered as being on the right side of
       | history. The way he was treated by the UK government at the hands
       | of big booze is an absolute tragedy.
       | 
       | [0]: https://sentiaspirits.com/ [1]:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nutt
        
         | rcarr wrote:
         | I also bought a few bottles of the red about 18/19 months back.
         | I found that it tasted quite nice when it was mixed with orange
         | juice if I remember right. It did have a very mild relaxing
         | effect but it needed to be stronger, in the end I couldn't
         | justify the price for what it was. I do hope they crack the
         | code though and get something a bit closer to alcohol. And I
         | agree about Nutt, absolute travesty that the government/UK
         | media basically forced him out after his report.
        
         | jrflowers wrote:
         | I like how the FAQ has many, many different wordings of "What
         | is in this?" and "How does this work?" with absolutely no
         | information in response to them. It is good to not to have to
         | worry about what is in a thing I'm ingesting or how or if it
         | works at all.
        
           | predictabl3 wrote:
           | Yeah, four or five clicks and my BS meter is off the charts.
           | Not even so much as a hint as to a keyword to Google for more
           | research. :/
           | 
           | But also, I'm rather intrigued and am doing some more looking
           | now...
           | 
           | EDIT: I can't even tell what the difference between Sentia
           | Red and Black are. I can't tell if one of them actually
           | contains Alcarelle (Which is hard to research since that's
           | GABA Labs' former name). Folks, this is not how you do it.
        
             | jrflowers wrote:
             | It is engineered to appeal to those enlightened enough to
             | move past the petty question of "What am I putting into my
             | body?" to the really important questions like "Was it made
             | in A Lab of some sort?"
        
             | boomskats wrote:
             | The article mentions Alcarelle trial dates are in a couple
             | of years, it isn't on the market yet. The formulation in
             | Sentia is just herbs, black and red are just flavours.
        
       | Spivak wrote:
       | Smart to frame it as synthetic alcohol instead of as a drug
       | because the US has decided that substances that make you feel
       | good are tools of the devil.
       | 
       | The one that really gets me is pain killers. I had to recover
       | from surgery in the hospital for a few days where I couldn't do
       | anything but lay there and focus on the pain. The only thing they
       | we're allowed to give me was Tramadol which I can only describe
       | as "it doesn't make any of the pain go away, it increases your
       | ability to put up with it." The doctors know it's shit, the
       | nurses know it's shit, they were apologizing constantly about it.
       | We had all the tools available to make me not suffer at all
       | during the experience but think that "getting high" is so
       | terribly evil it's worth suffering for.
        
         | Nursie wrote:
         | Same in the UK where this lot are based. It's likely to be
         | banned as soon as the active ingredient is revealed IMHO.
        
         | thumbuddy wrote:
         | The war on drugs has done incredible damage to chronically ill,
         | and patients suffering severely. The amount of relief patients
         | could get from debilitating pain was far better in the 1800s
         | than it is today.
         | 
         | People often end up rehospitalized or denied care entirely
         | because their pain or anxiety goes unmanaged or because they
         | "might maybe be drug seekers".
         | 
         | Our current laws have fast tracked ordinary people to heroin or
         | otherwise dealers. Difficult to imagine that wasn't part of the
         | point of them...
        
         | pharmakom wrote:
         | Substances that make you feel good are for the elite youth when
         | attending Harvard, Yale, Oxford, ... not for the regular joe.
        
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