GET RID OF HANGOVERS; GET RID OF ACETALDEHYDE: 2 SCIENTIFIC REMEDIES

Acetaldehyde. Google it. It's what is probably what is behind most of the pain in your hangover; it's a by-product of alcohol metabolism that is more toxic than alcohol itself, acetaldehyde is created when the alcohol in the liver is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. 

When one drinks moderately, the acetaldehyde usually gets converted to acetate (an innocuous substance) with the aid of  acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and  glutathione. However, when drinking excessively, the liver often runs out of glutathione, and a massive pile-up of toxic acetadehyde occurs in the body.


Or, you happen to be one of the many unfortunate people (an estimated 67% of Asians and Native Americans who carry one or two mutations of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene which causes them to experience much higher levels of that evil acetaldehyde almost as soon as they start drinking. (NCBI study: Hangover symptoms in Asian Americans with variations in the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene. )  


Here's a simplified chart of what it looks like for moderate drinkers:

However, when we drink excessively, or happen to be cursed with a mutated ALDH2 gene, this is what happens:

So, what works against acetaldehyde? Cysteine. 

REMEDY #1 Here is one formulae I used centering around N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) - a derivative of cysteine- both before and after drinking. Better living with amino acids.

1. 600 - 1,200 mg of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) (about $20 for a 250 x 600 mg bottle: Take two (2 )capsules every 3-4 hours as needed)
2. 250 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid - helps off-set any potential side-effects of NAC as well as improve the effacy of it; it is also itself an anti-oxidant. (about $10 for a 120 x 250 mg bottle: Take one (1 )capsule every 3-4 hours as needed )
3. 500mg or 1,000 mg of Vitamin C; you can get these anywhere. I don't have any attachment to a particular brand, but I did like the NOW Foods brand for the harder to find NAC and AlphaLipoic Acid tabs. (about $14 for 250 x 1,000 mg tablets: I wouldn't take more than 2 grams in a single day and certainly no more than 1 gram on an extended basis) 

REMEDY #2 What if you're hungover right now and don't have time to get these things? 
Look in your fridge and hopefully you'll have a excellent source of cysteine available - eggs, or more specifically, egg yolks. 


Here is a very simple but effective remedy. Takes only a few minutes to watch.

The addition of the orange juice adds water and sugars plus makes the eggs yolks go down a lot easier unless you like doing the Rocky thing.

A Real-Deal Sure-Fire Hangover Remedy that Works!

A Real-Deal Sure-Fire Hangover Remedy that Works!

Unless you are way too hungover, spend 3 minutes to watch the brief entertaining YouTube video below.

If you don't have the ability nor patience, then follow these instructions for a simple sure-fire hangover remedy that won't have you scrambling for exotic ingredients you most likely don't have on hand:

Ingredients

3-4 fresh oranges

One fresh Grade-A egg

Instructions

Using the oranges, squeeze out one glass of juice. Store-bought juice is not considered an acceptable substitute.

Pour the juice into a tall glass but definitely not to the top of the glass.

Carefully break one fresh raw egg into the orange juice.

Stir vigorously with a fork; the juice should change color.

Drink at once.

How It Works

The orange juice provides both much-needed water, Vitamin C and sugars while the raw egg provides protein and also Cysteine which helps counteract Acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) - a byproduct of ethanol oxidation and responsible for most of the hangover.

"THE HANGOVER" - The Movie

The Hangover is a 2009 comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, who also directed the films Road Trip, Old School, and Starsky & Hutch. The main plot follows four friends who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, only to wake up the next morning not remembering a thing and missing the groom, whose wedding is scheduled to occur the next day.


The plot was reportedly inspired by a real-life event that happened to Tripp Vinson, a producer friend of The Hangover executive producer Chris Bender. Vinson had gone missing from his own Las Vegas bachelor party, blacking out and waking up "in a strip club being threatened with a very, very large bill [he] was supposed to pay".

Craig Ferguson Speaks from the Heart

The Late Late Show host, Craig Ferguson speaks on his past problems as an alcoholic...

(the total video is 12 minutes... give him about 4 minutes until the serious part of his monologue kicks in - it'll be worth it. Guaranteed.)





To get a free (legal) online copy of the AA "Big Book", go to this post.

Alcoholics Anonymous BIG BOOK (The Anonymous Press PDF Edition)

Before reading the post below, first, take a look at the excellent Youtube monologue by The Late Late Show host, Craig Ferguson:

http://sobermd.blogspot.com/2009/07/craig-ferguson-speaks-from-heart.html

"A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since February 18, 1992. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend, Tommy the Irishman, for celebrating the holiday, he forgot to jump off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned."

I promise that it won't be a waste of your time....
(The video is about 12 minutes ... give it about 4 minutes until he starts getting into the serious part of the monologue)

Alcoholics Anonymous BIG BOOK
(The Anonymous Press PDF Edition)

For many people, one of the first organizations they turn to advice when they are deciding whether to quit drinking is Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). The "Big Book" as it is known contains the stories of recovery gathered from all types of alcoholics.

If you think you have a drinking problem and would like to learn more about AA, this is the next best solution to attending a meeting: read the book...

Alcoholics Anonymous BIG BOOK (The Anonymous Press PDF Edition): The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism -