Posted on 05/20/2024 8:59:45 AM PDT by Red Badger
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
* A novel hydrogel appears to be different. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating.
* In experiments conducted on mice, animals that drank alcohol and were also fed the hydrogel had much lower blood alcohol levels than mice that only drank alcohol. The mice given the hydrogel were also spared from liver damage.
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Share Is this the hangover cure we’ve been waiting for? on LinkedIn Ateam of scientists has created a hydrogel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach and intestines. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating. A toxic byproduct of alcohol degradation, acetaldehyde is linked to liver cirrhosis and cancer. The hydrogel’s net result is to lessen the harms of alcohol, including the dreaded hangover. So, is this the hangover remedy we’ve been waiting for?
Have your booze and drink it too?
Companies, consumers, and scientists have sought one for years, with limited success. Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
Share Is this the hangover cure we’ve been waiting for? on LinkedIn Ateam of scientists has created a hydrogel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach and intestines. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating. A toxic byproduct of alcohol degradation, acetaldehyde is linked to liver cirrhosis and cancer. The hydrogel’s net result is to lessen the harms of alcohol, including the dreaded hangover. So, is this the hangover remedy we’ve been waiting for?
Have your booze and drink it too? Companies, consumers, and scientists have sought one for years, with limited success. Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
FEATURED VIDEOS The novel hydrogel appears to be different. Researchers primarily based out of ETH Zürich crafted it from whey protein, a common supplement and food ingredient derived from milk. They also added iron atoms, sugar molecules, and gold nanoparticles to the gel. Together, these additives produce reactions that convert alcohol into innocuous acetic acid within the gastrointestinal tract.
So, the gel doesn’t only remedy a hangover — it also limits alcohol intoxication itself.
Normally, alcohol enters the gastrointestinal tract and then seeps into the bloodstream, where it exerts its intoxicating influence. Alcohol eventually travels to the liver and is broken down to noxious acetaldehyde and then to harmless acetic acid.
In experiments recently detailed in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers fed mice control liquids or a liquid containing the hydrogel. Twenty minutes later, they dosed the rodents with large amounts of alcohol. Over the next five hours, the scientists monitored the animals’ behavior and collected blood, stool, and tissue samples.
An hour after the alcohol binge, blood alcohol concentrations in the mice fed the hydrogel were 40% lower than in control mice. After five hours, the difference was 56%. The difference in blood alcohol levels was apparent in the animals’ behavior. Mice given the hydrogel easily bested their counterparts at navigating mazes.
The hydrogel also prevented the animals from alcohol-related health problems. In additional tests, mice that chronically binge drank suffered liver damage, weight loss, and gut problems. Mice that binged on booze and consumed the gel were almost entirely spared from these issues. Preventing the buildup of acetaldehyde appeared to be key to preventing organ damage.
Crucially, throughout the tests, mice given the gel showed few to no signs of gastrointestinal distress or any other side effects.
From mice to humans
So when will this exciting hangover remedy be tested in humans?
“We hope and plan to move to clinical studies as soon as possible,” Professor Raffaele Mezzenga, a lead author on the study, told Big Think. “The exact timing is not clear yet and will depend on a number of factors, including ethical clearance and financial support of clinical trials.”
Mezzenga and his co-authors are confident these trials will demonstrate similar effectiveness in humans. They’ve already applied to patent the hydrogel. When commercially available, Mezzenga envisions that the gel will likely be consumed from a tube as an edible paste.
“It could be used for example in a recreational context before starting drinking to diminish the effect of alcohol socially (for example, allowing driving back home), or to reduce the side effects of hangovers,” he said.
But Mezzenga thinks the real benefits of the gel will be in therapeutic settings — perhaps in rehabilitation facilities to help wean patients off chronic alcohol use or in hospitals to help heavily inebriated individuals sober up.
“We believe this can and should also be used for people affected by chronic diseases related to alcohol abuse,” he told Big Think.
Alcohol abuse claims millions of lives each year. This novel gel could greatly reduce its harm.
So it keeps you from getting drunk rather than reducing the hangover after getting drunk. Why not just drink non-alcoholic beverages and save a bunch of money then?
Because many alcoholic beverages taste better than many non-alcoholic options.
Yeah, I get that. I'm primarily a beer drinker. If I'm going to be driving, I'll typically switch to non-alcoholic beers after I've had a couple of real ones. The non-alcoholic beer offerings are getting quite good. Heinekin and Guinness are two of my favorites.
That said, the title of the article is greatly misleading. It inhibits drunkenness rather than curing hangovers.
I have not been waiting for it. A hen old fellow I knew 50 years ago swore by raw Arsh taters. Keep one in the car with you and take a big bite of it when you see the cop behind you. It must work. He only got a few DUIs and jail once.
Very true. It stops intoxication, not a hangover. Which to me is even better.
Also, non-alcoholic beers aren’t any cheaper really.
Hydrogel? The Deep State loves hydrogel. Don’t be like the deep state.
Take a tall glass, pour a beer in it, add V8 juice and a squeeze of lemon. Drink it. 30 minutes later hangover gone.
Take vitamin B-complex and drink 12 oz. Of water before bed. It has worked well for me for many years. Your mileage may vary.
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Never drink so much that you get a hangover. That’s the real trick. Imbibe, enjoy and never go over your limit.
You’ll be happier and more healthy.
If I took B-complex before bed I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep... That stuff is an upper.
I do that! Works well. However, I don’t think it benefits the liver that has been abused. Definitely helps the head feel better.
I do that! Works well. However, I don’t think it benefits the liver that has been abused. Definitely helps the head feel better.
Just go the Irish way, stay drunk
Well my cure sort of does that.😏
It’s said that water contamination was so bad during the Middle Ages that people drank more beer and ales instead...staying buzzed all the time. I think this set off the Renaissance much like drugs set off so much great music in the 1960s and 70s.
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