Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/29/2004 1:45:37 AM PDT by MadIvan
Forget about the hair of the dog. The skin of a prickly pear cactus has been shown to reduce the suffering caused by a hangover.
Volunteers who took an extract of the desert cactus Opuntia ficus indica, before a binge had fewer hangover symptoms than those who took a placebo, according to a study published yesterday by American researchers.
The cactus, used in some folk medicines, could help cut the impact of hangovers, which affect the economy through low productivity and absenteeism, according to the study in The Archives of Internal Medicine.
The suffering may be related to inflammation caused by congeners, impurities in alcoholic drinks, and byproducts of alcohol as the body attempts to break it down in the liver.
The team points out that levels of C-reactive protein, produced by the liver, become elevated after injury and is thought to be involved in inflammation and hangovers.
When an extract from the skin of the prickly pear fruit was shown to reduce inflammation, it prompted Dr Jeff Wiese and colleagues at Tulane University, New Orleans, to see if it could help treat hangovers.
They found the severity of hangovers to be moderately reduced. The researchers randomly assigned 55 young adult volunteers (aged 21 to 35 years) to receive either the extract or placebo five hours before drinking.
The participants were given a cheeseburger, chips and a carbonated drink four hours before serious drinking began, when they could choose one type of alcohol: vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, scotch or tequila.
Hangover severity was assessed on a scale of zero to six. Two weeks later, the study was repeated with the same volunteers except those that were previously given the extract were given the placebo and vice versa.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Unless you're Captain Hook.
Then again, sea piracy is pretty cool, so maybe an exception can be made for him.
Besides 5:00 A.M. is early around these parts.
That being said, I haven't slept in about twelve hours, so maybe you do have a point.
I do believe you've been imbibing a bit too much of the old fermented cactus juice. ;)
Regards, Ivan
I think I'm too far removed from my original Irish ancestry to be a true-blue alcoholic though.
Plus, I'm not nearly ambitious enough.
Now, my older the brother on the other hand...
Well, let's just say that Christopher Hitchens himself would be impressed with his prodigious ability to consume spirits.
It's times like these that I wish I actually knew jack about computers.
Hitchens, blimey. Distillers in Scotland have an entirely different idea of who "St. Christopher" is from the rest of us, thanks to him. ;)
Regards, Ivan
One's a prickly pear and the other is a pair of pricks.
Anyone who can rebut the calumnies of Bill Clinton's cronies, i.e. "Christopher Hitchens is an unreliable blackguard who drinks to excess and abandoned his first wife and their children, therefore he can't be trusted", with this rebuttal: "Yeah, but I'm not a perjurer who has enlisted the help of a flotilla of federal agents to support my skulduggery and illegal actions. So screw you and the horse you rode in on!", is a pretty decent bloke, in my opinion.
Then again, I'm pretty soused. So I don't know how valid that particular opinion is at this point. I'll get back to you on that one.
Already posted.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1161901/posts?page=64#64
That little prickly sob is in SERIOUS danger tonight!
A cactus, a cactus, my kingdom for a ......oh, nevermind, two solpadeine will do the trick! ;-)
As I read this you have to take the Cacttus juice before imbibing. Meaning you are setting out before hand to get drunk, That in itself is not a bright idea.
Yes, tequila is made from cactus juice. And truthfully, no two hangovers are the same.
The things the lab scientists will do for money.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
