![]() ![]() The net result is that the individual affected by a hangover will suffer from a mixture of acetyladehyde poisoning, lactate excess, hypoglycaemia and dehydration. Since alcohol is also a potent diuretic there will also be loss of vital electrolytes in the urine and dehydration and a shrinking of the brain from the skull resulting in headache. Excess alcohol consumption also encourages the breakdown of stored sugar as glycogen into glucose and its excretion in the urine leading to symptoms of hypoglycaemia like brainfog, confusion, fatigue, weakness and dizzyness. Not only that but when acetaldehyde rises it causes symptoms of poisoning like headache, nausea and vomiting whilst inhibiting the formation of the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine and interfering with the disposal of lactate leading to anxiety and forgetfulness. Now lactate is the stuff that builds up in your muscles after a jog and makes them ache but it is also well known in neuroscience and psychiatry to cause anxiety and panic when intravenously infused into experimental animals. Because excessive drinking generates a surplus of NADH this exceeds the liver's ability to regenerate NAD+, and NADH is forced to give up its proton to the sugar metabolite pyruvate which then becomes the metabolic end product lactate. At both stages this generates a free proton which is accepted by the energy molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to become NADH. At the most basic level alcohol is metabolized by a two step process which breaks it down into acetaldehyde and then acetic acid. Since the handling of alcohol by the body is not rocket science medics may offer you a different answer. Everything from a full English breakfast to another drink or "the hair of the dog" has been proferred as a nostrum to alleviate the morning-after effects of intemperance. If you ask any experienced drinker what the best remedy for a hangover is there responses might be as varied as the number of drinks they consume. Treatment Hacks from Simon Galloway (Consultant Neuropharmacologist)
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