Tea, honey water, or kelp soup, which one is the best way to sober up?

Drinking a little can make you happy, and the festive atmosphere can indeed be enhanced by alcohol, but the discomfort after drinking is also real. There have been many sayings about hangover drinks: tea, honey water, kelp soup, mung bean soup... Which one can really help to sober you up?

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01

The discomfort caused by drinking

What are the main aspects?

A large number of studies have shown that excessive drinking can cause physical discomfort. Among them, some people will have a red face after drinking, commonly known as "red face". The reason for this phenomenon is the effect of alcohol in the wine. People who have red face after drinking generally have low acetaldehyde dehydrogenase activity in their bodies, and cannot promptly convert the more toxic acetaldehyde produced after alcohol metabolism into relatively less toxic acetic acid. Acetaldehyde can cause capillary dilation, resulting in redness of the facial skin. In addition, alcohol is also a central nervous system depressant, which manifests as excitement first and then inhibition, which explains the process of many people going from eloquent to staggering when drinking.

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The most common discomfort is "getting drunk", which manifests as headache, nausea, thirst and other symptoms after drinking. This is because all kinds of alcohol sold on the market, whether it is beer and fruit wine with only a few degrees, or strong liquor with up to 90 degrees, are very complex mixtures. In addition to the highest content of alcohol and water, it also contains various alcohols, aldehydes, etc., which play the role of angels and demons at the same time. On the one hand, they themselves and their metabolites are important sources of the aroma of alcohol. On the other hand, they are an important reason for getting drunk. In addition, factors such as the environment and mood when drinking may also aggravate or weaken the feeling of being drunk.

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02

Those popular hangover remedies

Does it really work?

As mentioned above, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, so some people use drinks such as tea and coffee to sober up, hoping to use the stimulant effect of caffeine in these drinks to sober up or wake up, but this is actually a temporary solution and not a permanent cure. Moreover, caffeine has a diuretic effect, which accelerates the process of introducing acetaldehyde into the kidneys, thus putting a burden on the kidneys. Therefore, drinking tea to sober up is not reliable.

There is not much research evidence on the hangover-relief effects of mung bean soup and kelp soup. It is speculated that their effects mainly come from the water in them, which may be no different from the effect of drinking large amounts of water.

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In addition, honey water is also widely mentioned as a hangover-relief drink. Fructose, one of the main components of honey, has a certain effect on promoting alcohol metabolism in the body, but drinking a few glasses of honey water has little effect on sobering up. Moreover, it is difficult to have an immediate effect on symptoms such as dizziness and nausea after being drunk.

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03

Food and drinks suitable for drinking

More water and easy digestion are the key

Water itself can be considered as a hangover remedy. Drinking more water after drinking can promote and accelerate the excretion of alcohol through urine, feces and sweat. Eating fruits and vegetables rich in water, as well as porridge, noodle soup and other foods after drinking also follows a similar principle. In addition, fruits and vegetables can supplement vitamin C, and eating some soft and rotten food can also relieve the irritation of alcohol on the gastrointestinal mucosa.

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04

How to control your drinking level?

When does your body show certain signals that you should stop drinking?

As mentioned earlier, getting red on the face after drinking is due to genetic reasons. Alcohol is more toxic to them than to those who do not get red on the face, so this group of people should try to avoid drinking alcohol. In fact, for those who do not get red on the face, the ability to metabolize alcohol varies from person to person.

Alcohol's effect on the nervous system is to excite first and then inhibit. For drunk people, alcohol intake is often the fastest during the excitement period. Drinking and chatting can easily make drinkers lose self-control and drink more. Some wines have a strong "aftereffect". It is difficult to avoid symptoms of drunkenness when you stop drinking until you realize you can't drink anymore. Therefore, if you want to better control your alcohol intake, you need to minimize the length and intensity of the excitement period. You must also understand some drinking skills and taboos.

For example, when drinking, you should slow down the drinking speed. Drinking low-alcohol liquor too quickly will greatly increase the gastrointestinal burden, while if you drink strong liquor, a large amount of alcohol will quickly enter the blood, causing you to drink faster and faster and get drunk quickly. In addition, you should avoid drinking carbonated drinks and strong liquor at the same time, as carbonated drinks will speed up the absorption of alcohol by the gastric mucosa, making the drinker drunk faster.

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It is important to note that alcohol has long been listed as a Class I carcinogen. There is no limit to drinking alcohol, so it is best not to drink. Children and adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, and patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension should be strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol.

05

What medicines did you take before and after drinking?

Can’t drink alcohol anymore?

Alcohol can cause a variety of reactions in the body. If the drinker is taking certain medications at the same time, these health-promoting medicines may turn into "poisons."

Among the various drugs that may react with alcohol, the most well-known are cephalosporin antibiotics. Drinking alcohol before or after taking cephalosporin antibiotics and antibacterial drugs such as metronidazole will produce a "disulfiram-like reaction", which can lead to death in severe cases. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that may enhance the efficacy of sedatives and hypnotics, such as diazepam, and may also cause serious consequences. In addition, alcohol can produce energy when metabolized in the body, and the process of drinking has a certain effect on energy metabolism. Therefore, taking hypoglycemic drugs such as metformin before and after drinking may cause severe hypoglycemia.

In addition, alcohol also has a stimulating effect on the gastric mucosa, so if you take some drugs that may also irritate the gastric mucosa before or after drinking, such as aspirin, it may cause more obvious discomfort.

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If you need to drink alcohol while taking the medicine, be sure to check the "Contraindications" and "Precautions" sections on the medicine instructions, or ask your doctor directly.

Author: Gao Chao, Gao Pin, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

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