Everything Science Knows About Hangovers Is Wrong!

There was a very interesting article published in Wired magazine a short while ago that detailed why science, and subsequently public knowledge, has got it’s fact muddled up about what causes hangovers in humans.

There’s three main areas that the article touched on, but the short version is that neither dehydration, acetaldehyde or low blood sugar are the cause of your hangover!

Why Dehydration Doesn’t Cause Hangovers

It is commonly-accepted knowledge among scientists and drinkers alike that dehydration is a cause of hangovers; alcohol suppresses the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, which inhibits an excessive amount of urination (which is why alcohol makes you pee more). Similarly, when consuming alcohol, chances are that you’re not drinking a lot of water.

However, scientists have found that in dehydrated people with hangovers; electrolyte levels are not substantially different from baseline controls, and when they are, they are not correlated with the severity of the hangover. Dehydration might cause a mild headache, but it is not the sole cause of a hangover!

Why ‘Acetaldehyde‘ Isn’t The Root Of Your Hangover Woes

Another common scientific myth is that hangovers are caused by acetaldehyde, a remarkably toxic byproduct of ethanol breakdown in the body. Acetaldehyde is about 10-to-30 times more toxic than alcohol itself!

This chemical compound can’t be the reason for hangovers, as hangover symptoms actually severely worsen when the body’s acetaldehyde levels are low. Acetaldehyde is not present during hangovers, so it is difficult to prove the claim that it is the underlying cause of hangovers when no traces of it can be found.

The ‘Low Blood Sugar’ Myth

As mentioned above, dehydration itself does not cause hangovers, but it does force glucose levels to drop. As a result, the body —now low in glucose— draws energy from other sources, which may cause hangover-like symptoms. The solution would be very simple if low blood sugar were truly the cause of hangovers; all that would be needed is the administering of glucose and fructose (though it helps, a bottle of Gatorade is not the best hangover cure on it’s own).

It turns out that high blood pressure is the more probable factor as a cause of hangovers. The consumption of ethanol accompanied with glucose actually heightens lactate levels, and one study shows that hangovers are made worse by the presence of lactate.

That’s Your Standard Explanations Out The Way Then!

So what do the researchers say is the actual cause of your hangover?
Well, according to recent studies, hangovers are an inflammatory response:

“What really causes hangovers: namely, that they’re an inflammatory response, like what happens when we get an infection.” [Wired]

The Wired article then delves deeper into cytokines and GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain that Sobur Hangover Cure hits to sober you up quickly after drinking, effectively eliminating hangovers!