Why is my hangover so bad?

It’s not just the booze giving you a hangover – it’s the microbes in your stomachEver woken up on a Sunday morning with the worst hangover ever? The headache was bad enough, but the nausea and lethargy made you feel as if you had been poisoned. Yet, when you had done the same thing two months before, it hadn’t felt this bad, even though you had drunk the same amount of wine and avoided the usual culprits (the spirits, such as brandy and whisky, with their particularly toxic chemicals). What was worse, your friend, who drank even more than you, felt fine. The usual excuse is to blame the after-effects on bad luck, or your genes, but could there be other culprits?Hangovers occur due to the side-effects of the chemical produced when alcohol is broken down. Alcohol itself is fairly harmless – but enzymes convert it to acetaldehyde, which does the damage. The longer the acetaldehyde hangs around, the worse you and your liver feel. Other enzymes help to clear the acetaldehyde away, but the rates at which both happen are extremely variable in different people. Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Food & drink Health wellbeing Life and style Alcohol Society Science Books Source Type: news