Yogurt, vinegar, honey water, do these hangover remedies really work?

Can I practice drinking if I can’t drink well?

Many of you may have heard that your drinking capacity can be improved with practice. Is this true?

The first thing we need to make clear is that a person's alcohol tolerance is closely related to his ability to metabolize alcohol.

So, the question is: How many steps does the human body take to metabolize alcohol?

Answer: It’s divided into three steps.

Step 1: Pour the wine into your mouth.

Step 2: After alcohol enters the digestive tract, it is absorbed into the blood through the mucous membrane. A small portion of the alcohol is directly excreted from the body and enters various tissues and organs for metabolism. The majority of the rest needs to enter the liver through the portal vein and be metabolized by the liver.

Step 3: Alcohol is dehydrogenated into acetaldehyde in the cytoplasm of liver cells under the action of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Then it enters the mitochondria of liver cells and is dehydrogenated into acetic acid under the catalysis of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Finally, acetic acid is converted into acetyl coenzyme A in the human body, enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and is oxidized and decomposed into carbon dioxide and water and excreted from the body.

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body, among which the gene encoding ADH is located on chromosome 4, and the gene encoding ALDH is located on chromosome 12.

ADH and ALDH genetic information polymorphism

After analysis and identification, the researchers found that the ADH encoding gene has at least 6 genotypes, which can be divided into 4 different types and are composed of different subunits. Although they only differ by one or several amino acids, their catalytic activities vary greatly.

There are at least five ALDH isoenzymes, and four of them have been confirmed to exist in the human liver. Among them, only ALDH1 in the cytoplasm and ALDH2 in the mitochondria can catalyze acetaldehyde metabolism. The gene encoding ALDH2 is also polymorphic. When the genotype is GG, the enzyme activity is strong and the acetaldehyde metabolism rate is fast. However, the ALDH encoded by the GA and AA genes has weak enzyme activity, and acetaldehyde is easy to accumulate in the human body and produce toxic effects.

At this point, it is not difficult to see that a person's alcohol metabolism ability is closely related to the activity and efficiency of the two enzymes ADH and ALDH in his body, which are all determined by genes. Now with the advancement of technology, ordinary people can also assess their alcohol metabolism ability through genetic testing. So, interested friends may wish to try it, maybe you can get a scientifically certified alcohol-free gold medal!

In addition to drinking, the frequency of hot pot, barbecue, and Sichuan cuisine in family and friends gatherings is also increasing. Many friends must be curious, why can they eat "abnormal spicy food" but can't stand the "spicy white wine"? They are both spicy, so what is the difference?

The spiciness of white wine is not equal to the spiciness of chili peppers

In physiology, in addition to sour, sweet, bitter and salty, there is a fifth member in the basic taste family - umami. The "spicy taste" we often talk about is not among the basic tastes, but a kind of "pain".

However, even if they are both pain sensations, the way they are produced is different. When we eat chili peppers, we feel spicy because chili peppers contain capsaicin, which produces a burning pain after binding to the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1) of sensory neurons in the human body. The brain receives the signal and thinks that we are being burned, so it starts releasing endorphins for pain relief, which also gives us a "pleasure" similar to that after taking morphine, which is why people become addicted to chili peppers.

Many people think that the spiciness of liquor is due to its high alcohol content, but this view is actually unfair to alcohol, because pure alcohol does not taste as spicy as most people think. In addition to alcohol and water, liquor also contains lipids, aldehydes, acids, phenols, sugars and other substances. It is these substances that create the different flavors of liquor. Among them, aldehydes (mainly acetaldehyde) stimulate nerve fibers and are the main source of the spicy taste of liquor.

Liquor brewing site

Too high fermentation temperature, too much auxiliary materials, direct use in production without steaming... may all lead to an increase in aldehydes in the wine. Therefore, people have been working hard to reduce the spiciness of liquor. For example, the popular "hot wine" can reduce the spicy taste of liquor by promoting the volatilization of acetaldehyde (boiling point is about 20°C).

Therefore, the "spicy" taste of white wine and the "spicy" taste of chili pepper are really different!

Can folk remedies cure drunkenness?

Vinegar, milk, honey water... Many friends who have poor alcohol tolerance will use various folk remedies to try to free themselves from the trouble of drunkenness in order to prevent themselves from getting drunk on the battlefield or to prepare for "health preservation" after drinking.

So, are these legendary "hangover cures" really useful?

Vinegar can stimulate the salivary glands to secrete saliva, making people feel moist in the mouth. At the same time, vinegar itself contains a lot of water, which can also play a certain role in replenishing water. However, the chemical reaction between vinegar and alcohol will produce irritating ethyl acetate, and the acidity of vinegar itself is likely to aggravate the damage of alcohol to the gastric mucosa and cause acute ulcer bleeding.

Honey water can only relieve dehydration after being drunk, but it does not help accelerate the metabolism of alcohol, so it cannot really sober up.

As for milk and yogurt, because they can form a protective film on the stomach wall, they can reduce alcohol absorption and protect the gastric mucosa to a certain extent. However, it can only achieve the desired purpose when drinking a small amount of alcohol, and milk and yogurt need to be taken about half an hour before drinking.

It seems that these folk remedies are useless. Therefore, the only way to "survive" at the wine table is to drink less or not drink at all. Saying "no" to those who urge you to drink is the most effective way to sober up. If you really can't save face and don't have the acting skills to pretend to be drunk, you might as well use the ultimate "killer" at the wine table like Fat Ke - no, I took cefuroxime! (Cefuroxime and alcohol can cause a fatal disulfiram-like reaction) Or before the alcoholic beverage is served, take the lead in putting the car keys in the most conspicuous place. After all, who can bear to "force" a law-abiding little cutie to drive after drinking?

What other tips do you have for surviving a drinking party? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section. Pang Ke reminds everyone again that a little drinking can help you feel better, but don’t drink too much!

Creative team: China Science and Technology Museum New Media Team

Review expert: Wu Xinsheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology, PLA 371 Hospital