# Alcohol and hang-overs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633 "2003-10-31T13:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![reverence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@reverence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reverence)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/1 "2003-10-31T13:20:15Z")
Hey everyone. I was told once that the prime reason we get a hangover from excessive alcohol consumption is that it contains a Diuretic of some kind. Thus, you pee more, and loose more water - dehydrating your body and giving yourself a hangover. Now I personally do believe this, since I know that drinking 5 pints of water before i go to bed makes me feel 10 times better in the morning. My question however, is this: If alcohol contains a diuretic, surely I could make my own alcoholic drink that contians traces of Antidiuretics, hopefully cancelling out the effect of the chemical on the body. Hence, a good night, without the hangover! Would this be possible? Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/2 "2003-10-31T13:31:59Z")
Alcohol doesn’t _contain_ a diuretic, it _is_ a diuretic. ---
**Author:** ![Vision4BG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Vision4BG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision4BG)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/3 "2003-10-31T13:35:19Z")
If I drink Gatorade mixed with vodka, I never get a hangover. Never. Try it. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/4 "2003-10-31T13:54:58Z")
“If I drink Gatorade mixed with vodka, I never get a hangover.” I’d rather have a hangover. ---
**Author:** ![reverence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@reverence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reverence)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/5 "2003-10-31T14:59:32Z")
hmm, doesnt sound that great to me either! Ok, so alcohol IS a diuretic. So for the 5% alcohol in a drink, cant we put 5% antidiuretic in as an ingrediant to counterbalence the equation? It may taste a bit wierd, but im sure the recipie could be perfected. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/6 "2003-10-31T15:12:52Z")
Dehydration is certainly a factor in hangovers, but I’ve been told (no cite, casual conversation with medical types) that another major cause of hangover symptoms is withdrawal. Alcohol is a drug and your body suffers withdrawal as it leaves the system. This is why the “hair of the dog” remedy is effective. I have no idea if this is true, and I have no idea what “withdrawal” actually means from a physiological standpoint. Maybe one of our local docs can comment on the physical/chemical mechanisms at work in drug withdrawal and whether or not this is a factor in hangovers. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/7 "2003-10-31T17:49:28Z")
Drinking way too much of any alcoholic beverage will give you a hang over no matter what you do to prevent it. You can always minimize the effect of the hangover by staying hydrated. I always take a couple of aceteminophen and a large glass of water before bedtime if I expect to be damaged goods the next day. Liver, Shmiver. Vodka drinks are good because most of them contain juice and ice which keeps you hydrated. Also, top shelf booze has less damaging impurities in it than cheap stuff. I can drink a lot of Crown, but not so much Thompsons. YMMV. It works for me. ---
**Author:** ![rubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@rubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/8 "2003-10-31T18:02:58Z")
I have recently found some pills called RU-21 that alleviate the hangover. You take 2 pills before drinking and a few while drinking. The next morning, PRESTO, no hangover. I was skeptical at first, but I did have good results the 3 times I used 'em ---
**Author:** ![luvtinayothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@luvtinayothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvtinayothers)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/9 "2003-10-31T18:16:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whuckfistle \* > \*\*Drinking way too much of any alcoholic beverage will give you a hang over no matter what you do to prevent it. You can always minimize the effect of the hangover by staying hydrated. > I always take a couple of aceteminophen and a large glass of water before bedtime if I expect to be damaged goods the next day. Liver, Shmiver. > Vodka drinks are good because most of them contain juice and ice which keeps you hydrated. Also, top shelf booze has less damaging impurities in it than cheap stuff. I can drink a lot of Crown, but not so much Thompsons. YMMV. > > It works for me. \*\* Mixing aceteminophen with alcohol is a _baaaaad_ idea. Both cause damage to your liver on their own, but together the effects increase exponentionaly. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/10 "2003-10-31T18:17:40Z")
My grandfather was a moonshine runner in North Carolina and Virginia during the prohibition/depression days, and he still drinks corn liquor almost exclusively. His wisdom on alcohol was: - Don’t drink alcohol. - If you’re gonna drink alcohol, drink only clear liquors: vodka, gin, silver tequilas, and of course, moonshine. Dark liquors have too many impurities that can make a regular hangover into a miserable one. (I can vouch for this one on experience. The worst hangovers I’ve had were from whiskey and tequila. And budweiser - ick. The only exception I’ve found is single malt scotches.) - If you’re gonna drink moonshine, always test it first: pour a tablespoon into a clean saucer, and set it alight. If you see any colors in the flame other than blue, don’t drink it. (Being one who builds spectrometers for a living, I am quite impressed and amused by this ingenious form of qualitative flame photospectrometry.) I agree with **whuckfistle** on his top shelf recommendation. Especially vodkas. The best vodkas are almost entirely ethanol and water, with very few impurities. But you can’t beat good corn likker for the best buzz. It’s usually 90+ proof, though, so drizzle it over ice cubes and sip the melt. Or just take a tip from Dean Martin and stick your finger in it. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/11 "2003-10-31T18:19:23Z")
It’s not just dehydration. There are other factors involved. For example, fusel oil (whiskey volatiles) may actually alleviate hangover symptoms ([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list\_uids=12960505&dopt=Abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12960505&dopt=Abstract)). Likewise, quazepam, which is not a diuretic, has been shown to cause hangover ([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list\_uids=12753571&dopt=Abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12753571&dopt=Abstract)). ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-hang-overs/210633/12 "2003-10-31T21:46:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by luvtinayothers \* > \*\*Mixing aceteminophen with alcohol is a _baaaaad_ idea. Both cause damage to > your liver on their own, but together the effects increase exponentionaly. \*\* I know, that`s why I said **Liver, shmiver**.😉 I always take a couple of aceteminophen and a large glass of water before bedtime if I expect to be damaged goods the next day. Liver, Shmiver.