How To Avoid A Hangover And Reduce The Harmful Effects Of Drinking [STUDY]

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Jan 04, 2017 10:43 AM EST

A new study has found that drinking trendy beers with plenty of hops could help to reduce the effects of a hangover. So many people tend to have a hangover cure or something which helps them through it which may include something greasy, stodgy or preferably both with something sugary.

A Hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects following the consumption of wine, beer and distilled spirit. It can last for several hours and even more than 24 hours.

A hangover is accompanied by symptoms such as headache, drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, sweating, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, Loss of appetite, depression, hyper-excitability or anxiety.

A team of German scientists have found that hops present in beer could reduce the harm done to the liver after heavy alcohol consumption. The findings suggest a night of drinking trendy hoppy beers like pale ales, IPA and pilsner style lagers could be better than a heavy session on the vodka, according to Daily Mail.

"Drinking fermented alcoholic beverages like beer may be less harmful than hard spirits," a nutritional scientist at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, Dr Ina Bergheim says. "Our data suggests that hops in beer might contribute to this effect of beer."

The scientists conducted the study on mice that were given three different types of alcohol: specially brewed beer without hops, beer with high hop content and pure alcohol just like a night of binge drinking. Others were given just a sweet sugary solution.

They discovered that the hops lessened the production of toxins and harmful fats in the liver which occur when drinking other alcohol such as spirits.

The researchers checked the effect of the drink on the liver, blood and small intestines of the mice two and 12 hours after consumption. The mice that were fed beer with hops had less build-up of fat in their liver, which could possibly affect the liver's ability to clear toxins from the blood.

However, the mice showed signs that their livers were less inflamed compared to the other group that consumed other alcohol. They also had lower levels of the molecules known as induced nitric oxide synthases, which plays a key role in causing headaches, Mirror.

Although, the study did not show whether the hops could reduce the symptoms of hangover, it showed that it limits damage to the liver. It also suggests that drinking beer with high hop content could help to reduce some of the symptoms of hangover.

The researchers said they are now hoping to look at the effects in humans. Whether the effects are found in chronic settings and humans will be determined in future studies, Dr Bergheim said.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

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