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Pharmacology expert explains why hangovers are worse the older we get
Most of us know what happens when you drink too much alcohol some of us are all too familiar with the physiological adversities that follow a night of indulgence. But for many, its a simple, inexplicable fact of life that hangovers get significantly worse when we reach adulthood.
The Focus spoke to Farai Mhaka, a psychiatric research pharmacist whose specialisms include prescription drug misuse and preventing substance abuse. He explains alcohol is mostly metabolized in the liver, broken down by an enzyme that older people produce in smaller quantities. He also offered some useful tidbits regarding the relative risks of drinking different types of alcohol, and how to avoid (or at least minimize) hangovers, because as yet, there’s no real health cure for the aftermath.
Research pharmacist explains why young people dont get such bad hangovers
When a person drinks alcohol, Mr Mhaka explains, its mostly metabolized in the liver. The enzyme responsible for metabolizing alcohol is called alcohol dehydrogenase, or ADH for short.
Science Direct adds that ADHs are abundant in the liver but also present in other tissues of the human body. They play a general detoxifying role, and a key role in the metabolism of ethanol, which is the thing in alcoholic drinks that gets you drunk.
Mhaka says young people naturally produce more ADH. As we get older, our bodies produce less. This means it takes older people longer to break down ethanol in the body they metabolize it more slowly.
So, the alcohol in your beverage hangs around in your system for longer. Your body takes longer to clear it out. The faster you can clear something out of your system, the fewer negative effects it’s likely to have. This is why the beer or two you could drink without consequence in your 30s or 40s has more impact in your 60s or 70s, Harvard Health adds.
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Why some drinks give you a worse hangover than others
Its true that certain drinks make us feel worse or better than others. While this may be largely subjective unique to each individual there appear to be trends and rules of thumb.
As a rule, Mhaka says, the more the compounds and byproducts they are in an alcoholic drink, the more likely they will worsen the hangover.
The fermentation process naturally produces numerous compounds and byproducts, some of which can leave us with a headache the following morning.
Most breweries focus on purification of alcohol through double or triple distillation to reduce the compounds and byproducts that are less likely to cause hangover, Mhaka explains. For this reason, he recommends opting for distilled liquors if you want to avoid a major hangover.
Sulfites are a particular bugbear for some. Sensitivity to sulfites can bring people out in hives, flushes, dizziness, and even diarrhea, he adds. Such hypersensitivity is the pinnacle of a terrible hangover.
Indeed!
How to reduce harm and next-day suffering when drinking alcohol
The best remedy to avoid harm from alcohol is& you wont like this [to] completely avoid drinking alcohol.
Some people are best off completely eliminating their alcohol intake. But that might not be a realistic remedy for those of you (/us) who find it difficult to change long-held behaviors.
Besides that, Mhaka has four pieces of advice for those who want to continue to drink alcoholic beverages but dont want to experience the negative effects of a hangover.
- Drink lots of water, and try drinking an electrolyte drink concurrently with your alcohol consumption. During our day-to-day lives, most of us dont need to take on electrolytes outside our regular diet. But when drinking alcohol, it could help.
- Drink beverages that have been double or triple-distilled in moderation, obviously. In other words, liquor over wine or beer.
- Painkillers can help ease the pain of a headache. However, Mhaka discourages people from taking effervescent paracetamol-based pain killers, since they can worsen acetaminophen toxic effects on the same liver that helps metabolize alcohol.
- Finally, have a carbohydrate-based meal before drinking alcohol to combat the blood sugar-lowering effect of alcohol and ensure you have good energy reserves while drinking.
Others suggest not drinking while flying, especially if you have heart and/or lung issues.
Farai Mhaka is a Zimbabwean-born psychiatric research pharmacist. He earned his master of science degree in pharmaceutics from Rhodes University and has since worked on preventing and treating prescription drug misuse. His research in the US focuses on improving therapeutic outcomes and quality of life for millions of Americans living with mental health illnesses and increasing access to cost-effective psychotropic medication.
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