Posted on 05/20/2024 8:59:45 AM PDT by Red Badger
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
* A novel hydrogel appears to be different. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating.
* In experiments conducted on mice, animals that drank alcohol and were also fed the hydrogel had much lower blood alcohol levels than mice that only drank alcohol. The mice given the hydrogel were also spared from liver damage.
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Share Is this the hangover cure we’ve been waiting for? on LinkedIn Ateam of scientists has created a hydrogel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach and intestines. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating. A toxic byproduct of alcohol degradation, acetaldehyde is linked to liver cirrhosis and cancer. The hydrogel’s net result is to lessen the harms of alcohol, including the dreaded hangover. So, is this the hangover remedy we’ve been waiting for?
Have your booze and drink it too?
Companies, consumers, and scientists have sought one for years, with limited success. Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
Share Is this the hangover cure we’ve been waiting for? on LinkedIn Ateam of scientists has created a hydrogel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach and intestines. When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating. A toxic byproduct of alcohol degradation, acetaldehyde is linked to liver cirrhosis and cancer. The hydrogel’s net result is to lessen the harms of alcohol, including the dreaded hangover. So, is this the hangover remedy we’ve been waiting for?
Have your booze and drink it too? Companies, consumers, and scientists have sought one for years, with limited success. Although many supplements are claimed to prevent or alleviate the headache, nausea, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can accompany heavy drinking, none are backed by convincing evidence.
FEATURED VIDEOS The novel hydrogel appears to be different. Researchers primarily based out of ETH Zürich crafted it from whey protein, a common supplement and food ingredient derived from milk. They also added iron atoms, sugar molecules, and gold nanoparticles to the gel. Together, these additives produce reactions that convert alcohol into innocuous acetic acid within the gastrointestinal tract.
So, the gel doesn’t only remedy a hangover — it also limits alcohol intoxication itself.
Normally, alcohol enters the gastrointestinal tract and then seeps into the bloodstream, where it exerts its intoxicating influence. Alcohol eventually travels to the liver and is broken down to noxious acetaldehyde and then to harmless acetic acid.
In experiments recently detailed in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers fed mice control liquids or a liquid containing the hydrogel. Twenty minutes later, they dosed the rodents with large amounts of alcohol. Over the next five hours, the scientists monitored the animals’ behavior and collected blood, stool, and tissue samples.
An hour after the alcohol binge, blood alcohol concentrations in the mice fed the hydrogel were 40% lower than in control mice. After five hours, the difference was 56%. The difference in blood alcohol levels was apparent in the animals’ behavior. Mice given the hydrogel easily bested their counterparts at navigating mazes.
The hydrogel also prevented the animals from alcohol-related health problems. In additional tests, mice that chronically binge drank suffered liver damage, weight loss, and gut problems. Mice that binged on booze and consumed the gel were almost entirely spared from these issues. Preventing the buildup of acetaldehyde appeared to be key to preventing organ damage.
Crucially, throughout the tests, mice given the gel showed few to no signs of gastrointestinal distress or any other side effects.
From mice to humans
So when will this exciting hangover remedy be tested in humans?
“We hope and plan to move to clinical studies as soon as possible,” Professor Raffaele Mezzenga, a lead author on the study, told Big Think. “The exact timing is not clear yet and will depend on a number of factors, including ethical clearance and financial support of clinical trials.”
Mezzenga and his co-authors are confident these trials will demonstrate similar effectiveness in humans. They’ve already applied to patent the hydrogel. When commercially available, Mezzenga envisions that the gel will likely be consumed from a tube as an edible paste.
“It could be used for example in a recreational context before starting drinking to diminish the effect of alcohol socially (for example, allowing driving back home), or to reduce the side effects of hangovers,” he said.
But Mezzenga thinks the real benefits of the gel will be in therapeutic settings — perhaps in rehabilitation facilities to help wean patients off chronic alcohol use or in hospitals to help heavily inebriated individuals sober up.
“We believe this can and should also be used for people affected by chronic diseases related to alcohol abuse,” he told Big Think.
Alcohol abuse claims millions of lives each year. This novel gel could greatly reduce its harm.
Alcoholics are people with a high tolerance for alcohol.
This sounds like a recipe to manufacture more alcoholics.
Stanback?
A sure fire method is...Don’t DRINK.
Try drinking salt water.
The brain has no nerve endings, but the brain membrane does. It’s the brain membrane that is stretching and shrinking that is causing pain.
The hangover cure is limiting yourself. For many people easier said than done. For many more they just don’t care. Yet.
bkmk
Even back in my Marine Corps drinking days I never had a ‘hangover’ after a night of binging. Puked, yes, hugged the porcelain throne all night, but never a hangover..............
Because all it does is stop you from getting as drunk.
It is sort of like saying drinking water instead of alcohol is a "hang over remedy".
This would be helpful for people who want to limit their alcohol absorbance while not having to switch to soft drinks but it will do dang all for your hangover if you over indulge.
This products reduces all the effects of drinking alcohol, not just the unwanted ones.
Therefore, the result of this product would be for people to drink more.
It could be useful for undercover operatives who wish to be able to drink without compromising their ability to function.
And prostitutes.......................or so I’ve heard...............Ask Laz................
How about trying this one, it works every time? Sobriety.
might as well drink soda..
I think a lot of non-drinkers think people only drink to get intoxicated. They can’t relate to how good some alcohol tastes - good beer, good bourbon, good wine etc.
Flippant comments like drink more nasty tasting soda are clear indications of someone that doesn’t understand that alcoholic beverages taste really good.
I for one would welcome a product like this. I like to drink, but I don’t like intoxication. Unfortunately, most non-alcoholic substitutes are not very good.
Puking is good for you and lessens the hangover.
make sure it’s not made by pfizer, moderna, or gates
“When ingested, it prevents alcohol from entering the blood and stops the compound acetaldehyde from accumulating.”
where does it go, if it doesn’t enter the blood?
and why bother drinking in the first place if it doesn’t enter the blood?
Like that ‘Synthehol’ on Star Trek, why bother?...............
Excreted.
and why bother drinking in the first place if it doesn’t enter the blood?
Some people have to drink for professional or business purposes.
Many undercover agents, police, military, or three letter agency, are required to drink to develop contacts, sources, etc.
In some countries, such as China, government regulators would not do business if they did not have a representative who would engage in binge drinking with them.
Then, of course, there is the "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker" advise.
See my post #14. It’s amazing to me that some people don’t realize how good alcoholic drinks taste. I’d much rather have a good beer, wine, or bourbon than a glass of coke or other such garbage.
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