The volunteers' last test was a kill-or-cure classic: the 'morning after' a shot of alcohol on an empty stomach in the form of a Bloody Mary. A vodka with tomato juice. There's an explanation for that too. A Swedish toxicologist found that some hangovers could 'linger longer', well after the ethanol had left the body. The villain of the piece is methanol, an evil twin of ethanol, occurring in alcoholic beverages, such as cheap red wine, fruit distillates and whisky. The liver wades through the toxins in a well-defined order, always starting with ethanol. When it comes round to the methanol, a decomposition product is released that is believed to be responsible for the unwelcome hangover effects. If you start to drink alcohol again at this point, the liver starts with the ethanol again. So no more decomposition products. This effect can be only temporary because the effects of the methanol are sure to leave their mark sooner or later.

And true enough: Bloody Mary worked fine for those who drank spirits or red wine. But it has to be said that some of the volunteers could not summon up the courage to drink alcohol the next day!

  |terug|mail|print|top|