Vodka Might be Better Worse for Women? Choose the Proper Pain Pill:
It’s that time of year again—holiday parties, New Year’s Eve, year-end luncheons and celebrations with clients and coworkers, friends and family. All of which can very easily lead to the dreaded hangover.
For a very light drinker, just one drink can be enough to cause a hangover. Generally speaking, though experts say more than three to five drinks for a woman, or more than five or six for a man, will likely bring morning-after regrets. And there is no simple cure.
That may be partly because it’s a combination of factors that lead to the various ills—alcohol stimulates urine output, which leads to dehydration. It also causes an inflammatory response from your immune system, which might be responsible for the feelings of mental confusion and lack of concentration. And it irritates the stomach lining, causing it to produce more acid and slows the stomach in emptying, causing you to feel nauseous after drinking too much. It also causes your blood vessels to contract, which may explain the pounding headache.
Vodka Might be Better
But the alcohol itself isn’t the only culprit when it comes to hangovers. Alcoholic beverages also contain something called congeners—byproducts of fermentation that add flavor and are found in greater quantities in darker alcoholic beverages like brandy, whiskey, darker beers and red wine. One particular congener—methanol—breaks down into formaldehyde and formic acid, which can make you feel even worse.
Worse for Women?
Because women react differently to alcohol than men—it enters our systems faster, so blood alcohol jumps more rapidly after consumption—women can sometimes feel worse after consuming the same amount of alcohol as a man. Alcohol also enters the brain and liver more quickly in women. This might be in part because women have a higher percentage of body fat than men—about 10% more on average – thus less bodily fluids to dilute the alcohol. Also, women’s livers produce less alcohol dehydrogenase, a substance that breaks down alcohol. That’s one reason the National Institutes for Health’s moderate drinking guidelines are lower for women than for men.
Make a Plan and Stick to It
Most people don’t set out intending to drink too much—it just kind of happens. And if you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to accidentally consume enough to have a hangover. So one of the best approaches is to plan ahead. For example, if you’re planning an evening of socializing, you should alternate an alcoholic beverage with a glass of water or sparkling water.
Choose the Proper Pain Pill
Feeling the pain of a hangover? Time is the only true cure, but you can take some steps to ease your discomfort along the way:
• Take ibuprofen. While it’s harder on your stomach than acetaminophen, it is not as hard on your liver. Combining acetaminophen and alcohol can cause severe liver damage at much lower levels than previously thought.
• Skip the “hair of the dog” approach. Drinking more alcohol may make you feel better for a little while, but you’re really only delaying the agony.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Water, watered down fruit juice and electrolyte-rich sports drinks will help with the dehydration. Fruit juice may also help metabolize the alcohol faster and get it out of your system.
• Take it easy. Sleep, bland foods and more sleep will help your body repair the damage you’ve done.
The nice thing about hangovers is that they are totally preventable—just drink in moderation. So enjoy a nice sparkling water chaser after that sparkling wine, and have a lovely and healthful New Year.
Yours in health,
Jeanne O’Brien Coffey
Contributing Editor
New England Health Advisory
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