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I have never drank alcohol, despite persuasion from friends. I consider it unhealthy. Chemically, it’s a poison, and a “hangover” is the process of removing the poison.
You are very right in every aspect of this. It’s a poison, and it kills hundreds of thousands every year.
I definitely wouldn’t suggest that people need to run out with friends and drink copious amounts of alcohol. A night at the bar can be fun, but keeping that as an activity that a friend group commits to repeatedly isn’t a healthy setting (for instance alcoholism effects 10% of the population).
That being said, there are a lot of constructive uses with alcoholic beverages such as cooking and really unique flavor profiles. Some of the mixtures that are 90%+ non-alcoholic have interesting tastes that you just can’t recreate without the alcohol changing subtle differences in what’s present. Definitely respect your choice not to drink though, just throwing this out there as a healthier alternative than binge drinking for those who do want to try.
One semi-accidental food discovery I made is when you are sauteing onions and mushrooms, put a dash of soy (or even better liquid aminos) and then when they are almost done throw about a shot of red wine in and simmer it out. The combo brings out so much flavor that it’s almost overpoweringly good!
Some alcohol cooks off when used this way, but not all. Be cautious when cooking for others to mention this so non-drinkers can make an informed choice.
It can be a delicious addition though: alcohol dissolves flavor and aromatic compounds that water and fat cannot, so you get a lot of unique flavors especially from barrel-aged drinks like whisky and wine.
Hangover is mostly dehydration.
I’ve heard that hangover comes from the fact that most alcohols have two kinds of alcohol in them and your body processes one very quickly and one somewhat slower, so The hangover comes from the slower alcohol.
That being said, being well hydrated can help your body flush out the slower alcohol faster and prevent or reduce hangovers
If your drink has more than one type of alcohol in it, you need to go to the ER. Methanol is horribly poisonous, and it is not a pleasant death.
You are correct. I got the terminology wrong, there’s alcohol and then there’s acetaldehyde, which is a breakdown molecule of the alcohol.
Too much acetaldehyde can intensify the effects of a hangover and it takes longer to flush it out.
Drinking more water can help dilute the acetaldehyde or improve your body’s ability to flush it out, but there is no singular hangover cure other than to not drink so much that you get a hangover.