Dude, why does everyone think I'm a NERD? Thanks, Eva, for backing me up. You want to hear a really NERDY resonse? Fine. Here goes:
Champagne, Midori Sours, Wine, Tequila--whatever may be your poison of choice, all alcoholic beverages contain ethanol. Ethanol is a toxin that can compromise the basic functions of your nervous system when taken in large quantities (ie drunkenness) which is caused by the neuron's inability to pump calcium ions back into the cell, disrupting the electrochemical balance that is necessary for the conduction of nerve impulses. The body produces an enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts alcohol into acetaldehyde (which is more toxic then ethanol). Another enzyme then quickly converts the acetaldeyde into acetic acid (which is the compound that gives vinegar its sour taste) which can be further metabolized by the body or flushed out of the body entirely via the urine.
Ethanol also blocks the production of your body's antidiuretic hormone, which works directly on your kidneys. Normally, water which is filtered by the kidney is reabsorbed thanks to the action of the hormone (and smart-ass comments will only cause me to go into a detailed accounts on the function of each nephron in your kidneys!). And also thanks to this hormone, we don't have to get up and pee 800 times a day. Your kidneys can filter up to 180L of water a day and we usually excrete less than a liter. Too much ethanol prevents the production of antidiruetic hormone which then leads to your kidney's inability to reabsorb the water. That is why there are always long lines to the bathrooms in bars.
So that brings us to the question: BEST HANGOVER CURE?
Ethanol causes hangovers in two ways: by the production of toxic acetaldehyde and by dehydration. Therefore, drink LOTS of water to 1) flush the acetaldeyde out of your system and 2) replenish the lost water. Number 2 is very important.
Now you know.
And some random tidbits of alcohol-related info:
Methanol (ie rubbing alcohol) is very similar in structure to ethanol. However, drinking your bottle of rubbing alcohol can have severe consequences. Methanol is converted to formaldehyde by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. And yes, formaldehyde is the same stuff they used to preserve those fetal piggies you disected in your biology class. If you don't want to pickle your insides, leave that stuff alone.
Many asian people have a mutated form of the gene which encodes alcohol dehydrogenase, thus producing an ineffective form of the enzyme. This leads to a lower tolerance for alcohol (since their bodies can't break down the ethanol) and causes the characteristic "asian flush."
The alcohol dehydrogenase of women is less effective than the male counterpart and thus, women tend to get drunk faster than men. AKA "cheap date" phenomenon.
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