Adding Oxygen to Booze Cuts Hangovers

Deconstructing the hangover—and the folk remedies that are still the only hope

(NEWSER) - Hangovers have afflicted the recently drunk since the Stone Age, yet a dependable remedy remains elusive. A hangover takes hold just as the body succeeds in eliminating the alcohol from the blood stream, Joan Acocella notes in the New Yorker. It results from a pileup of insults the system sustains in getting the job done, she explains, deconstructing the telltale symptoms in vivid detail. More»

New findings show music can make alcohol taste sweeter

(NEWSER) - Make sure you have a designated driver the next time you head to a rock concert: Booze tastes sweeter when it's drunk in an environment where loud music is playing, which means blaring tunes could lead to excessive alcohol consumption, finds a new study. "Since humans have an innate preference for sweetness, these findings offer a plausible explanation as to why people consume more alcohol in noisy environments," says the study's author. More»

If you eat a lot of refined carbs, a little bit of alcohol helps: study

(NEWSER) - Good news for you ladies who like a little bit of wine and a lot of carbs: A new study shows that middle-aged women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol but eat a large amount of refined carbohydrates are 30% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women who eat similarly, but don’t drink. Refined carbs, of course, include such maligned foods as white bread and sugary drinks, Reuters notes. More»

Study finds cause, and cure, of hangover headaches

(NEWSER) - Forget about hangover remedies like raw eggs, hair of the dog, or yoga —simple caffeine and a painkiller are best for easing an alcohol-induced sore head, according to a new study. Neurologist Michael Oshinsky and colleagues used ethanol to induce hangover-like headaches in rats. They found that the caffeine in coffee and the anti-inflammatory ingredients of aspirin and other painkillers successfully blocked the chemical causing the headaches, the Telegraph reports. More»

Uganda is world's thirstiest country

(NEWSER) - Drinking cuts across all social, economic, and cultural lines, but who imbibes the most? Some answers, compiled by the Daily Beast :

• Men drink more than women (57.6% vs. 46.5%). The gender gap is all but nil for underage drinkers, then widens with age.
• New Hampshire drinks the most beer of any state. At 31.6 gallons per capita per year, New Hampshirites easily outswig New Yorkers (16.7 gallons).