0:00

Coming up on this episode of the

0:02

doctor's pharmacy, there are no benefits to

0:04

alcohol consumption. There is no health benefit.

0:06

There's a heart benefit. The

0:09

data is really clear that it's bad

0:11

for you, especially cancer. It

0:13

does increase the risk of cancer. So

0:15

I don't think alcohol should be considered

0:17

a health promoting substance in any way.

0:20

However, having a drink or two once

0:22

in a while is not going to

0:24

kill you. And it's not a bad,

0:26

bad thing. Did

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2:15

Welcome back to another episode of the doctors

2:17

pharmacy and health bites where we take juicy

2:19

little bites into current health topics. And today

2:21

I want to tackle a topic that many

2:23

of us have experienced, but few

2:26

truly understand. Hangovers.

2:29

Whether it's after a night of celebrating

2:31

with friends or an unexpected overindulgence, hangovers

2:34

kind of leave us feeling drained, anxious,

2:36

and downright miserable. In this episode, I'm

2:38

going to unpack the science behind hangovers

2:40

and explore what happens for bodies during

2:42

this really unpleasant aftermath and discuss effective

2:45

strategies to prevent and manage them

2:47

if you need them. Maybe you won't need them if

2:49

you take care of yourself, but just in case you

2:51

have a fun night, how do you get over this?

2:53

Well, hangovers are more than just a headache and fatigue.

2:55

They're a complex physiological response

2:57

to alcohol consumption that affects our

3:00

brain, our liver, our gut,

3:02

and our overall health. In fact, alcohol is

3:04

a poison and the dose makes the poison.

3:06

I'm going to delve into how alcohol disrupts

3:09

our sleep, dehydrates our bodies, messes

3:11

with our electrolyte balance, and leave you just

3:13

feeling pretty out of sorts. Obviously all this

3:15

is a bummer. No one likes to hangover.

3:18

So how do we prevent it? Quite frankly, the best

3:20

way to avoid a hangover, don't

3:22

drink. Okay, now we know just

3:24

to be clear, there are no

3:26

benefits to alcohol consumption. There

3:29

is no health benefit. There's no heart benefit. The

3:31

data is really clear that it's

3:34

bad for you, especially cancer. It

3:36

does increase the risk of cancer.

3:38

So I don't think alcohol should

3:40

be considered a health-promoting substance in

3:42

any way. Just to be clear,

3:44

the data doesn't support it. However,

3:47

having a drink or two once in a while

3:49

is not going to kill you and it's not

3:51

a bad thing. Of course, don't drink is easier

3:54

said than done, I know, but here's the

3:56

facts. The standard recommendation is

3:58

one drink per day for women. and two

4:01

drinks a day for a minute. That's way

4:03

too much, right? According to the WHO, the

4:05

World Health Organization, there is no safe

4:08

consumption of alcohol for human

4:10

health. Say that again. According

4:13

to the World Health Organization, there is

4:15

no safe consumption of alcohol for human

4:17

health. Period. Alcohol is

4:19

a neurotoxin, it's psychoactive,

4:22

and it can cause dependence and

4:24

addiction. Now, the International Agency for

4:26

Research on Cancer, the IARC, has

4:29

classified alcohol as a group one carcinogen, which

4:33

is the highest risk group, along

4:35

with asbestos, radiation,

4:38

and tobacco. Just

4:40

saying. Nobody's got asbestos anymore in

4:42

their house. You don't really

4:44

wanna get radiation if you can avoid

4:47

it, and certainly we know tobacco and

4:49

cigarettes cause cancer. Now, according to study

4:51

in the Journal of the American Medical

4:53

Association, even light to moderate consumption has

4:55

consequences. It also increased your risk for

4:57

dementia and Alzheimer's, and why? Because

4:59

it shrinks your brain and reduces neuroplasticity. If you

5:01

see an alcoholic's brain on a

5:03

brain scan, I used to see it all the time

5:06

when I was in the ER, they just shriveled and

5:08

shrunken up brains. It was pretty sad. Alcohol increased the

5:10

risk for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, as I mentioned, and

5:13

the alcohol-free movement is gaining popularity, and the younger

5:15

generations catching on to the harms of alcohol. In

5:17

fact, I just went to a party, 40th birthday

5:19

party, and it was no alcohol. There was no

5:21

alcohol, and I just had

5:23

an office party for my office. No alcohol.

5:25

People are kind of coming wise to the

5:27

dangers of alcohol. So more and more people

5:29

are kind of just stop drinking and turning

5:31

to mocktails. However, if you do drink, and

5:34

I'm gonna give you a few things that

5:36

might help. One, pace yourself, right? Go slow.

5:39

This is gonna help your body metabolize alcohol

5:42

more effectively. Remember, it can only deal

5:44

with one ounce an hour, right? One

5:46

ounce an hour of hard

5:48

liquor, probably five ounces of wine an

5:50

hour, or 10 ounces of

5:52

beer an hour. If you drink more than that, and

5:55

you are just upping the toxic

5:57

load your liver has to deal with it, it just can't

5:59

keep up. The speed at which you drink plays a huge

6:01

role. Your body can process, like I said, about one standard

6:03

drink per hour. Now, I want you to keep in mind,

6:05

though, that this can vary based on the type of alcohol

6:07

you drink, right? Your physical health and

6:10

your genetics. Now, drinking more than this is

6:12

likely going to increase the risk

6:14

of a hangover. Also, you can avoid

6:16

congeners. Now, what are those? Those are

6:19

byproducts of alcohol fermentation that are found

6:21

in higher concentrations in darker liquors, like

6:23

whiskey or things like that. These

6:25

are found in cognac, whiskey, bourbon,

6:28

and red wine. It

6:30

creates methanol, tannins, histamine reactions, all kinds

6:32

of stuff. So not great. Now, these

6:34

compounds, these congeners, give these types of

6:37

alcohol. They're distinct flavors, but

6:39

they hang around in the system long after you

6:41

drink, which can make the hangover a lot worse.

6:44

Now, research shows that high-congenered darker-colored liquors,

6:46

which is a bummer because those are

6:49

the ones I like, that lead to

6:51

more severe hangovers than lighter-colored clear liquors

6:53

like vodka, gin, rum, sake,

6:55

and even maybe white tequilas.

6:58

But also note that I'm not recommending

7:01

these types of alcohol either. The

7:03

more distilled the spirit is, the

7:06

lower the congeners. This is why

7:08

drinking top-shelf liquors doesn't result

7:10

in as much of a hangover as some

7:12

people as lower-priced alternatives. I found that true.

7:15

It's also worth noting that the amount of

7:17

alcohol consumed is more critical than the type

7:19

of alcohol in determining the severity of your

7:21

hangover. So while the congeners are important, it's

7:23

really the amount of overall alcohol. Now,

7:26

drinks with higher alcohol concentrations, like

7:28

shots of liquor, put

7:30

a greater burden on the liver and are more likely

7:32

to cause hangovers. Congeners add complexity

7:35

to the detox process too. They stimulate the

7:37

release of stress hormones, they cause

7:39

an inflammatory response, and they all

7:41

worsen your hangover symptoms. Now, some people

7:43

actually may be very physiologically sensitive to

7:46

specific congeners. For example, those with histamine

7:48

intolerance, which is more and more common,

7:51

experience this worst hangover is from red wine, which

7:53

is high in histamine compared to clear liquor. So

7:55

I noticed that when I have red wine, I

7:57

don't feel good. tequila,

8:00

I'm fine. Avoid sugary

8:02

mixers, which is all sugary

8:05

mixed drinks. When you

8:07

combine sugar and alcohol, bad

8:09

news. So stay away from

8:11

those sugary mixed drinks. The other thing you want

8:13

to do is stay hydrated. Drink

8:15

water and electrolytes before,

8:18

during, and after drinking. Drink

8:20

at least half your weight in ounces

8:22

of water with a sugar-free electrolyte powder

8:25

such as E-Lite or Element, which

8:27

contains a balance ratio of sodium potassium

8:29

magnesium. Really important. Our sugar-free coconut water

8:31

contains natural electrolytes and help hydrate you

8:33

as well. Something called liquid IV and

8:36

Gatorade, they're big no-nos. They're loaded with

8:38

unnecessary sugar, dyes, flavors, enhancers. Just stay

8:40

away from all that colorful sports

8:43

drink crap and that's terrible. Basically you want

8:45

to drink a glass of water and

8:48

at least for every drink you have, right? For

8:50

every alcoholic drink you have just one, maybe two

8:52

glass of water with electrolytes. And you can bring

8:54

individual travel electrolyte packets with you. I do that

8:56

all the time. It's really great. Also

8:59

eat before you drink. And why do you

9:01

want to do that? Well a balanced meal

9:03

actually slows the absorption of alcohol. Fat, protein,

9:05

fiber slows the end of

9:07

your stomach and that actually can help

9:10

reduce the effect and the speed of

9:12

alcohol and reduces toxicity on

9:14

your system. Things like guacamole or

9:17

phytonutrient salad, chicken, stanker fish, all that's

9:20

gonna be great. It's also gonna

9:22

help you prevent low blood sugar or hypoglycemia and

9:24

you also want to eat hydrating and

9:26

micronutrient rich plant foods like non-starchy

9:29

veggies, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, tomatoes,

9:32

bell peppers, fruit and lots of fruit,

9:34

bananas, avocados, guava, grapefruit which is full

9:37

of magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Really important.

9:39

So make sure you get water and electrolytes

9:42

for hydration. You also want to potentially take

9:44

some minerals like zinc and also

9:46

niacin which is a B vitamin, vitamin

9:48

B3. Critical co-factors

9:50

in alcohol metabolism. So when

9:53

you have to make those enzymes work you

9:55

need these co-factors like zinc and niacin to

9:57

actually make them work to detoxify the alcohol.

9:59

Research suggests that they could lower hangover severity,

10:01

although we need to do more research on

10:03

it. Still seems promising and it's low risk

10:05

to do. You can eat zinc rich foods,

10:07

right? Meat, shellfish, legumes,

10:10

pumpkin seeds, oysters, nicotinic

10:12

acid rich foods, meat, nicotinic acid is

10:15

nice and like meat, fish, poultry, avocados,

10:17

mushrooms are full of niacin. The next

10:19

thing you wanna do is feed your

10:22

gut bacteria. We're gonna load up in

10:24

the early parts of your day with

10:26

fermented foods like yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi,

10:28

get your microbiome healthy. Eat

10:31

a polyphenol rich diet for

10:33

your microbiome and immune system like

10:36

blueberries, apples, cherries, raspberries. Also

10:39

include vitamin C rich foods, red antioxidant,

10:41

red bell peppers, kiwi, citrus fruit and don't

10:44

eat all those inflammatory foods. They really are

10:46

bad for you in general and they make

10:48

the alcohol problem worse. So fried

10:50

foods, refined carbohydrates,

10:52

sugars, processed, ultra processed food, all

10:55

that's gonna irritate your gut even

10:57

more and won't slow

10:59

down alcohol absorption. That's diet, lifestyle,

11:01

hydration. Okay, what can you do

11:03

to actually help

11:06

you support detoxification and

11:08

take the right supplements

11:11

that have the right nutrients that are commonly

11:13

depleted with alcohol consumption? So what I like

11:15

is an herb called milk thistle, before

11:17

and after drinking and

11:20

a B complex vitamin. Milk

11:22

thistle is an herb which is great.

11:25

It helps liver detoxification. B vitamins are

11:27

depleted when you drink alcohol

11:29

like thiamin, I mentioned that, B6,

11:31

niacin or B3, B12 and

11:34

folate, all these can cause

11:36

headaches and fatigue. So if you preemptively

11:38

supplement, you can actually reduce the

11:40

effects of alcohol on your system. Zinc,

11:43

magnesium, you can also take

11:45

something called N-acetyl cysteine or

11:47

NAC. N-acetyl cysteine

11:49

helps your body make glutathione.

11:51

And what is glutathione? Glutathione

11:54

is our master detoxifier, our

11:56

master antioxidant and our master

11:58

anti-inflammatory compound. Research shows

12:00

that low dose snack can

12:02

help with nausea and weakness and hangover symptoms in

12:04

women, but more researchers need it, but it's promising.

12:07

There's even actually research on this. And we know

12:09

they can have a lot of toxins.

12:11

For example, if you have liver failure

12:14

from Tylenol overdose, the treatment

12:16

is NAC. If you're

12:18

getting an IV contrast

12:20

dye for a kidney study, for example,

12:22

it can cause kidney failure. You give

12:24

NAC beforehand, it prevents the kidney

12:26

damage from the dye. Also,

12:28

stop drinking at least three hours before

12:30

you go to bed, which minimizes alcohol's

12:33

negative impact on your sleep. It

12:36

gives your body enough time to detoxify. The

12:39

half life of alcohol, through the

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12:43

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healthier more vibrant you. Now the

14:46

effects of alcohol can still affect

14:48

your sleep up to six hours

14:51

after you're suffering. Okay so once you've had

14:53

a little too much drink now you're really

14:55

feeling the next day here's what not to

14:57

do. Do not drink more alcohol. Don't

15:00

have the eye-opener in the morning right?

15:02

The hair of the dog approach. It just

15:04

delays and worsens the hangover. Coffee

15:06

don't drink it. If you hydrate

15:08

you more. Use ibuprofen sparingly

15:11

or Advil. It can kind of affect

15:13

your GI tract and your kidneys. But

15:15

here's what you should do to

15:18

deal with your hangover symptoms. One, hydrate but

15:21

not just any hydration. Drink clean water

15:23

with electrolytes. Now it doesn't guarantee you'll

15:25

get over a hangover faster but it's

15:27

going to help restore hydration. Also

15:29

eat a balanced meal. Eggs and

15:32

nutrient-dense foods with protein and fat

15:34

and fiber are really important. Now

15:36

eggs are also rich in something

15:39

called L-cysteine which actually gets made

15:41

into N-acetylcysteine made

15:43

in glutathione which helps the

15:45

liver detoxify acetyl aldehyde. Also

15:49

high fiber carbohydrate foods

15:51

like vegetables, nuts

15:53

and seeds, beans, whole grains.

15:55

They really help stabilize blood sugar

15:57

levels. Also there's sometimes herbs. and

15:59

vitamins and supplements that can help. So we'll talk about

16:02

those. So what are those? Ginger can

16:04

be good for nausea, chamomile

16:06

tea helps anxiety is calming,

16:08

red ginseng helps

16:10

acetyl aldehyde metabolism, and

16:13

be complex replenishes the depleted vitamins and

16:15

helps energy. Now red ginseng

16:17

will not cure a hangover, but it can

16:20

help reduce symptoms when it's taken

16:22

soon after drinking by increasing acetyl

16:24

aldehyde metabolism. So you can get

16:27

red ginseng and have it with

16:29

your drink, basically. A randomized crossover

16:31

study, that means they basically gave

16:34

the same group of people different

16:37

things at different times. So they took 25

16:39

guys, they gave them red ginseng, that

16:41

reduced plasma alcohol, and also

16:44

expired alcohol, as well as hangover

16:46

severity after consuming whiskey. Now,

16:49

the study included that red ginseng

16:52

positively affects alcohol metabolism and

16:54

alleviates hangover symptoms. Of

16:56

course, that's cool, but I think more research is needed on that.

16:59

Cold shower is gonna make you feel more

17:01

alert or a cold plunge, that's good. Now

17:03

cold shower might help you feel alert, also

17:05

increases some of your adrenaline hormones, and increasing

17:07

adrenaline can make you more alert and speed

17:09

up alcohol metabolism, and even clearance of

17:12

alcohol from the brain. And from what?

17:15

Also get some rest, make sure you get

17:17

sleep, and that mitigates hangover symptoms. An

17:19

observational study of 578 college students found

17:22

that reduced total sleep time

17:24

was associated with more severe

17:27

hangovers. And students who slept more than

17:29

seven hours consumed more

17:31

alcohol and experienced longer hangovers.

17:34

But their hangovers were less severe compared to those

17:36

who slept less than seven hours.

17:39

So overall, reduced total sleep time was associated

17:41

with more severe hangovers. In the end, time

17:43

is really the best medicine, right? It's the

17:45

best cure for hangover. Your body needs time

17:47

to process and eliminate the

17:50

alcohol and all those toxic byproducts. So

17:53

that's a lot, okay? Alcohol, we know the

17:55

toxin, there's no safe dose. If

17:58

the pleading vitamins and minerals. It

18:00

affects your liver, it affects your brain,

18:02

it affects your hormones, your microbiome, your

18:04

immune system. But occasional drinks,

18:06

okay, just be careful and understand that

18:09

there's things you can do to mitigate

18:11

its harmful effects like eating

18:13

beforehand with lots of high fiber

18:15

fat protein foods, drinking more

18:18

slowly over time, having water

18:20

and electrolytes after you drink, and

18:22

having the right vitamins and minerals, including

18:24

B-complex, zinc, and magnesium, as

18:27

well as also herbs like

18:29

milk thistle, all that can help. So

18:31

I hope you found today's episode enlightening and

18:33

packed with useful, good information to help you

18:35

better understand and manage hangovers. We cover a

18:37

lot of ground from the science of how

18:39

our alcohol impacts our bodies to

18:42

those practical tips I mentioned on how to

18:44

mitigate those horrible symptoms. But

18:46

remember, the key to healing hangovers starts

18:48

with prevention. Don't drink too much. Hydrate.

18:52

Proper nutrition goes a long way in making

18:54

sure your next morning isn't a total write-off.

18:57

Now, if you found these tips helpful, I

18:59

encourage you to start incorporating them into your

19:02

routine. And of course, always listen to your

19:04

body and make choices that support your overall

19:06

wellbeing. Our health is for sure a precious

19:08

asset. And taking care of it means

19:10

we can enjoy life celebrations without

19:12

paying a hefty price the next day.

19:14

Thanks again for joining me today on

19:16

The Doctor's Pharmacy. And don't forget to

19:18

rate, review, and follow The Doctor's Pharmacy

19:20

wherever you get your podcasts. Stay

19:23

healthy, stay informed, and I'll see you next Friday.

19:26

For another juicy episode of Health

19:28

Bites. Friday,

19:56

Health Bites episodes. I'm always getting questions about

19:58

my favorite books, podcasts, and and I hope

20:00

they'll help you too. Again, that's drhyman.com/marks picks.

20:02

Thank you again. And we'll see you next

20:05

time on the doctor's pharmacy. This podcast is

20:07

separate from my clinical practice at the Ultra

20:19

Wellness Center. I'm a doctor. I'm

20:21

a doctor. I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor.

20:23

I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor.

20:26

I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor. I'm a

20:28

doctor. I'm a doctor. I'm

20:30

an therapist. I'm a doctor. I'm an advisor.

20:33

I'm an officer. I'm the chief medical officer

20:35

at the Ultra Wellness center and my work at Cleveland

20:37

Clinic and function health where I'm the chief medical officer.

20:40

This podcast represents my opinions and my guest's opinions. Neither

20:42

myself nor the podcast endorsed the views or statements of

20:44

my guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only. This

20:46

podcast is not a substitute for professional care by a

20:48

doctor or other qualified medical professional. This

20:50

podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical

20:53

or other professional advice or services. If

20:55

you're looking for your help in your journey,

20:57

seek out a qualified medical practitioner. You can

20:59

come see us at the Ultra Wellness Center

21:01

in Lenox, Massachusetts. Just go to ultrawellnesscenter.com. If

21:04

you're looking for a functional medicine practitioner near

21:06

you, you can visit ifm.org and

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search find a practitioner database. It's important that you

21:10

have someone in your corner who is trained, who's

21:12

a licensed healthcare practitioner and can help you make

21:15

changes, especially when it comes to your health. Keeping

21:18

this podcast free is part of my mission

21:20

to bring practical ways of improving health to

21:22

the general public. In keeping with that theme,

21:24

I'd like to express gratitude to the sponsors

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that made today's podcast possible.