No pain no gain?

July 17, 2005 12:47 AM

Is it true that if you don't get hangovers, your body isn't dealing with the toxins properly?

Or am I just gifted at drinking?

posted by lunkfish to health & fitness (15 comments total)

Hangovers have many causes but the most common one is dehydration. So it probably means that (a) you aren't drinking too much, and (b) you are drinking enough water.

Now you are probably thinking of the fact that acetaldehyde, a product of ethanol breakdown in the liver by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, is thought to cause hangover effects as well. Especially when the liver can't break down the acetaldehyde further. However, if it were really the case that you had a deficient alcohol dehydrogenase, your skin would turn red and you would be more susceptible to the primary effects of alcohol for longer. ADH deficiency is common in some East Asian ethnic groups, so you have likely seen it before.
posted by grouse at 1:12 AM on July 17, 2005

This happened to me about a year ago when I was drinking HEAVILY ... I'd wake up at 1pm in my apartment with all lights blazing, fully dressed - fallen asleep on the couch, no idea how I got home ... and no hangover. I took this as a Very Bad Sign. Lunkfish - you may be (as I was) very gifted at drinking, but take my word for it - it is much more fun in the amateur ranks.
I'd love to hear if anyone else has experienced this?
posted by Catch at 1:28 AM on July 17, 2005

Interesting. The thing is even when I drink far too much, mix my drinks and don't have enough water, I'm never in the same state as my friends. I get a dry throat, and feel a bit drained but never headaches and hardly ever much nausea.

Seems too good to be true..
posted by lunkfish at 1:33 AM on July 17, 2005

I never got hangovers until I hit my mid 20's. A few people told me around that time that it was age related. These days I avoid hangovers.
posted by singingfish at 1:38 AM on July 17, 2005

All these fish!
posted by Catch at 1:43 AM on July 17, 2005

It seems, with time, I cannot tolerate drinking as much. That's a good thing, I'd assume.
Strange, but good.
posted by Radio7 at 2:14 AM on July 17, 2005

There's three things that I can think from just common knowledge:
- there more you drink regularly, the more tolerant you become and this also applies to hangovers
- some people just appear not to have them as bad as others, even among people from same ethnic and social groups
- it does get worse with age

And yes, lots of water especially before going to sleep.
posted by keijo at 2:20 AM on July 17, 2005

Maybe you just have a constant hangover and have lost perspective.
posted by 517 at 4:43 AM on July 17, 2005

I agree with singingfish, I think at least some of it might be age related. Until I was around 22-23 I didn't get any hangovers. Unfortunately that has changed.
posted by einarorn at 5:45 AM on July 17, 2005

What are your favorite drinks? Not all alcoholic beverages produce the same quality of hangover.

Mixed drinks generally have more water in them than shots, leaving you better hydrated.

Do you drink a lot of neutral spirits, or things like dark rum and red wine with lots of congeners?
posted by jbrjake at 8:40 AM on July 17, 2005

I drank steadily for 25 years, from age 14 to 39, and I never had a hangover. I suspect that for the last 10 years or so of my drinking, this was because I was permanently topped up and was never sober. But even on the days when I'd wake up in some part of town I didn't recognise, I was always fresh as a daisy and ready to party.

That I never got hangovers whilst my friends were almost at death's door only fuelled my denial that I had a problem. (Not saying you have, btw, this is just my experience I'm relating here.)

Suffice it to say, I don't drink at all now.

As an aside, of the co-founders of AA, Bill W used to get crippling hangovers, whilst Dr Bob never did. Dr Bob was a proctologist and used to have a belt or two in the mornings to steady his hand before surgery ...

(This was in their drinking days, I might add.)

I don't know what the explanation is - I (along with Dr Bob) had the constitution of an ox, I guess.
posted by essexjan at 8:56 AM on July 17, 2005

The amount of water found in a mixed drink is hardely enough to prevent a hang over ...
posted by crewshell at 9:13 AM on July 17, 2005

I don't seem to have them as frequently as others too. It was bad in college, we'd go out...all have the same, and my friends would be sick. Sometimes I'd hit rock star heights, with people the next day asking "dude, are you alright? You can't be okay after last night."

I come from a long line of alcoholics. That being said, I have had a couple of real world hangovers. But I drink less now (and they got worse as I got older.)

But lunkfish, dont' you worry. You'll get them sooner or later.
posted by filmgeek at 9:23 AM on July 17, 2005

In fact, probably the opposite is true.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:49 PM on July 17, 2005

You might be confusing hangovers with morning sickness. Some evolutionary biologists believe that morning sickness is a defense mechanism to rid the body of toxics so they don't get to the unborn. Eat something, then get sick and throw it up? A fully grown adult might be able to handle that, but not that tiny thing in your belly.
posted by pwb503 at 8:39 AM on July 18, 2005