The advertisements on podcasts and social media were alleged: over -the -counter probiotic supplements which could keep the worst effects from a hangover if it was taken before drinking.
As a critic of Bourbon who loves the flavor of spirits but which has always been easily subject to wooden gules, Eric Burke was intrigued. He ordered a few pre-alcohol bottles, a probiotic drink from Zbiotics, to test it.
He killed the mixture of water, salt, aroma and Genetically modified bacteria. He followed him with a cocktail, a meal and two bourbons, and woke up the next morning by feeling much more shredder than what he expected.
The following night, embraced by success, he drank another bottle of half-alcohol. He drank a little more than the previous night – a beer with a dinner then four bourbon cups.
This amount would generally suggest that it is painful and slow the next day.
Which was exactly what he felt when he opened his eyes a few hours later.
“This one was unpleasant,” said Burke, 48. “I woke up this morning like” well, I am no longer 21 years old. “”
A hangover is A collection of physical and mental symptoms resulting from inflammation and oxidative stress, alcohol causes in the human body.
One of the many factors contributing to misery after the day is the accumulation of acetaldehyde, a chemical by-product of the rupture of ethanol of drinks in the body. Acetaldehyde is a carcinogen who includes nausea, stomach aches, sweats and other physical symptoms associated with over-consumption.
The pre-alcohol of zbiotics and the Swedish company of biotechnology of MEDICAL AB, the complement of the competitors of Myrkl, both count on living bacteria to treat excess acetaldehyde. Other researchers And Recreational drinkers also experienced probiotics for similar purposes.
Reducing the amount of acetaldehyde, the hypothesis, should also reduce the physical symptoms caused by its accumulation.
A bartender holds a martini with lemon.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“The more you drink, the more you have to face the effects of other things in addition to acetaldehyde,” said Zbiotics CEO, Zack Abbott, by e-mail when he asked him about the results of Burke. “That said, for the vast majority of people, acetaldehyde is a major factor, and pre-alcool therefore leads to their feeling better (If it's not perfect) the next day.
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States considers that Zbiotics and Myrkl are food supplements or functional foods, not drugs, and therefore does not assess their health claims. Microbiome experts warn that a probiotic supplement will spare you the worst effects of over-indulgence.
To start, blood circulation transports most of ethanol to an alcoholic drink directly in the liver, where an enzyme called dehydrogenase alcohol breaks down it into acetaldehyde. The brain, the gastrointestinal tract and the pancreas also treat alcohol. Only a relatively small quantity of ethanol is metabolized in the intestines, where probiotics do their job.
The addition of probiotics to your pre-party regime will not cause you any harm, said Karsten Zengler, microbiologist and professor of pediatrics and bio-engineering at UC San Diego.
But it is also unlikely that it has a substantial effect on the way you feel the next day, because your intestines are pre-equipped with an army of bacteria capable of breaking alcohol by-products, he said.
“There is not a lot of ethanol and acetaldehyde in your big intestine to start,” said Zengler, and “the vast majority of bacteria in your intestine metabolize the acetaldehyde for you, so simply adding something more could not do the trick.”
Zbiotics has financed studies demonstrating both the safety of their product and that their bacteria have effectively broken down a significant amount of acetaldehyde in intestinal conditions simulated in a laboratory. As for the effects of the real world of this rupture, Abbott pointed out an exterior 2006 paper This revealed that the rats had received ethanol had fewer symptoms of the wooden mouth the next day when the acetaldehyde was removed.
Myrkl financed a little study This has shown that his product has lowered alcohol levels in some participants. The subjects were invited to Take the supplement for a week Before alcohol consumption, rather than the unique pre-party dose educated on the package.
The hard truth, said Joris C. Versterprofessor of pharmacology at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and founder of the Alcohol Wood Research Group The consortium is that there is currently a scientifically validated means of preventing the mouth of wood: drinking less alcohol.
“Although there are many marketed wood mouth products, there is no convincing scientific evidence that these treatments are effective. Independent double blind and placebo clinical trials among social drinkers are necessary,” said Verster. “Currently, the only effective way to prevent a hangover is to consume alcohol in moderation.”
As unpleasant as they are, the hangover serves a precious goal, says Dr Daryl DaviesProfessor of clinical pharmacy and director of the alcohol research laboratory and the brain of the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
“What I tend to say to people is that if you get a hangover, you drink too much,” said Davies. “It's the body trying to tell you that something is wrong.”
