Holiday parties are over but there will be more to come as parties never stop. There are several recipes to avoid hangovers but if skipping on alcohol during parties is not an option, there's one beverage that might help - beer.
According to a new study published in "Alcohol and Alcoholism," hops, which are used as a stabilizing and flavoring agent in beer, can help reduce the dreaded effects of a hangover. It appears that the hops in beer interfere with the production of toxins in the liver, which normally occurs when drinking spirits.
The study was conducted by German researchers and involved mice. To arrive at their findings, the mice were given three types of alcoholic beverages: beer containing hops, beer without hops and pure alcohol. A couple of hours later, researchers then studied how each drink affected the mice's organs like small intestine, blood and most importantly, the liver. The process was repeated 12 hours after.
The study found that mice that were given beer brewed with hops had less liver inflammation and fat build-up compared to mice that were given the other types of alcohol involved in the study. Notably, the mice also had lower levels of nitric oxide synthases, or molecules involved in headaches.
Researchers came to a conclusion that fermented alcoholic beverages may bring lesser hangover effects compared to spirits. According to Dr. Ina Bergheim, one of the study authors and a nutritional scientist at Friedrich Schiller University in Germany, the data showed that the presence of hops in beer contributed to the effect, Mail Online reported.
Meanwhile, if drinking spirits are inevitable, hangovers should be expected. There are recipes that can actually help the person feel better after a night of binge drinking. Most drinkers swear that water helps a lot, according to a report from Men's Health. Alcohol causes dehydration since it is a diuretic and to remedy this, one should replenish the lost electrolytes by drinking more water.
There are also meals that can help cure a hangover. Check them out in the video below.