What is a hangover?
There are numerous theories about the causes of a hangover. The truth is, no one has pin pointed one specific theory. It is most likely the combination of all of them.
Factors to consider include:
Alcohol works as a diuretic, which means it actively causes you body to get rid of water. It does this by decreasing a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) secreted from the brain (pituitary gland in fact). This results in an increase in aqua pores (which allow more water to be released from your body). These aqua pores are in your kidneys and result in diluted urine (diluted because there is a lot more water than there should be). On average, for each serving/drink of alcohol, you loose an extra 120mL of urine and this is on top of the water consumed with the average serving of wine or beer (all this water is lost as well!).
Despite all this science, studies have shown that the degree of dehydration is not related to the severity of the hangover. This implies there are many other factors that contribute to a severe hangover and dehydration is not a factor on its own.
How can the Hangover Hero help? We can't do anything but recommend what to do. You just need to make sure you consume as much water as you can with the capsules before bed. Drinking water throughout the night is less effective as this would most likely increase your urine output and you'll be back to square one.
2. Inflammation in the body
Alcohol causes damage to your body and there is not doubt about this. A study looking at inflammatory markers found that these were increased after a large consumption of alcohol. These specific markers may in fact be the reason you feel so unwell after a long night of alcohol drinking.
A well known inflammatory marker that doctors use is C-reactive protein or CRP. Cytokines are also mediators of the inflammatory pathway and are altered after the consumption of a lot of alcohol. Some of these cytokines are also what make you feel miserable when you have a cold or viral infection.
How can the Hangover Hero help? 1 of the ingredients, prickly pear, has been shown to decrease inflammatory markers in the setting of a large amount of alcohol (CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE)
3. Toxic metabolites (break down products of alcohol)
Alcohol is broken down in the body by the liver.
Why do I feel so bad?
Number of issues:
1. Post alcohol depression