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Prefer vodka to whiskey for milder hangover: Study
by Jaspreet Virk - December 19, 2009 - comments
In a study involving 95 young people, alcohol resulted in more hangover than placebo-based drinks, and bourbon caused worse hangover than Vodka
New York, December 19 -- Holiday season is around the corner and as usual boozing is going to be a common indulgence followed by hangovers, a horrible consequence. In order to avoid nasty hangovers, consume lighter drinks like vodka than Wine, whiskey and beer, a new study states.
According to the study by Damaris J. Rohsenow from Brown University in Rhode Island, harder beverages like whiskey contain more toxic properties, leading to worse hangover.
The byproducts in alcohol called congeners are toxic, causing hangover. Congeners are impurities produced during fermentation, and include chemicals such as acetone, acetaldehyde, and tannins.
Though they are responsible for most of the taste, aroma, and color of alcoholic beverages, congeners are the main reason of hangover.
The amount of congeners is higher in darker alcohols. For instance, bourbon has 37 times more congeners than vodka.
Scientific evidence for stronger hangovers
There has been anecdotal evidence stating that darker liquors lead to worse hangover, but there was no scientific evidence.
In order to test this, the researchers conducted the study on a group of 95 people in the age group 21 and 33.
All the participants were healthy heavy drinkers, and none of them had reported alcohol related problems or sleep disorders prior to the experiment.
In order to compare hangovers, the participants were given vodka or bourbon on one night and a placebo-based beverage on a separate night.
The researchers also repeatedly measured breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels of the participants until the levels reached zero.
The following morning they were asked to fill the questionnaires to rate their hangovers. As was anticipated, alcohol resulted in more hangover than placebo, and bourbon caused worse hangover than Vodka.
The symptoms of the hangover included headache, tiredness, illness, thirst etc.
Levels of brain impairment same
The researchers also noted that no matter which alcohol was consumed by the participants, all of them reported the same level of brain impairment.
Neuropsychological tests were conducted to test speed, vigilance, and concentration skills during the hangover.
It was found that, though higher congener was responsible for hangover and also caused brain impairment, it did not cause participants to perform worse on the cognitive tasks, when compared to those who consumed vodka.
Further, it did not have any effect on sleep. Participant who consumed bourbon slept as well as those who consumed lighter beverage, vodka.
The results of the study will be published in the March issue of journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.