Here's a little deal I wrote up on bb.com some time back.
I was very interested in how exactly Alcohol consumption affects the system and what happens when you consume alcohol. Now, it is pretty common knowledge amongst BBers that Alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels, and it is awful for BBing in general. I was also interested in hangovers and why we get them so I did some research. Please excuse me if a post very similar to this has been posted before. So...I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible:
The common hangover consists of the following:
* Dehydration (dry mouth, extreme thirst, dry eyes)
* Trouble concentrating
* Anxiety
* Difficulty sleeping
* Weakness
* Headache
* Poor sense of overall well-being
* Sensitivity to light and sound
* Diarrhea
* Loss of appetite
* Trembling
* Nausea
* Fatigue
* Increased heart rate and blood pressure
The most common are headaches, dehydration and fatigue. Things that can make hangovers worse are:
* Having an empty stomach during alcohol consumption.
* Increased activity while drinking (i.e. s3x0r, dancing)
* Poor health
* Not enough sleep
* Improper Hydration
So Why do we get handovers?
As those of you who drink have experienced, when drinking the frequency of restroom use is increased. Basically when alcohol enters your bloodstream it causes your pituitary gland in your brain to stop producing vasopressin. Vasopressin is a chemical and without this chemical your kidneys automatically send water directly to your bladder rather then staying in your kidneys and reabsorbing the water into your body. This diuretic effect increases as the alcohol levels in your bloodstream increase (see the next paragraph for more information on the diuretic effects). The next morning many of us experience dry mouth and horrible headache; this is your body trying to rehydrate itself. The body's organs try to find hydration by taking water from the brain and in turn the size of your brain decreases and pulls on the membranes that connect your brain to your skull resulting in stress/pain.
Since urination is very frequent, other things are also happening. During urination your expelling salt and potassium which is necessary for proper muscle function. Also, frequent urination depletes glycogen levels by converting glycogen into glucose and expelling it out of the body in urine.
One more thing, after drinking, your sleep also suffers. Alcohol consumption also inhibits the release of glutamine so when you stop drinking, the body tries to make up for this by producing a large amount of glutamine. This is usually happening while you are sleeping and the increase in glutamine levels begins to stimulate your brain leaving you with poor sleep. Since this happens, you won't be able to reach the deepest sleep possible (this also contributes to fatigue the next day).
So what can I do to minimize the effects of alcohol the next day?
Well ideally, alcohol consumption should not be mixed with body building but hey, it happens! By lifting the day after drinking you are not only putting a strain on your body/CNS but you are also working at an inefficient capacity. The congeners (a toxic byproduct of alcohol) stay in your liver for an extended period of time and the only way to fully get rid of your hangover is to give your liver the time necessary to get these toxins out (not to mention it takes more than one day for your natural test levels to fully rebound).
Things that work
Eggs: Eggs contain a substance known as cysteine which breaks down the toxin acetaldehyde which is poising your liver. Eggs can help process these toxins faster.
Bananas: Since your body is depleted of potassium, banana will help replenish your system of potassium. I'm guessing 1 gram of straight K would help as well. (Note: Potassium is also found in sports drinks like Gatorade)
Water: This is obvious. As a prevention method, it is smart of have a glass of water with every drink. As an added bonus, you can add sugar and salt to water to help replenish sodium and glycogen levels.
Juices: Real fruit juices contain many beneficial vitamins and nutrients that will help rejuvenate the body.
Aspirin and Painkiller alike: Excedrin can be very beneficial as the acetaminophen will help with the pain and the caffeine will reduce the size of the pounding blood vessels. (Note: Studies have shown a correlation between prolonged use of alcohol and acetaminophen and liver damage. Also, a high level of caffeine will only increase diuretic effects which are not optimal during this period.)
Time: The best solution.
Things to do before drinking that can help
Take a multivitamin to better prepare your body of vitamin depletion.
Drink plenty of water.
Eat a full meal.
Things to do while drinking that can help
Try to limit yourself to one drink an hour.
Drink a glass of water with every drink.
Try to stick with the same type of alcohol the whole time.
Things to do before sleeping that can help
Take two aspirin to help decrease the intensity of the hangover.
Take another multi.
Eat breakfast (ideally including eggs, a good source of potassium, a good source of fructose, a good source of electrolytes, sugars, and salts (Pedialyte is great for this).
Try to stay away from coffee, tea, and soda to keep the extra caffeine from dehydrating your system.
Of course this is not a full analysis of what happens during alcohol consumption and the hang-over people but this is info I found useful; hopefully some of you will find it useful as well. I also hope I didn't screw up any of this information in the process. Feel free to correct my mistakes. Thanks.