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Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

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Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also ok to be completely sober. In general if someone tells you they are sober it’s not a great idea to suggest they have a drink on occasion.

Alcohol and caffeine are the only two drugs I can think of (okay, in some circles maybe cannabis too) where the response to "I cut this thing out of my life" is often "why?" or "you know you could still do a little?" One exercise to illustrate the ridiculousness and disrespect of phrases like that is to replace "alcohol" with "crack". "I don't do crack anymore" would basically never be responded to with "you know, yo…

The difference is that it's legal and widely enjoyed by others. Cigarettes are too but there's been a widespread shift in public opinion meaning this doesn't occur.

You'll sometimes see the same stuff said if someone announces they are vegetarian or made another dietary change.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me: being around drunk people for hours on end gets very tedious and you're no longer desensitised to your eardrums being pounded into the centre of your brain by the "less talking, more drinking" music volume.

God the absurdly loud music sucks. I don’t care what I’m inebriated by or how inebriated I am, it’s obnoxious. Bonus obnoxious-points to the restaurants who blast music. There’s two I can think of in Boston and while the food was great I’ll never go back because I could barely talk to my partner. Like, what’s the purpose of music that loud in that setting?

This is made worse by the modern sparse/industrial designs in a lot of newer restaurants. Exposed blank walls and wide open areas for echoes to proliferate. No carpet. No wall hangings. Concrete everywhere.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#193

I have discovered that for me personally, taking magnesium before, during or shortly after having drinks greatly reduces hangovers. I typically get really strong headaches the day after from 2-3 drinks. If I take a 100mg magnesium supplement it is massively reduced. Alcohol depletes magnesium from your body so I guess it counters that.

Magnesium saves me too. I've had persistent leg cramps since my teens. If I look at my right calf the wrong way, it seizes up, especially after a night of drinking. All of that went away when I started taking 200mg supplements daily. Big, big difference.

Do you find a certain type works better? Last time I looked into it there were various types like malate and glycinate and I got a bit of analysis paralysis. I also get the leg cramps at night!

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#195
post #109

I've been three+ years sober, really can recommend. Life is much different now, things that used to be fun aren't anymore - but I'm making strong connections nevertheless.

I think we are overcorrecting to the extremes. You don't have to be sober or crippling drunk you can have a drink once in a while and it's fine.

Some people can. Many people cant. Many people also lie to themselves and others about how much they drink. Regardless, drinking is bad for you in a whole slew of ways.

But sure. Some people can have a drink or two once in a while. Just like some people can smoke a cig or two once in a while. Just like some people can insert other thing that is unhealthy for you and addictive.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#196
There are many other alcohols, 2M2B(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tert-Amyl_alcohol) for example, which are "alcohol without the hangover" in a sense. I seem to remember a scientist looking into ways to deliver these alcohols(absorbed in cellulose IIRC). You'll note that these chemicals, like alcohol, can also lead to overdoses and since they are much more potent it is even more difficult to ensure one does not overconsume. I suspect that is why they have never been sold commercially for recreational consumption.

Of course, you will likely always get some after effects from any mind altering substance as you brain returns to normal, but alcohols which do not metabolize to acetaldehyde are going to result in much less suffering the following day or two.

I was somewhat fascinated by other alcohols for quite a while. A microbrewery I used to frequent had some abnormally potent brews despite being around 6%. By potent, I mean that my friends who would normally split a 36 pack of Coors lite between the two of them would be heavily buzzed after a pint or two. A little research led me to discover that fermented beverages are a complex cocktail of chemicals, many of which are psychoactive. Some of those chemicals can actually interfere with a simple alcohol measurement based on specific gravity, so you could be under-stating the ethanol content while also producing a brew with higher levels of mind-altering substances.

Here is one such substance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophol When yeast are nutritionally stressed, they will often excrete amino acids and other chemicals with alcoholic functional groups attached. By tailoring the nutritional profile of the wort, you can select for higher or lower levels of these mind altering substances. I suspect it has something to do with how some beverages, notably cider(very poor nutrition for yeast) can give me a hangover before I even manage to fall asleep.

In any case, it's fascinating that you can setup a brewery and crank out mind altering chemicals and be largely unregulated beyond the amounts of ethanol(and maybe methanol) in your products.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like how the FAQ has many, many different wordings of “What is in this?” and “How does this work?” with absolutely no information in response to them. It is good to not to have to worry about what is in a thing I’m ingesting or how or if it works at all.

Yeah, four or five clicks and my BS meter is off the charts. Not even so much as a hint as to a keyword to Google for more research. :/ But also, I'm rather intrigued and am doing some more looking now... EDIT: I can't even tell what the difference between Sentia Red and Black are. I can't tell if one of them actually contains Alcarelle (Which is hard to research since that's GABA Labs' former name). Folks, this is n…

AFAICT “Alcarelle” isn’t in the current product. It’s still in development. The current product is claimed to use plant extracts to try to do something similar.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's not fun anymore?

* spending the evening playing video games that I've already spent a ton of hours on and am not getting any kind of new experience out of anymore * hanging out at a bar and talking to intoxicated people * house parties In exchange, new things are fun: * skateboarding * learning Japanese * building an arcade cabinet in my basement (I'm a software developer, very little experience with wood working and other hardware s…

> * building an arcade cabinet in my basement (I'm a software developer, very little experience with wood working and other hardware stuff)

You should update your blog with the arcade cab project!

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#199

I have discovered that for me personally, taking magnesium before, during or shortly after having drinks greatly reduces hangovers. I typically get really strong headaches the day after from 2-3 drinks. If I take a 100mg magnesium supplement it is massively reduced. Alcohol depletes magnesium from your body so I guess it counters that.

One glass with each drink (get the water without ice, it’s easier to chug down) and then two or three full glasses before I go to bed. Haven’t had a hangover in 15 years.

Lots of pissing though

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#200
post #186

Alcohol without the hangover? What an invention! Scientists are working on this. I mean, other scientists devote their lives to fighting cancer, AIDS, heart disease. These guys go, "No, I'm focusing on hangovers. Oh, sure, thousands of people are dying needlessly, but this, ptooey. That's gotta stop. You ever try and watch football the next day? It's almost impossible. I'm devoting my life to that."

it seems to have become fashionable to think that all life is about is avoiding to die and in the process avoiding any sort of risk or fun whatsoever, but I'm personally glad that a few scientists are still concerned with improving the actual living part.

So to any scientists out there who can help me have a fun night out without feeling like a zombie next morning, as far as I'm concerned they're a genius. much more useful to me than people who seem to obsessed to make me die at 85 instead of 82 hooked up to a dozen machines

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