What is a hangover?
If you have ever drunk more alcohol than you should, then you are no stranger to the symptoms of a hangover. The throbbing head, dry throat, queasy stomach and inability to get out of bed will all be familiar feelings. In America, each year, hangovers and drink related absenteeism cost the economy an estimated 149 billion US dollars (USD). Alcohol is a diuretic, and drinking too much causes the body to dehydrate. It also causes the drinker to urinate more, losing more fluids from the body. It is the dehydration of the brain that causes the intense headaches of a hangover. The brain shrinks slightly when dehydrated and moves away from the skull. Like any drug, alcohol introduces toxins or poisons into the body. In order to cope with these toxins, the body produces enzymes to combat them and remove them from the body. It is the amount of toxins one ingests that are the biggest contributors to the hangover. Pure alcohol or ethanol is supposedly toxin-free. Experts say that toxins present
