I will try this when I go out next time......
Living with Alcohol
by Steven Wm. Fowkes
Alcohol is everywhere within Western culture. Since the dawn of recorded history, the art of fermenting fruit and grain into wine and beer has been a much-prized skill. As technology advanced, distillation of alcoholic beverages into refined spirits became quite popular. The high alcohol content of refined spirits made them exceptionally stable for long-term storage and commerce.
Along with fermentation technology came drunkenness, hangovers and alcoholism. Drunkenness is caused by alcohol’s pharmacological effect on the human central nervous system. This effect causes incoordination, slowed reaction time, muscle relaxation, behavioral disinhibition and impaired judgment, all of which last for several hours after alcohol is consumed. There is no simple and effective way to prevent drunkenness other than to avoid alcohol consumption in the first place.
Hangovers are the result of alcohol’s toxicity. Hangover symptoms include headaches, dehydration, irritability, sleep disturbances, liver toxicity, nerve and tissue hypersensitivity, etc. These symptoms can be prevented or significantly reduced by simple interventions that will be discussed in this article. These interventions augment natural detoxification mechanisms that would otherwise be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of alcohol intake.
Alcoholism can result from any one or combination of addictive mechanisms created by alcohol’s powerful pharmacological effect on the body. Some of these mechanisms are psychological and some are physiological. This article will discuss primarily physiological mechanisms. Although the majority of people consuming alcoholic beverages do not have problems with regulation of their intake, a significant minority of users do. Some learn to control their intake through adaptive behaviors. Many learn to cope through a strategy of abstinence. And some become alcoholics.
Acetaldehyde Toxicity
Alcohol’s effects are not limited to those of alcohol alone. Alcohol is metabolized in a multi-step process into various metabolites which have unique biochemical effects of their own. The first step in this process is the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde. Since acetaldehyde is approximately 30 times more toxic than alcohol, acetaldehyde is a major cause of alcohol-associated side effects. If acetaldehyde is not efficiently converted into acetic acid (the second step in the metabolism of alcohol), severe toxicity can result. This is a common problem among certain people of Asian extraction (notably Innuit and American Indians) who have a genetic weakness in the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme [see Figure A]. Even in people who do not have this genetic trait, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase is often unable to fully keep up with the production of acetaldehyde during alcohol intoxication.
Cross-Linking
One of the most significant mechanisms of alcohol toxicity is the powerful cross-linking activity of acetaldehyde. Cross-linking is a process by which “molecular bridges” are formed between “reactive sites” on different molecules. These cross-links “tie up” the affected molecules and interfere with their normal function. In some circumstances, molecular function can be completely blocked by cross-linking.
A good example of the effect of cross-linking in action is the “tanning” of leather. The tanning process involves applying large amounts of a cross-linking agent (like tannic acid) to animal hides to cross-link the flexible collagen and elastin proteins in the animal skin to produce tough, inflexible, abrasion-resistant leather. This same process happens — at a slower rate — in people. Cross linking is largely responsible for age-related changes in human skin that make it inflexible, wrinkled and dry. Some of the most leathery skin you will ever see is found on alcoholics who stay outdoors a lot of the time. The ultraviolet (UV) and near-ultraviolet components of sunlight activate the cross-linking process.
There are many substances that can act as cross-linking agents. Aldehydes are one class of cross-linker, of which acetaldehyde is a member. Acetaldehyde is used in making plastics, adhesives and fabrics. The closely related chemical formaldehyde is used in insulating foams, plywood, particle board and embalming fluid.
Stewed, Not Pickled
The primary detoxification mechanism for scavenging unmetabolized acetaldehyde is sulfur-containing antioxidants [see Figure A]. The two most important are cysteine, a conditionally essential amino acid, and glutathione, a cysteine-containing tripeptide (a three-amino-acid polymer) [see Figure B]. Cysteine and glutathione are active against acetaldehyde (and formaldehyde) because they contain a reduced (unoxidized) form of sulfur called a sulfhydryl group, which contains a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom (abreviated SH).
Sulfhydryl groups interact with aldehydes to render tham incapable of forming cross links. This “mops up” or scavenges any stray acetaldehyde that is not properly metabolized into acetate (acetic acid) [see Figure A]. Although this is a powerful aldehyde detoxification mechanism, it is easily overwhelmed by the relatively large amounts of alcohol that are typically consumed with alcoholic beverages as compared to the amounts of alcohol and acetaldehyde that are produced through normal metabolism. Fortunately, sulfhydryl antioxidants can easily be fortified through dietary supplementation.
In one experiment with rodents [Sprince et al., 1974], a LD-90 dose of acetaldehyde (the dose that would normally kill 90% of the animals) was completely blocked by pretreatment of the animals with cysteine and vitamins B-1 and C. In other words, none of the cysteine-treated animals succumbed to the lethal dose of acetaldehyde! N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) protected almost as well as cysteine.
In another rodent experiment [Busnel & Lehman, 1980], alcohol’s ability to inhibit swimming after the alcohol had been completely metabolized was blocked by vitamin C. What this and the previous study suggests is that the pharmacologic and toxic effect of alcohol are different. The pharmacological effect (i.e., intoxication or drunkenness) is not inhibited by vitamin C or cysteine, but the toxic effect (e.g., the hangover, nervous irritability, swimming difficulty) is inhibited. This suggests that, with alcohol, you can “have your cake and eat it too.”
Dosage Suggestions
Typical doses of cysteine that are sufficient to block a major portion of the toxic effect of alcohol/acetaldehyde are about 200 mg per ounce of alcohol consumed. However, the rapid assimilation and metabolism of alcohol requires both prior and concurrent dosing of cysteine to maintain protection. Furthermore, a multifold excess of vitamin C is required to keep the cysteine in it’s reduced state and “on the job” against acetaldehyde. I use capsules (because they dissolve fast) containing 200 mg cysteine plus 600 mg of vitamin C (with or without extra B-1). I take one before I start drinking, one with each additional drink and one when I’m finished. It works remarkably well.
http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Suppleme...Vitamin-C.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/lc.html
Living with Alcohol
by Steven Wm. Fowkes
Alcohol is everywhere within Western culture. Since the dawn of recorded history, the art of fermenting fruit and grain into wine and beer has been a much-prized skill. As technology advanced, distillation of alcoholic beverages into refined spirits became quite popular. The high alcohol content of refined spirits made them exceptionally stable for long-term storage and commerce.
Along with fermentation technology came drunkenness, hangovers and alcoholism. Drunkenness is caused by alcohol’s pharmacological effect on the human central nervous system. This effect causes incoordination, slowed reaction time, muscle relaxation, behavioral disinhibition and impaired judgment, all of which last for several hours after alcohol is consumed. There is no simple and effective way to prevent drunkenness other than to avoid alcohol consumption in the first place.
Hangovers are the result of alcohol’s toxicity. Hangover symptoms include headaches, dehydration, irritability, sleep disturbances, liver toxicity, nerve and tissue hypersensitivity, etc. These symptoms can be prevented or significantly reduced by simple interventions that will be discussed in this article. These interventions augment natural detoxification mechanisms that would otherwise be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of alcohol intake.
Alcoholism can result from any one or combination of addictive mechanisms created by alcohol’s powerful pharmacological effect on the body. Some of these mechanisms are psychological and some are physiological. This article will discuss primarily physiological mechanisms. Although the majority of people consuming alcoholic beverages do not have problems with regulation of their intake, a significant minority of users do. Some learn to control their intake through adaptive behaviors. Many learn to cope through a strategy of abstinence. And some become alcoholics.
Acetaldehyde Toxicity
Alcohol’s effects are not limited to those of alcohol alone. Alcohol is metabolized in a multi-step process into various metabolites which have unique biochemical effects of their own. The first step in this process is the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde. Since acetaldehyde is approximately 30 times more toxic than alcohol, acetaldehyde is a major cause of alcohol-associated side effects. If acetaldehyde is not efficiently converted into acetic acid (the second step in the metabolism of alcohol), severe toxicity can result. This is a common problem among certain people of Asian extraction (notably Innuit and American Indians) who have a genetic weakness in the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme [see Figure A]. Even in people who do not have this genetic trait, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase is often unable to fully keep up with the production of acetaldehyde during alcohol intoxication.
Cross-Linking
One of the most significant mechanisms of alcohol toxicity is the powerful cross-linking activity of acetaldehyde. Cross-linking is a process by which “molecular bridges” are formed between “reactive sites” on different molecules. These cross-links “tie up” the affected molecules and interfere with their normal function. In some circumstances, molecular function can be completely blocked by cross-linking.
A good example of the effect of cross-linking in action is the “tanning” of leather. The tanning process involves applying large amounts of a cross-linking agent (like tannic acid) to animal hides to cross-link the flexible collagen and elastin proteins in the animal skin to produce tough, inflexible, abrasion-resistant leather. This same process happens — at a slower rate — in people. Cross linking is largely responsible for age-related changes in human skin that make it inflexible, wrinkled and dry. Some of the most leathery skin you will ever see is found on alcoholics who stay outdoors a lot of the time. The ultraviolet (UV) and near-ultraviolet components of sunlight activate the cross-linking process.
There are many substances that can act as cross-linking agents. Aldehydes are one class of cross-linker, of which acetaldehyde is a member. Acetaldehyde is used in making plastics, adhesives and fabrics. The closely related chemical formaldehyde is used in insulating foams, plywood, particle board and embalming fluid.
Stewed, Not Pickled
The primary detoxification mechanism for scavenging unmetabolized acetaldehyde is sulfur-containing antioxidants [see Figure A]. The two most important are cysteine, a conditionally essential amino acid, and glutathione, a cysteine-containing tripeptide (a three-amino-acid polymer) [see Figure B]. Cysteine and glutathione are active against acetaldehyde (and formaldehyde) because they contain a reduced (unoxidized) form of sulfur called a sulfhydryl group, which contains a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom (abreviated SH).
Sulfhydryl groups interact with aldehydes to render tham incapable of forming cross links. This “mops up” or scavenges any stray acetaldehyde that is not properly metabolized into acetate (acetic acid) [see Figure A]. Although this is a powerful aldehyde detoxification mechanism, it is easily overwhelmed by the relatively large amounts of alcohol that are typically consumed with alcoholic beverages as compared to the amounts of alcohol and acetaldehyde that are produced through normal metabolism. Fortunately, sulfhydryl antioxidants can easily be fortified through dietary supplementation.
In one experiment with rodents [Sprince et al., 1974], a LD-90 dose of acetaldehyde (the dose that would normally kill 90% of the animals) was completely blocked by pretreatment of the animals with cysteine and vitamins B-1 and C. In other words, none of the cysteine-treated animals succumbed to the lethal dose of acetaldehyde! N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) protected almost as well as cysteine.
In another rodent experiment [Busnel & Lehman, 1980], alcohol’s ability to inhibit swimming after the alcohol had been completely metabolized was blocked by vitamin C. What this and the previous study suggests is that the pharmacologic and toxic effect of alcohol are different. The pharmacological effect (i.e., intoxication or drunkenness) is not inhibited by vitamin C or cysteine, but the toxic effect (e.g., the hangover, nervous irritability, swimming difficulty) is inhibited. This suggests that, with alcohol, you can “have your cake and eat it too.”
Dosage Suggestions
Typical doses of cysteine that are sufficient to block a major portion of the toxic effect of alcohol/acetaldehyde are about 200 mg per ounce of alcohol consumed. However, the rapid assimilation and metabolism of alcohol requires both prior and concurrent dosing of cysteine to maintain protection. Furthermore, a multifold excess of vitamin C is required to keep the cysteine in it’s reduced state and “on the job” against acetaldehyde. I use capsules (because they dissolve fast) containing 200 mg cysteine plus 600 mg of vitamin C (with or without extra B-1). I take one before I start drinking, one with each additional drink and one when I’m finished. It works remarkably well.
http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Suppleme...Vitamin-C.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/lc.html
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