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- Many drink a glass of water between drinking alcohol to help avoid the effects of a hangover.
- The body doesn't get dehydrated when drinking alcohol, molecular biologist Patrick Schmitt says.
- He said drinking water won't help with a hangover, as hangovers aren't caused by dehydration.
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My phone is vibrating - but I don't have to look at it. I know exactly what the display says.
Somewhat exasperated, I take a sip of water. I'm one of those people who, if it weren't for modern technology periodically reminding them to hydrate, would probably end up looking like a prune in a very short space of time. I rarely manage to empty a whole glass in one go.
There is, however, one exception to that rule: at around two o'clock in the morning, after a few too many tipples, I no longer need an alarm to remind me to drink water.
As if by magic, I'm able to knock back glasses of water at an astonishing rate, as if Nestlé might rock up to the local reservoir at any moment.
I'm currently in the middle of a last-ditch attempt to avoid a hangover - because last night, once again, I didn't follow the recommendation to drink a glass of water with every helping of wine.
Alcohol doesn't actually dehydrate the body
According to molecular biologist Patrick Schmitt, drinking water wouldn't have helped anyway. Neither did my sorry attempt to ease the threatening symptoms by drinking copiously after the event.
"It's a misconception that drinking water helps you avoid a hangover," said Schmitt.
According to the results of a study published in the 1950s, it's true that the body excretes more water while drinking alcohol.
"However, the wrong conclusions were drawn from these results," said the scientist. "It was thought that, as the body was excreting more water, it would therefore become dehydrated - and this was simply accepted as a conclusive explanation for why we get hangovers."
However, the hypothesis was never tested, let alone confirmed.
When we metabolize alcohol, our bodies are processing the compound ethanal. Some may lack the enzymes to effectively expel alcohol from their bodies, which scientists think is part of the reason we get hangovers.
According to a report in the Berliner Morgenpost, Schmitt decided to conduct his own study and monitor the hydration of his subjects.
The study found that alcohol consumption doesn't lead to dehydration, despite increased fluid excretion. "This means that the body does not lose any significant amounts of water," said Schmitt.
"That recommendation to drink a lot of water when consuming alcohol is based on exactly this misconception," he explained. "Since the body isn't actually getting dehydrated, drinking water alongside alcohol has absolutely no effect on whether or not you end up with a hangover."
Drinking water will have a negligible effect on a hangover at best
If you think logically about it, there's water in both wine and beer - they are drinks, after all.
Though alcohol is present in both these drinks, you're also adding liquid to your body when you drink them. "You're never really 'dehydrated'. It's not too dissimilar to the myth surrounding coffee."
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Only if you drink the alcohol in a very concentrated form - in other words, if you're throwing back shots - is the alcohol content in your stomach very high for a very short period of time.
"If you then drink a sip of water, the stomach mucosa may be slightly less affected, for a short while," said Schmitt. "Though this hasn't yet been investigated, we know it has no effect on a hangover itself in any case."
Drink water instead of alcohol - not in addition to it
If you start drinking water the next day, it's too late by then anyway.
You can drink as much water as you want - it will have little to no effect on your pounding skull.
"At most, it might alleviate the symptoms of having a dry mouth from drinking and cigarettes - but obviously I'm not going to tell anyone not to drink water if they think it makes them feel better," said Schmitt.
Of course, that also applies to the evening itself. "You can tell yourself your hangover will be less painful if you drink water with every glass of wine but that won't make it true."
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That said, to make it abundantly clear, drinking water obviously isn't going to do any harm - it's relatively pointless if you're trying to alleviate a hangover but it's hardly likely to make it any worse.
"Besides, you can't drink alcohol if you're busy drinking water," said Schmitt.
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