eli5: Why do alcoholic drinks high in sugar give you really bad hangovers compared to alcoholic drinks that have less sugar?
In: Biology
Alcohol is a duiretic which means it makes you pee more whoch dehydrates , now for sugar , sugar is also known as carbo-HYDRATE the more sugar in the body the more water you need to balance it out just like salt
because both dehydrate your body. Drink a lot of water (during the night) and you should be mostly fine
Breaking down big sugars is necessary for absorption through your small intestine. This process of breaking down sugar uses water and is called hydrolysis. That’s why sugary drinks can make you more thirsty. Also, having a lot of sugar in your blood means that your blood is very concentrated, which will lead to you needing to take in more water to compensate. The latter doesn’t contribute to the hangover though I believe.
Alcohol inhibits the production of the antidiuretic hormone, or vasopressin, which helps your kidneys to concentrate the urine by giving back some water to your blood. If you have less of this hormone because of alcohol, you’ll lose more water while urinating, resulting in less water available for the body. This leads to a hangover.
Tldr; basically, alcohol is the one doing the really bad stuff concerning hangovers, but drinking sugary drinks stimulates the effect even further.
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