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Alcohol
Bits & Pieces
by Erowid

The "Bits & Pieces" section is intended for random snippets of information which don't fit
easily elsewhere and/or which have been newly added, but not yet carefully categorized.


  • Drink Water to Avoid Hangovers
    The best hangover remedy is to make sure to drink water while you're drinking alcohol. Ideally this means interspersing an occasional glass of water while you're drinking. But even if you can't do this...drink a large glass of water before bed and set another next to your bed to drink from in the middle of the night. Despite the simplicity of this method, most people don't do it.

  • Avoid Mixing Distilled Liquor with Beer/Wine
    When drinking to the point of getting drunk, combining multiple types of alcohol together is more likely to lead to nausea and/or vomiting. Mixing distilled spirits alcohol with beer or wine is reportedly particularly problematic, especially if the hard alcohol is added later.

  • Alcohol Takes a While to be Absorbed
    For those without a lot of experience drinking, it's important to know that alcohol takes a while to be absorbed into the bloodstream after drinking. Practically, this means that if you drink too fast, by the time you first notice effects, the alcohol which has yet to be absorbed could be enough to make you sick. Pace yourself.

  • Diuretic Effect
    Alcohol is a diuretic that blocks vasopressin (Anti-Diuretic Hormone) from regulating the osmotic gradient of the blood, therefore it is not the overall amount of fluids, but the total alcohol content that affects urination frequency. In other words, one pint of ale will increase urination as much as a good-sized shot of hard alcohol, although increased fluid intake will also increase urination independently.