New Scientific Process Could Allow Drinking Minus the Hangovers

We often wonder what the almighty allure of drinking really is. Some of us think that we do it for the social value. Others might claim that they drink because they consider themselves a flavor seeker. Arguments over why we drink will never truly be solved. However, we do understand what happens when we drink too much: you become drunk. Being drunk can be fun for the time being, but the nasty after effects that you experience make you regret doing so. That is why it is amazing that a team of scientists in Korea believe that they have found a way to prevent hangovers.

Hangovers happen to be our punishment for having too much fun the night before and not moderating the amount that we drank. Scientists in Korea have been testing ways to stop us from having hangovers the next day. They were able to discover that whenever you oxygenate booze, it causes your body to sober up faster, thus preventing a hangover the next day. Let me briefly explain how this process actually works.

What the scientists are doing here is quite simple. They are simply adding more oxygen to the booze that is made. The result is that the booze becomes a bit more fizzy, but will also help you fight that horrible hangover that normally would come the next day. However, with all good news there is bad news. Oxidizing booze will result in you not being drunk as long as you normally would when consuming large amounts of alcohol. This is a negative for those people (like myself) who enjoy the feeling of being drunk.

A Korean company called Sunyang Co. plans to launch a product that uses the idea of oxidizing booze. The product will be called O2 Lin and promises to prevent hangovers for the drinker. Reviews of the drink have been positive for the most part. Flavor experts tend to hate this product because it takes away from the bold flavors that are obtained by not being a fizzy drink in the first place. Oxidizing alcohol causes flavor to be lost in the process. Some believe this is a high price to pay to avoid hangovers, when others believe it is a small price to pay.

My opinion on this new process is that it is going to capture a large segment of the alcohol consuming market. A lot of people socially drink and tend to get caught up in the moment. This usually results in them having a nasty hangover the next day and regretting even drinking in the first place. A drink like this could provide people with the opportunity to have a safety net while socially drinking. We will probably see this process implemented in alcohol beverages in the United States sometime next year. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be one of the first people in line to buy some.

Sources:
Steven Mottor, Personal Review, 2010
InterScience, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123305743/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0, 2010