Does the type of booze you drink really affect the way you feel the next day? Sure thing, say researchers, if your choice is between bourbon and vodka.

The way alcoholic drinks are made vary according to the type. Some alcohols have yeast, for example (like beer), while others may be high in tannins (like some wine). Even the hangover from wine can differ depending on the type you are drinking. Sparkling wines tend to leave some of the nastiest hangovers, people say.

When comparing bourbon and vodka, researchers at Brown University looked at the by-products (congeners) of the fermenting process. They contained:

• acetone
• acetaldehyde
• fusel oil
• tannins
• furfural

Acetone is a solvent, used in products such as lacquer, paint, inks, and degreasing agents. According to Dow, it’s also a natural byproduct: “Acetone is naturally produced and disposed of in the human body as a result of normal metabolic processes.”

Acetaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical that is the number one culprit for hangovers. It occurs naturally in ripe fruit, coffee, and bread. It is also a suspected cancer agent.

Fusel oil, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is a mixture of volatile, oily liquids produced in small amounts during alcoholic fermentation. A typical fusel oil contains 60–70 percent of amyl alcohol, smaller amounts of n-propyl and isobutyl alcohols, and traces of other components. Before industrial production of synthetic amyl alcohols began in the 1920s, fusel oil was the only commercial source of these compounds, which are major ingredients of lacquer solvents.

Tannins are naturally occurring substances that provide color and can be used as an astringent.

Furfural, according to Lenzel Pulp, is:  a clear, yellowish liquid with a characteristic odour of almonds. During viscose fiber production beech wood is cooked and Furfural is released in a double distillation process. This guarantees removal of contanimants and product of highest purity.

It is used for furfuryl alcohol, solvent in the refining of lubrication oil, solvent for anthracene and resins, distillation of butadiene, marker for heating oil, and herbicide production.

Obviously, on their own, these compounds can be very dangerous for consumption, but the small amounts in the alcohol you drink are not usually dangerous – however, that means consumption by a healthy person in  moderate quantities. Not anything else.

The researchers found:

Bourbon has 37 times the amount of congeners that vodka has. A new study has found that while drinking a lot of bourbon can cause a worse hangover than drinking a lot of vodka, impairment in people’s next-day task performance is about the same for both beverages.

Therefore, drinking bourbon would be worse on you the next day than drinking vodka. This shouldn’t be a big surprise because it is widely known that the clearer and lighter colored alcohols seem to be gentler than the darker ones.

To read more about the study, go to Bourbon versus vodka: Bourbon hurts more the next day, performance is the same.

~~~

Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Acccording to this article, Alpine enthusiasts, “don’t drink and ski,”

More than thirty Britons died in Alpine accidents last year, half of whom were under 25. Many died because they underestimated the risk of drinking at a high altitude.

While the person who is drinking may feel “ok,” there are added effects to alcohol when you are at a higher altitude;  this could play a role in the increasing number of alcohol-related ski and snowboard accidents.

Alcohol-fueled skiers and snowboarders don’t just put themselves in danger. Authorities in France have said that tipsy or drunk people can – and do – set off avalanches when they go into barred areas. The sections that are sectioned off are done so because they are either too dangerous to use or they are avalanche-prone.

Seriously, why do such public campaigns have to be put in place? I know – common sense isn’t so common any more. You have to wonder though, we *know* that alcohol does things to our perception and ability to react. To put people in danger because you choose to drink is just selfish and,  yes, stupid.

~~~

Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

The National Highway Safety and Traffic Association (NHTSA) and the Ad Council are continuing their efforts with their PSA campaign called “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.” With the holiday season upon us again, more people will be on the road and you can bet that a good few of them have had too much to drink.

According to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), about three out of every 10 Americans will be involved in a drunk driving incident in one way or another at some point in their life.

Many areas set up drunk driving check points. Some who drink learn about them ahead of time and manage to avoid them, but others get caught. The frustrating thing is if someone is caught for the first time, we hear that they’re a first-time offender. Really? Not according to a 1995 national survey, published on the MADD site, that showed “A first time drunk driving offender on average has driven drunk 87 times prior to being arrested.” That first time? It was the first time he or she was *caught*. Not quite the same thing.

Please – Buzzed driving truly is drunk driving. Why take the chance? Take the pledge not to drive drunk and help spread the word? You can also follow on Twitter (@buzzeddriving) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/buzzeddrivingisdrunkdriving).

~~~

Images: PhotoXpress.com and MorgueFile.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Alcoholism is not something that is funny nor should it be joked about. It’s a serious problem that requires serious interventions. But who in their right mind doesn’t know or hasn’t figured out that the longer you abuse alcohol, the more alcohol you end up using?

According to an Ohio State University press release about a study that looked at alcoholics and alcohol use,

The findings suggest that older problem drinkers may have developed a tolerance for alcohol and need to drink even more than younger abusers to achieve the effects they seek.

Really?

To be fair though, the study also did find that binge drinking, something usually thought to be associated with young adults, particularly students, is actually quite high among older drinkers.

The researchers looked at people who drank, how much they drank, and activities after drinking, such as driving while intoxicated.

Although it was found that older drinkers are actually fewer than younger ones, they had, not only more binge episodes (five or more drinks per day for men, four for women), they drank more over a week overall.

While this wasn’t mentioned in the study, it is likely that binge drinking or too much alcohol overall would be particularly alarming among seniors, considering the high number of them who take medications, many of which should never be mixed with alcohol.

~~~

Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Researchers studied almost 8000 people who had been hurt in accidents. They were looking to see if alcohol in the body at the time of the accident had any impact on the severity of the injuries. The study findings were published in the most recent issue of the journal American Surgeon.

The researchers weren’t interested in glamorizing alcohol and hope that this study doesn’t get misinterpreted, particularly since many of the trauma victims emergency room physicians see are due to alcohol to begin with. What they were looking for is if there was a connection to alcohol reducing injuries, more research could be directed in that direction to find a way to mimic the effects of alcohol when helping patients recover.

In the end, the results showed that among the people who were drunk when injured, only 1% died, compared with 7% of sober people who died. This is leading the researchers to look to see if there is a chemical reaction that may affect the damage, limiting it somewhat.

It doesn’t seem fair that the one who drinks and causes the accidents walks away, but if this helps further research, I guess something may come out of it.

~~~

Image: StockXchng.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Welcome to the latest Healthbolt Carnival. This edition features a collection of posts sent in over the past month (some, it seems, have gotten lost, so if you post isn’t here, apologies).

Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and start clicking on an eclectic selection of health and wellness posts…

Katherine McMahon from Gluten Free Alaskan Goddess discovers that Italy is full of Celiacs in Living Gluten Free in the land of Pasta and Pizza.

Alvaro Fernandez from SharpBrains writes about Cognitive screenings and Alzheimer’s Disease, saying, “The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America just released a thoughtful report advocating for widespread cognitive screenings after the age of 65 (55 given the right conditions).”

Dr Martin W. Russell reviews The LAP-BAND Solution: A Partnership in Weight Loss, a book by Australian surgeon Dr Paul O’Brien.

Jeff C. from Gobs Channel suggests Fruit before, Not after, saying that it will make quite a difference to your diet.

Kara-Leah from Prana Flow NZ gives us a A short home yoga practice for managing back pain, saying, “A healthy spine is probably one of the most wonderful things one can experience – I know the more I practice yoga, the more my spine opens up, the more liberated I feel from within my body. To create this practice, I have drawn on my many years of chronic back issues, and my many years of home yoga practice.”

Alvin Hopkinson from Relief From Gout gives information on Relief From Gout – How to Gain Comfort, saying, “Depending on the severity of the gout there are different methods used for treating it. Relief from gout comes from a combination of lifestyle changes, dietary modifications and exercising.”

ChristianPF from A Natural Organic looks at The Dangers of genetically modified foods (VIDEO), saying, “a great video exposing a bit of what is really going on with some of our foods”

Aparna from Beauty and Personality Grooming looks at the Medicinal value of honey.

Matthew from Fast Medical Information provides information on Treating Allergies At Home, saying, “If you have any allergies then the best treatment is always avoidance rather than treating the symptoms once they appear. This means avoiding the allergens that trigger the symptoms in the first place.”

MCA from Caffeine Addiction addresses how caffeine raises you blood sugar levels in Does Caffeine Raise Your Blood Glucose Levels?.

The Beauty Aid looks at Oprah’s Acai Berry Diet: Is it for you?.

Peter Garant from Humidifier Reviews writes about Better Air Through Cool Mist Humidifiers, saying, “Your doctor or physician may have just told you that you need a cool mist humidifier �C but you have no idea what that is exactly.”

swapnil warang from switch2life discusses How to know if you are underweight.

Clara Myers from Mind Mart asks do you know What’s In Your Carpet?, saying, “Most carpet ends up in the landfill leaching chemicals into the ground. What’s the alternative?”

Joel Gray from Health Tips 101 writes about All About Persimmon Tea And Why It Is Good For You.

dentalheroes from Dental Plan & Dental Insurance News provides 8 Questions to Ask Any Discount Dental Plan or Dental Insurance Provider.

candy from Carrie and Danielle discusses Biodynamic Wines and Holiday Meals: Balance for Your Palate and Planet.

Just_Kelly from Choosing Losing! reviews Skin MD Natural + SPF15 Shielding Lotion.

JRickG from JE Gonzalez presents Personal Deconstruction.

Bill Urell from Addiction Recovery Basics addresses the issue of Anorexia, The Starvation Diet, And Drinking, saying, “Using a starvation diet to justify drinking without weight gain is a desructive strategy that is gaining popularity.”

And that’s the end of this edition of Healthbolt Carnival. 

Don’t forget to submit your health, fitness, and wellness blog article to the next edition of Healthbolt Carnival using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a healthbolt carnival, blog carnival.

Post from: Healthbolt

But while I found it annoying, at least I did have access to clean water which is more that millions of people around the world have.

The World Health Organizations (WHO) says…

“…1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Unsafe water and inadequate sanitation kills nearly TWO MILLION people each year, mostly children under the age of five.”

That’s way too many people without clean drinking water.

Want to help out? Take the Clean Water Challenge Quiz…

For each correct answer, the American Chemistry Council, with support from the World Chlorine Council and individual companies, will contribute $0.20, up to a total of $200,000. Twenty cents is the cost of five chlorine tablets designed to disinfect 100 liters of water. With your help, we can contribute enough to disinfect 100 million liters of household drinking water.

These contributions will support efforts by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other partners to implement household water programs in Ghana, Niger and Mali as part of the West Africa Water Initiative. Using chlorine-based disinfection and safe water storage techniques, these programs will reach an estimated 3 million people, helping to reduce disease and improve quality of life.

After all, every drop counts.

Post from: Healthbolt

Jersey City, NJ was the first US city to routinely chlorinate it’s municipal drinking water, followed by Chicago’s union stockyards and many, many more cities around the country. Today, pretty much all U.S. public water systems rely on chlorine in some form for safe drinking water

As a result, waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid are virtually eliminated.

But as this guest post by the Chairman of Water Quality & Health Council highlights, there are always cracks in the system…

The Waterborne Outbreak in Alamosa, Colorado
by Chris Wiant, M.P.H, Ph.D.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the first use of chlorination to help ensure safe drinking water supplies.  The most important stories related to this milestone are those that did not have to be written – the outbreaks of waterborne disease that did not occur and the health and economic costs that have been avoided.  Instead we are able to talk about increased life expectancy and improved quality of life achieved by providing clean drinking water.  However, the people of Alamosa, Colorado, were recently reminded that without disinfection, public drinking water supplies are still vulnerable to contamination, just as they were 100 years ago and continued vigilance is necessary to ensure protection. 

In early March 2008, the first cases of a Salmonella outbreak  were reported in Alamosa, a town of 10,000.  Through epidemiologic investigation, the water supply was soon suspected and later confirmed as the source of the outbreak. This was stunning news to many who believed that Alamosa’s water was safe from contamination.

The water supply for Alamosa is drawn from a deep well and maintained in a closed system.  This enabled Alamosa to receive a waiver from rules that would otherwise require disinfection of its drinking water supply.  So, although it was not treated with chlorine or other disinfectant, the water supply was in compliance with applicable drinking water regulations at the time of the outbreak.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) concluded that contamination likely took place in an underground storage facility that had cracks and was visibly leaking.  Despite the high quality of water coming from the ground, the storage/distribution system presented a risk that could have been eliminated through the use of disinfection, highlighting the need for multiple protective barriers to address potential contamination.  The storage facility was repaired and the entire distribution system was subsequently flushed with superchlorinated water.  The water supply is now chlorinated and monitoring was increased to ensure clean water is provided to customers.

The outbreak resulted in over 400 reported cases of illness.  It is speculated that many more people were ill but didn’t seek treatment or were unable to get treatment as the medical care system became overwhelmed.  The economic cost of the outbreak, including the associated response costs and loss of tourism, has not been calculated.

Although CDPHE and other responders were praised for their prompt ction, which most likely limited the extent of the outbreak, it is now clear that the vulnerable water system could have been protected through the use of a proven and cost effective disinfection method.  100 years after chlorine was first used to help provide safe drinking water, the Alamosa outbreak serves as an important reminder of the value of disinfection in protecting public health. 

(Chris Wiant is President and CEO of Caring for Colorado Foundation in Denver Colorado and chairman of the Water Quality & Health Council.)

Post from: Healthbolt

(source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Maybe this will help you make up your mind.

It’s a quiz that sheds some light on not only the current candidates favorite drinks but also the drinks of past presidents and little about the history of wine in the White House…

Post from: Healthbolt