Drinking Water Won't Help You Avoid Hangovers: Scientist

Many drink a glass of water between drinking alcohol to help avoid the effects of a hangover. However, the body doesn't get dehydrated when drinking alcohol, molecular biologist Patrick Schmitt told Lisa Schönhaar and Qayyah Moynihan of Business Insider Deutschland.

Photo Insert: One of the most popular prevention methods for hangovers has been debunked.

He said drinking water won't help with a hangover, as hangovers aren't caused by dehydration. "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, a report in the Berliner Morgenpost stressed.

The Schmitt 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."

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