Does tequila make you an a$$hole?

[AggieDave 6]

Then you're just an asshole. According to this study different drinks don't effect you differently. You effect yourself differently while drinking.

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What's your poison?


Many of us would like to believe that different types of alcohol can produce very different effects. If only it were that simple, reports Emine Saner

Tequila makes me violent and vodka sneaks up on me like an evil assassin of drunkenness. Gin, on the other hand, turns me mean. We are convinced that different drinks produce different effects yet, so far, science has failed to prove this.

"A lot of this is folk memories and cultural hangovers," says Dr Paul Clayton, pharmacologist and president of the forum on food and health at the Royal Society of Medicine. "A lot of it depends on what mood you were in when you started drinking and the social context. The idea that gin makes you unhappy probably comes from its nickname "mother's ruin" - the idea that it makes women depressed, which is a cultural idea. But fundamentally, alcohol is alcohol whichever way you slice it."

Article continues
Can the effects just be psychological? "I associate gin and tonic with a real pick-me-up, end-of-the-day reward drink," says Victoria Moore, the Guardian's wine writer. "Because it's not wine, it's not 'work' and I don't feel obliged to write notes, and so it never fails to make me feel buoyant and great. Personally, I find whisky the weirdest thing - it makes me feel solemn, lucid and sober. Even when I'm clearly not."

"The effects of alcohol are similar, whichever form they come in," says Dr Guy Ratcliffe, medical director of the Medical Council on Alcohol. "Any difference is dependent on the rate at which it is drunk and the amount. Alcohol is a simple molecule that is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. So if you drink a few shorts - spirits are generally 40% ABV [alcohol by volume] - quickly, you'll get a rapid increase in your blood alcohol level." Wine is usually enjoyed leisurely with meals. Tequila slammers, however, are usually done after a heavy drinking session.

Similarly, says Moore, "I strongly refute the idea that port gives you worse hangovers. Think about it: when do you drink port except after a four-course meal and about 10 bottles of wine? And then everyone blames the last drink."

Champagne gets me stumbling around quickly but this is likely to be because I only ever drink it at parties without eating properly. "And, says Dr Ratcliffe, "there is some evidence that because of the bubbles you can actually inhale the 'fumes' as you sip." It is also believed to be absorbed more quickly because it is carbonated.

Mixers make a difference too. All alcohol is a depressant and a sedative but drinking vodka with Red Bull or Coca-Cola (loaded with sugar and caffeine) will obviously have a different effect than drinking it neat. "Alcohol is a disinhibitor, it switches off the nerves in the frontal cortex - which tells us not to be an idiot or try to chat up the boss's wife at the Christmas party," says Dr Clayton. "It's activating, arousing, energising. Drinking alcohol with caffeine will be more of a stimulant. Until the alcohol knocks you sideways."

Guinness, on the other hand, is supposed to be good for you - a 1920s ad campaign said so. English hospitals fed it to patients after operations and blood donors were encouraged to drink it because it was thought to be high in iron. Even pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers were advised to drink it - advice that has since been withdrawn. In fact it only contains around 1.1mg of iron per pint (the recommended daily allowance for women is 14mg). One study, however, at Wisconsin University, found that Guinness contains antioxidants which help prevent blood clotting, so a pint a day - at mealtimes - may be as effective as aspirin at lowering the risk of heart attacks.

The "Tequila worm" is said to have aphrodisiac and hallucinogenic qualities and has been added to some bottles of mescal (tequila is a type of mescal) as a marketing gimmick since the 1950s ... It is a mariposa worm, which feeds on the agave plant, which is what tequila is made from. Although it can soak up a little of the alcohol, it has no noticeable effect on people. It seems that the myth that eating the worm induces a druggy trip comes from confusing mescal with mescaline, a hallucinogenic drug.

Absinth has also enjoyed a dangerous and hallucinogenic reputation. It contains thujone, a toxic chemical once thought to share qualities with THC, the psychoactive element in cannabis, although this has now been discredited. In any case the amount is too minimal in absinth to have any noticeable effect. Absinth is, however, 70% alcohol and will make you dangerously drunk.Whether it makes you mean, or happy, or clever, or violent, well there's no saying.

Five ways to beat a hangover
According to a systematic review published in the British Medical Journal last year, no compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing or treating hangovers. The worst symptoms are caused by the liver breaking down the products of alcohol. Alcohol is also a diuretic so speeds up water loss from your body causing dehydration (hence the dry mouth, headache, dizziness). It also irritates the stomach lining (causing nausea and stomach cramps).

1 Line your stomach: alcohol is absorbed more rapidly into the blood stream and will irritate the stomach lining more if your stomach is empty. Before going out, eat a meal containing fat, which is digested slowly and therefore protects your stomach, slowing the rate at which alcohol enters your body. A glass of milk has a similar effect.

2 Choose light-coloured drinks: congeners, found primarily in darker alcoholic drinks, may affect blood vessels directly, producing migraine-like effects (spasm and/or dilation of blood vessels) and intensifying a hangover. As a rule, the lighter the colour, the fewer congeners it is likely to contain (ie, vodka is better than whisky). Drinking one glass of water for every glass of alcohol will counter the dehydration.

3 Wrap up warmly: Alcohol dilates the blood vessels near the skin, causing us to lose body heat, but feel warmer - drunkenness followed by hypothermia is a leading cause of death in Russia.

3 Before bed: Along with drinking plenty of water, a slow-burning snack such as granary toast will help avoid low-blood-sugar on waking.

4 The morning after: Water! And take antacid for your stomach and paracetamol for your head (aspirin is too harsh on your stomach). A single cup of coffee may help as caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, so eases the dilated blood vessels, but go easy as it is also diuretic. Liquids rich in minerals and salts (eg, broth or bouillon), or sports drinks can help to rehydrate you. According to Prof Sir Colin Berry, professor emeritus of pathology at Queen Mary, University of London, that old favourite, vitamin C, will do nothing for your symptoms, while "hair of the dog" merely postpones the agony. And as for alternative remedies, the BMJ review found that commonly used dietary supplements (borage, artichoke and prickly pear) have zero effect.
Lucy Atkins

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1969955,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[SpeedRacer 1]

Yep.

I have one of those handheld breathalyzers & I've done a lot of experimenting with it. Both my experiences & stuff I've read have taught me HOW to drink.


1) don't drink on a completely empty stomach or a completely full stomach.

Drinking on a completely full stomach (after a huge meal) can leave you feeling all bloated & will slow down digestion.

If you drink on an empty stomach, like when you're hungry, there will be nothing blocking the pyloric valve in yur stomach & the alcohol will go straight on t hrough to the small intestines where it will be absorbed immediately into your bloodstream.

Eat a moderate meal first. If food is blocking the pyloric valve, the alcohol will enter your bloodstream only gradually. And some of the alcohol will have already oxidized before it gets a chance to make it into your small intestine, where it would have been absorbed.

If you drink on an empty stomach, your BAC will shoot up, after which it will take a long time to come back down. The alcohol deydrogenase enzymes in your body can only work so fast.

Say you arrive at a restaurant to meet some friends for dinner, & they're already drinking beer, but you're really hungry. When you sit down at the table, order water or a soda, then order your dinner. Don't order your first alcoholic drink until AFTER you've eaten at least a good portion of your dinner.

Speed Racer
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[SpeedRacer 1]

Another observation from my own experience:

They say alcohol is alcohol, regardless of the source. One serving of beer (12 ounces) and one serving of wine (5 ounces) & one shot of booze (1.5 ounces) are all supposed to have the same alcohol.

True, but I've found it's a lot easier to pace myself by drinking beer.
Much more difficult to get hungover as well if I stick to just beer.

Speed Racer
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[AggieDave 6]

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True, but I've found it's a lot easier to pace myself by drinking beer.

I definately agree with that.

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Much more difficult to get hungover as well if I stick to just beer.

Hmm...I personally get less hung over drinking whiskey. Not the super cheap stuff, but just good old fasion Jasper Newton.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[BillyVance 34]

No forms of alcohol consumption makes me an asshole. I'm just one of those who become pretty much a pacifist when I get a buzz.

I do know of plenty of people though who turn into mean assholes when they drink tequila.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[SpeedRacer 1]

from the article
"Drinking one glass of water for every glass of alcohol will counter the dehydration. "

See, you're kind of doing this already if you're drinking beer as opposed to booze.

Speed Racer
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[skycat 0]

I always order chips and salsa with my first drink along with a glass of water. I don't know my blood alcohol level but I never drink faster than one an hour and unless I know I'm not driving always refuse shots.

Fly it like you stole it!

[popsjumper 2]

...no, but drinking it could enhance the effects...

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[McBeth 0]

I will never again in my life drink duckfarts... NEVER!!!

[Thanatos340 1]

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I will never again in my life drink duckfarts... NEVER!!!

Awwww. Why not??

[DavidST 0]

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Much more difficult to get hungover as well if I stick to just beer.

Personally my hangovers from beer are worse then from liqour

Either one though can usually be stopped by 2 advil and a large class of water before i go to sleep.

As a general rule, the better it felt when you said it, the more trouble it's going to get you into.

[bozo 0]

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I will never again in my life drink duckfarts... NEVER!!!

I said that the last time Todak and I partied at Lodi. MY GOD MY HEAD HURT ! ! !

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Naw...it makes me a blithering idiot.
-But maybe I guess I am anyhoo...

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Lindercles 0]

Yes, drinking tequila does make me an asshole. Also on the list of things that make me an asshole are being sober, being awake, and people talking to me.

[AggieDave 6]

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Yes, drinking tequila does make me an asshole. Also on the list of things that make me an asshole are being sober, being awake, and people talking to me.

Exactly.

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Are YOU slomming?

Are you referencing that anti-drug commercial with the leeches? If so, that's awesome!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Lindercles 0]

[AggieDave 6]

But leeches have a real medical use! People need them!




(yes I know about the leeches uses medically over the history of man, my statement is supposed to be ironic).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ExAFO 0]

Red Bull and Jaeger is evil, but fun. Unless I am guaranteed of a ride home, I stick to beer.

THe solution for hangovers is two alka-seltzer and two liters of water prior to passing out.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[jheadley 0]

17 posts into a tequila thread, and no sign of Vinny... somebody call him and make sure he's ok.

[karenmeal 0]

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Hmm...I personally get less hung over drinking whiskey. Not the super cheap stuff, but just good old fasion Jasper Newton.

You know why you don't get hangovers from the good stuff? You don't pound good stuff. You savor it.

Just like I never get hungover from expensive wine, just cheap wine. I can't afford a hangover from expensive wine. (Although, that does sound like a good evening!)

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[AggieDave 6]

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You don't pound good stuff. You savor it.

Ummm...ok.

Jasper Newton is Jasper Newton Daniels, which was the real name of Jack Daniels. I prefer it over the expensive brands. I've had similar quantities with expensive stuff too, it gave me a hangover. Then again, it was a sweeter whiskey. It is possible to savor it and still put a decent amount back.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[karenmeal 0]

Ok.. so you enjoy the taste.. no need to pour it down your throat like with crap liquor.

You get my point.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[AggieDave 6]

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Ok.. so you enjoy the taste.. no need to pour it down your throat like with crap liquor.

You get my point.

I might have to conduct an experiment on Thursday...maybe next week. I might need to put together a research team of a select few people to come over to my house. We can also test the effects of good food, music and cigerettes on the overall effect of quality alcohol.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[karenmeal 0]

I would do a behavioral test before drinking commensed to determine a baseline comparison of the level of asshole-ish-ness. Then after blood alcohol levels reach a certain point, give your buddies the same behavioral tests again. If the guy who tells you to fuck off and pour him another drink is drinking tequila.. we may have a significant correlation and could possibly infer causation.


(Fucking A I've been studying tooooooo much!)

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[Gene03 0]

No, it just just turns all the people around me into assholes.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)