Episode 11: The Truth About Hangovers

You may or may not have noticed I’ve been AWOL for quite a few days. Let me discuss with you something that has been close to my heart during that time.

“hang·o·ver

n.

1. Unpleasant physical effects following the heavy use of alcohol.

2. A letdown, as after a period of excitement.

3. A vestige; a holdover: hangovers from pre-war legislation.”

~Dictionary

Clearly I am referring to point 1. Now I’m not divulging whether the hangover which was the muse for this post was my own or if I was a witness to another’s grief. Whoever the owner of that particular hangover was though, I'm sure you will be glad to know, has made a full recovery.

Let’s look at that definition though.

“Unpleasant”- understatement of the century

“Physical” – you forgot psychologically harrowing and mentally destructive

“Effects” – symptoms of abuse would be more descriptive here

“Heavy Use” – now that really depends upon your age/sex/body/dinner/mental state

Here is my broader definition – The mini death experienced from 2-24 hours after drinking alcohol without having your dinner.

We all know the ‘rules’. Like the breaking of the school rules leads to detention, breaking of the drinking rules leads to hangover central.

The Rules

1.       Don’t mix grape and grain. Or ‘Beer after liquor makes you sicker’. Beer or Wine plus spirits = no.

 

2.       Eatin’ is Cheatin’ – Eating is cheating except what you are actually cheating is yourself out of a hangover. Cheat away and laugh at the apocalyptic zombies you have the pleasure of being friends with the next day. The greasier the better (the food, not your friends) as this will line your stomach better and slow down alcohol absorption.

 

3.       Every glass of water taken the night before saves you drinking two the next day. Hydration is KEY.

The actual rules s designated by UK government are; 21 units per week for men, including 2 alcohol free days and no more than 4 units in one day. For women it’s 14 units per week, no more than 3 a day and 2 free days per week.

Horrify yourself about the details of units here.

Recent studies have shown massive variations in guidelines though, even within Europe. Some countries make no differentiation between men and women and debate whether alcohol free days are required. I think my rules above are far more helpful, I’ll consider submitting them as internationally agreed consumption guidelines.
 

The Facts

1.       The Hypothalamus is a sneakily small part of the brain; its size is not relative to its role. It’s like the chief housekeeper of the body and drives Homeostasis (regulating and maintaining the internal conditions e.g. temperature,). Alcohol seriously upsets its delicate balance and this is displayed by increased blood pressure, hunger, thirst and urge to pee. Body and temperature and heart rate decrease.

 

2.       The pituitary gland, controlled by the hypothalamus, secretes ADH (anti-diuretic hormone). ADH acts on the kidneys to reabsorb water. Alcohol consumption leads to the inhibition of ADH which in turn leads to decreased absorption of water in the kidneys meaning you pee more often and become severely dehydrated. This is the main culprit for the hangover.

3.       Alcohol is broken down by an enzyme called Alcohol dehydrogenase into Acetaldehyde. A variant in the gene for this enzyme, found commonly in Asian people, leads to increased metabolism of alcohol. However many also have a variant in the gene for acetaldehyde dehydrogenase which breaks the acetaldehyde down which means that although they don’t feel as much of the ‘buzz’ from alcohol consumption, they have increased side effects due to toxic build up. This is called Alcohol Flush Reaction.

4.       Do not take paracetemol (acetaminophen). Paracetamol and ethanol are detoxified by the same pathway in your liver, the cytochrome P450 oxygenase pathway. Taking them both together can lead to critical shutdown by overloading the pathway. This dramatically increases chances liver cirrhosis, failure and death.

5.       The Hippocampus is a part of the brain involved in memory. Alcohol reaching here leads to the age old question ‘What happened last night?.

The Cure

Here it is!

 The scientifically proven antidote to all hangovers!

1.       Water

2.       H₂O

3.       Liquid dihydrogen monoxide (that’s just water too babes)

 was going to do a whole section on The Myths, but it’s much easier to say everything except water is a myth. Raw eggs, black coffee, having another drink etc only help either by delivering you their water content or delaying the effects.

It’s not really all that surprising, water is the basis for life on earth, and in this case can revive you from apparent death. I apologise for not giving you a matrix style pill that reverses the night’s damage and has you dancing around doing the housework and singing to mice Cinderella style. Or did you do that last night?

“Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as Hydrogen and Oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.”

~Dave Barry

Option 1 - If you have become unexpectedly inebriated the only way to avoid a hangover is to continue consuming alcohol until you die.

Option 2 - Option 1 is not a real option and I strongly recommend putting the jaegerbomb down, drinking some lucozade and going to bed. Followed upon awakening by a full Ulster fry and approximately an Olympic sized pool amount of water.

Option 3 – Stay sober? Or just follow up on your progress by paying better heed to The Rules next time and attempt to “drink responsibly”. https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

So really the truth about all hangovers is, they’re like paper cuts. You feel like you’re going to die and yet receive not one button of sympathy.  

Episode 10: Books or Looks?

I restrained myself last week.

 7^th March 2013 was World Book Day, but I waited.

I waited in order to give everyone a fresh slap in the chops with the wonders of literary genius.

I waited, but with a plan, to wait until a week later when you may have ‘forgotten’ to pick up that book you bought or ‘forgotten’ to read that new novel someone lent to you or maybe you even ‘forgot’ to go and sign up at the library?

NEVER FEAR! I am here to remind you to take that trip to the library, have a browse on Amazon or maybe even purchase the sequel to the book you decided to read last Thursday, all because of the encouragement provided from World Book Day.

People should be encouraged to follow a more book filled life. Books have always been a part of my life, as my mummy likes to tell people about my childhood; ‘Ruthie would just sit there in the corner with her wee book, no trouble at all’. Thanks mummy, so I’ve been a total geek my entire life then? She just kills any social credibility I may have mustered. But it was, and still is, true;

Here we have le bookcase bottom right, these shelves are dedicated to books I read for pleasure, academic books and textbooks etc. have another bookcase, on the top is my sausage dog book bookmark (see episode 7 for explanation) and the bottom left shows my little bookie beauties all lined up and waiting for my literary consumption, like a book to do list on the top shelf, yet to be explored.
It makes me happy just thinking about sitting down and reading them all.

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
~Jane Austen

I love listening to people reasoning out why they don’t read;

1.       I don’t have time to read. Do you not have time to eat, have a bath, travel to work or go to bed? Unlikely.

2.       I can’t afford books. Library?

3.       I have no space to put them. Although it isn’t my personal preferred method – eReader?

4.       I don’t like books. Well see you in hell blasphemer.

Saying you don’t like ANY books is an extremely loaded claim as you are implying that you have read every book and didn’t enjoy a single sentence. Have you read every book in the world?

No you haven’t, and your hypothesis on not liking ANY books is therefore null and void. It’s also very narrow-minded, like saying I don’t like ANY fruit because you didn’t like a plum you had once when you were sixteen.

Everyone likes something, unless you’re Eeyore, and in fact even he likes eating thistles. So you see Eeyore might enjoy reading a nice book about the best thistle species for summer and where to find them?

‘Having time’ to read is also an easily solved issue, most people these days spend their evenings watching TV. Mind-numbing, thought burning, intelligence annihilating TV. For HOURS on end. Everything in moderation, there’s nothing wrong with catching up with some of your favourite programmes and enjoying cuddling up with a movie. But just think on the fact that you burn more calories sleeping than watching TV. That is how much of nothingness TV is. Your brain is more active sleeping and you aren’t even conscious.

The benefits of reading;

·         It makes you smarter. Obviously! Not only are you keeping your brain active and improving your memory but you are gathering more information whether that’s learning real facts or dissecting moral dilemmas.

·         Reading improves your vocabulary, grammar and spelling which also benefits your own creativity and writing skills.

·         It’s a stress buster. I find this exceptionally potent myself, which is why I very often delve into fiction. Escaping from reality makes it much easier to step back and deal with issues.

·         It’s fun! You know what you could read which is regularly updated with interesting short reads? A blog ;).

The benefits of reading with a cup of tea;

·         Above list plus you also now have a nice cup of tea.

The benefits of reading with a cup of tea and biscuits;

·         Now you have tea AND 2 milk chocolate digestives. Win for life already and you haven’t even opened the book yet! It’s all about preparation, settle down somewhere quiet and comfortable and prepare to enjoy yourself.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
~ C.S. Lewis

As highlighted in the movie Matilda by her somewhat simple-minded mother, Mrs Wormwood, some girls are led to believe you have to set your life down a path based on either books or looks. As if being academic means you couldn’t possibly groom yourself.

I mean sometimes you stay up late to just finish the end of the chapter, and then just the next chapter and then the next, and just a few more pages... and you know what? There’s not that much left to just finish the book! You probably look like you’ve suffered from a lifetime of insomnia the next morning because you were too tired to get up and brush your hair but wasn’t it satisfying finding out what happened to Harry and Voldemort??

Less of your old fashioned opinions Mrs Wormwood, smart women are sexy! Even with bags under their eyes...

 Everybody has their place of solace, a thing you do just for you that relaxes and refreshes and lets you escape problems and worries. Books do that for me,

and sometimes there’s even a snuggly sausage dog hiding between the pillows and blankets on your reading chair!

I have my book, my sausage dog, fluffy blankets, a cup of tea and 2 biscuits. If the fiancé comes around with a crème egg now I’ll just have to die because my life will have already hit its peak.

 

A few of my own recommendations for Geeks to get started;

 For a little Geek;

Tony Robinson’s Weird World of Wonders: Funny Inventions – Tony Robinson and Del Thorpe

For a Chic Geek;

How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything – Camilla Morton

For a History Geek;

Fall of Giants – Ken Follett

For a Fantasy Geek;

The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan

Episode 9: A Chic-y Geek-y Day

Geek and Chic. These two words have become synonymous together as a regularly coined phrase.

The phrase was first used by the fashion industry in the mid 2000s to define the trend of incorporating stereotypically ‘geeky’ ensembles into their shows. It’s a sort of semi-sophisticated style; think retro work wear, high waists and sensible accessories.  It also made glasses an acceptable fashion piece.

Being a geek is not wearing fake glasses but being passionate about your subject.  Someone should conduct a study on the connection between wearing glasses and IQ. Is your brain bigger so it affects your eyes because there’s no room for them? Maybe wearing glasses means your eyes can be lazier so there’s more energy for brain function? I think not. I think the correlation between people wearing fake glasses and being idiots would be much stronger.

I diverge, apologies.

Recently though, it’s actually more of a description than a specific fashion movement. Like someone saying ‘yea they’re kind of geek chic’ really translates as ‘they seem really smart but are actually pretty cool and fun and don’t wear tweed jackets and bow ties either’. Unless it’s in fashion of course, but ‘geek’ has morphed from an insult to a compliment.

It is very cool indeed to be a geek. Since everyone has read the humorous breakdown of the comparison of wealth of Bill Gates vs. Michael Jordan (have a laugh at it here; http://imgur.com/gallery/y2Brq) there has been a mental shift to; “Oooh, probably shouldn’t make fun of the physics nerd. Captain of the rugby team as your formal date? Nah, Captain of the chess club please!”

So now that I’ve convinced you that I’m cool..... oh. Right. You aren’t buying it? Whatever. My Glasses are real!! And I quite enjoy my paradoxical life. Running from a Genetics lecture to the launch of the first heat of Miss Northern Ireland is all in a typical Thursday. Quick change from scrubs to stilettos, moving between environments where the scale of image importance ranges from nothing to everything.

Public lectures aren’t really the kind of place you get your photo taken at. If you even asked someone to take a photo of you beside a groundbreaking molecular model of the structure of DNA they would be like why? Did you win an award? So I have a photo for you of the presentation screen and my complimentary cup of tea.

A Miss NI heat is a different cup of tea all together, you get your photo taken beside everything and everyone! And I love both atmospheres; they are social and relaxing for completely opposite reasons which is why I think they complement each other so perfectly. That is the real thing connecting the words Geek and Chic. Yin and Yang, life is all about balance.

You want to hear about my day? Well alright then, seeing as it was a good one!

Work bit – 6am. YES, 6am. Did you think it was all social hilarity and no work?

“For every two minutes of glamour, there are eight hours of hard work.”

~Jessica Savitch

 

 Geek bit – So I worked a little earlier than usual so I could get to a public Genetics lecture at my University, Queens University Belfast (QUB), specifically the School of Biological Sciences.

 I love Genetics even more than I love crème eggs. We had a great introduction to the ethical questions raised by modern advancements in the field of Genetics, entitled Genethics, from Prof. Anne Hughes of QUB.

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 we have been made privy to a vast amount of data about ourselves. Our knowledge about genetic disorders as well as genetic susceptibility to certain illnesses has given us the potential to unlock personalised medicines and gene therapy. However;

“Knowledge Is Power”

~Sir Francis Bacon

“With great Power comes great Responsibility”

~Stanley Martin Leiber

Described wonderfully as the “50 Shades of Grey” in Genetics it demonstrates the varying shades of grey that people have on opinions of ethical importance, as well as the future problems we will encounter as our knowledge of genetics grows, perceptions of society develop and doctor patient relationships alter.

1.       Do you have the right to know the contents of your genetic code?

2.       And do others have the right to this information?

A potent decision in the near future for many people will be the potential for genetic screening of foetuses. This can include disorders from the mildly interfering to extremely debilitating like Kleinefelter Syndrome, Down Syndrome and Duchene Muscular Dystrophy.

With studies showing that the numbers of women terminating foetuses with genetic deficiencies is directly proportional to the doctor who gives them the news, needs for non-directive counselling is more crucial than ever. If the doctor suggests a termination is a viable option the responsibility is removed from the parents and can swing their decision either way.

Opposite problems also arise in that some parents can ask for attributes in their ‘designer babies’ for example to ensure the child has dwarfism if both parents are afflicted.

Screening of offspring can also implicate their parents. If a person decides to have themselves tested for say Huntington’s Disease as a grandparent has recently died of it, this directly affects their parent because if the test is positive their father or mother must also suffer from the disease.

There is also the potential for the information to be abused, for example by insurance companies.

Currently the UK operates a Freedom for Testing, Freedom from Testing policy.

Some great reads as recommended by Prof. Anne Hughes;

The Genius Factory - David Plotz

Bad Science - Ben Goldacre

 You can imagine that after this mental moral struggle than I needed a cosmo or two;

 

Chic bit – Forget the I’ve-been-up-since-6am hair and makeup, note my Monochrome on Thursday homies. Working the s/s13 trends. Of course that dress is 2 years old but its allllll about style, which is timeless, fashion is not.

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”

~ Coco Chanel

I had the absolute privilege of being a finalist in the Miss Northern Ireland contest in 2012 after I won Miss East Belfast. I had never been to anything like that before and just decided to go for it as I was getting a bit long in the tooth, it was always an experience I wanted to have. It was absolutely fantastic, from the heats to the photoshoots, interviews and of course the big finale over 3 days in Belfast and the gala final.

I’ve always loved attending shows like Belfast Fashionweek with all the glitz and fashion, and you don’t get more glamorous than Miss NI. The experience as well as the fun and friends made it one of the greatest weekends!

 Although it took me a few weeks to even look at tan, eyelashes, hair extensions or high heels again...

So I was invited to attend the first heat for the launch of Miss NI 2013 at Cafe Vaudeville in Belfast. Unbelievably I felt more nervous at that than I did even at my own heat or catwalk-ing in a bikini at the final. I think it was mostly uncontained excitement for the opportunity the girls competing will potentially have. It was great to be back though mingling with the girls;

Even if I did jog there from a genetics lecture with hair and make up from 12 hours before, I had half an hour to change into my dress and put on my eyelashes. It’s not easy keeping up appearances! I have to morph from a nerd to a former beauty pageant contestant.

I thought I would include my favourite Geek and Chic moments, do you see something in common in those pictures above? This me rocking at my graduation from QUB and winning Miss East Belfast. Thank you timeless, beautiful dress for two of the best days ever :).  It’s definitely my dress for success!

Episode 8: The Fat Gene

So it’s March and I’m still carrying the winter layers, if you know what I mean? You know what I got for Christmas? Half a stone fatter. I need to return those gifts; it hasn’t rained in approximately 5 whole days in this wonderful land and the temperature has risen by 2^oC so that means it’s spring by our standards.

The birds are singing and the flowers are sprouting, I have been taken by Sunspiration (the desire to be healthier because it’s sunny) and like a spring clean for the body its Detox time!

I attempted a diet only once before in my whole life, by midday on the first day my housemates found me in the kitchen binging on Angel Slices (they are exceedingly good) and a Snickers bar. So I have dealt with my diet phobia by going down another route; detoxification.

1.       Let’s look at some scientific facts that led my decisions;
 

Energy cannot be destroyed; if you ingest more chemical energy than you expend physically it will be stored as potential energy until such a date as it can be converted. You may know this as the layer of insulation around your belly. Fat.

Energy also cannot be created. Fat cannot mysteriously appear unless you ATE IT in the first place.

I love fat food. I love sugar and sweets and the evil refined carbohydrates. Love love love. When I eat those, I get fat and that is my fault. It really isn’t such a big deal to ask myself to put the crème egg down if it’s the 3^rd one that day. Obesity is a disease and I will inflict it upon myself if I don’t keep control, it’s a slippery slope! My mummy has Type I Diabetes and Coeliac disease. She can’t eat anything nice at all, her immune system pretty much rebelled against her. So I can’t bear to hear myself or other people complain about dieting. Boo hoo if I have friends that can eat twice as much as me and be half the weight. Tough. I’m hardly going to die. Although it feels like it as I set the crème egg down...

2.       The Plan;

Above are pictured the main “Trials of Hercules” encountered on my journey, the fiancé always brings me treats, the delights of a crème egg hot chocolate and, of course, ice cream. All ice cream.

Below are a few of the weapons I waged battle with;

The whole idea of a detox ‘diet’ is not necessarily for weight loss but rather this is a happy side effect of following the programme. You cleanse yourself by cutting out sugars, caffeine, alcohol and anything processed. This is supposed to purify your digestive system and thereby improves your general health. Quite like a relaxing spa weekend for your small intestine. As it is quite extreme, you only do it a few times a year.

It generally takes 72 hours to curb cravings once cutting things out of your diet so this is the perfect length of time to trial it out. Once you have gotten over any cravings, it can jump start you into generally following a healthier diet.

Hypothesis – 3 days of eating only natural produce will remove any bloating, digestive issues or sluggishness as well as improving my skin, weight and energy levels.

3.       The Results;

Successful. Or to be scientifically correct, hypothesis accepted.
I don’t weigh myself as that is very counterproductive to body image but after just 3 days of lots of snoozing and grazing on as much fresh fruit, yoghurts, nuts and wholegrain rice as I wanted, I fitted into a dress I couldn’t zip up 3 days before. Winner winner chicken dinner! Which is exactly what I had the day after.

 

Finally, what about that Fat gene?

There is no gene that single-handedly makes you obese. Sorry. You can have genes which give you a slightly slower metabolism or maybe don’t tell your brain as quickly to stop eating. You still have a choice, these genes can be countered 100% by the food you chose to eat and the lifestyle you pursue. In other words, your DNA can contain some potential for over-eating but the environment dictates the outcome. I know, it’s unfair, but it could be worse really.

 “Genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger.”

~ Scott Kahan, MD

Although genetic deficiencies are rare, here is a particular protein that can be attributed to a tendency toward weight gain;

BDNF – Mice in which the BDNF gene was deleted in two of the primary appetite-regulating regions of the brain ate more and became significantly heavier than their control counterparts with fully functional BDNF genes. BDNF acts as a satiety signal to the brain, ie, it sends a message to the brain saying ‘we’re full now, stop eating’. However, when their food access was limited to only be able to eat the same amount as the ‘normal’ mice, their weight became equivalent to them. This demonstrates that although the BDNF signalling pathway affects how much you may choose to eat it has no direct effect on how the calories were processed.  

(See Research here or for something a bit more recent have a look here.)

Generally though, our human ‘hunter-gatherer’ style of diet has led us to have a genetic make-up disposed toward storage of fat which would mean better survival during famine or times of hardship, the problem is that now those saturated fats which are so rare in nature are now readily available to us in massive quantities.

Obviously there are multitudes of other issues surrounding obesity (hypothyroidism etc), I’m just telling you, it’s not the responsibility of your DNA.

 Well, the best thing about completing this detox wasn’t just losing some weight but that I did my bit for a bit of disease prevention on behalf of my own body!

Next hypothesis – A crème egg a day keeps the doctor away.

Maybe I won’t test that one. Probably would be counterproductive to the 3 days I just put myself through. But if it’s in the name of science...*sigh*... All I can say is thank the Lord they are only available 6 months a year or I’d have to be cut out of my own sofa.