For Booze Without Hangovers, Fortifying Liquor With Oxygen Might Be the Key

By Clay Dillow Posted 03.03.2010 at 1:25 pm 7 Comments

Korean Soju Korean already produce alcoholic beverages with high-oxygen concentrations, though previously there was no science to bolster marketing claims that it made your body feel better than conventional liquor. Charles Haynes

The effects of alcohol are generally pleasant until they're not anymore, at which point they become blindingly painful and, in some cases, quite dangerous. Whether or not a hard-partying type is struck by a crippling hangover or a sudden desire to text his or her ex is generally dependent on how that individual metabolizes and eliminates alcohol in his or her body. A new study suggests that we could quite easily engineer our tipple to help us break down alcohol faster, reducing that morning-after sensation of intense pain (or intense regret) by simply adding more oxygen to our booze.

The body metabolizes ethanol through a series of oxidization reactions that reduce it to water and carbon dioxide for easy processing. A handful of enzymes are responsible for this critical step, but those enzymes are worthless without oxygen to kick the reactions into gear. So the idea is simple: more oxygen, better oxidization, fewer hangovers.

To test this hypothesis, researchers ran experiments on three different groups of healthy adults using 19.5 percent alcohol beverages produced in Korea. Drinks with higher oxygen concentrations are already sold in that country and are marketed as feel-good alternatives to conventional booze, though there is no science to back up such claims. The drinks with higher oxygen content sobered the test groups up 20-30 minutes faster on average. That's a full half hour less time spent clinging to the side of your toilet bowl wondering why you won't just die already.

The research also attempted to identify a cumulative effect by having subjects consume several oxygen-heavy concoctions over the course of an evening. The result: fewer hangovers in the morning, as the body was better able to break down the alcohol and eliminate it from the system.

Will this interesting bit of bar trivia change anything? While it's easy enough to oxygenate beverages (it can be done much the same way as carbonation is added to beer) who knows what your favorite microbrew will taste like after it's pumped full of even more bubbles. We won't even get into the ramifications of oxygenating a nice bottle of red wine, lest we offend those of you with more refined palettes. There's also a shelf life issue; beverages can start losing their oxygenation after ten days, putting distributors in a pinch.

But the reduced time between that "one for the road" and sobriety could actually help reduce alcohol-related accidents. And who knows? Workplace productivity might skyrocket if that 9-11 a.m. recovery period were spent working rather than chugging black coffee and sweating through your shirt. You lush.

[Science Daily, io9]

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7 Comments

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pepe27

03/03/10 at 6:24 pm

Whoever wrote this article forgot to mention how cheap Jinro Soju is in South Korea. That bottle you're looking at goes for the equivalent of $0.90US (cheaper if you buy it in bulk). Somehow I doubt liquor companies in North America will be willing to sell "oxygenated" hard liquors at that low a price. Too much money to be made for Uncle Sam and Auntie Maple so prices are kept high. I would rather stick to red wine...it's supposed to be healthier, no? Oh, and wines are actually pretty cheap in South Korea as well. A 1.5L bottle of red wine from Chile goes for about $5.00US (sometimes less).

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Cyph

03/03/10 at 6:41 pm

There is also quite a bit formaldehyde in Soju too.

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samantha22

03/04/10 at 2:12 am

Or just take a shot of THIS:

Doctors recommend 'IntelliSHOT' to help prevent hangover:

www.alcoholnewsfeed.blogspot.com

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dipap

03/04/10 at 2:34 pm

Those hangover myths are die-hard.
There is (at present time) no miracle cure for hangover because it is not a disease; it's a condition of temporary intoxication( by ethanol). Some are heavily impaired by modest amounts, other are fine with larger amounts.
so the silver bullet is: know yourself.

I alternate. one drink(or pint)followed by a large glass of water, then repeat cycle. That way I can drink throughout the night and feel like a charm the next day.
Also not smoking helps A LOT! I remember when I used to smoke a pack a day I had heavy hangovers ,now (that I don't smoke) I could get away just fine with the same amounts.

This was a nice pile of deeply uncool information ,I just realized; but I can't bother to delete so I'll post it anyway
Thanx

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jackfrapp

03/04/10 at 4:27 pm

Oh wow, most impressive. I do want!

Jess
www.fbi-logging.at.tc

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webdesigner

03/04/10 at 7:39 pm

Is it not all about a lack of water / dehydration ?
Sadly i think we will always need to suffer hangovers, and boy do i suffer. As a result i get hung over maybe once every 3 months :(

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genedoug

03/11/10 at 8:44 pm

Alcohol exposed to oxygen creates vinegar (acetic acid.)

This is a good thing if you're making vinegar. It's not so good if you've bottled some wine with an air space at the top, save it a long time and then open it.

But if you don't want to drink it, you can always pour it on a salad.

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