Anyone who needs a reason not to overindulge on St. Patrick's Day — or on any other day of the year — can view a new American Chemical Society (ACS) video on alcohol's effects on the body at http://www.BytesizeScience.com.
St. Patrick's Day is this Sunday, and there are many ways to celebrate, like Irish soda bread at breakfast or corned beef and cabbage for dinner. For those celebrating St. Patrick's Day with green beer, moderation is key. Alcohol has several negative effects on your body — many of which usually amount to a miserable morning-after.
Produced by the ACS Office of Public Affairs, The Chemistry of Alcohol and Hangovers explains the science behind these unpleasant after-effects that excessive drinking can have on the body, including:
- Headaches, caused by low blood sugar and allergic reactions to certain ingredients in liquor.
- Nausea and upset stomach, resulting from alcohol's irritant effect, which stimulates the secretion of acid in the stomach.
- Thirst, the result of alcohol's dehydrating effects on the body.
For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view Prized Science, Spellbound, Science Elements and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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