2013.08.21 澳大利亚科学家对防宿醉啤酒的探索

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Australian Scientists' Quest for a Hangover-Proof Beer
Over in Australia, a brave team of scientists are refusing to let stupid biology dictate their alcohol consumption

By John Metcalfe, The Atlantic Cities
AUGUST 21, 2013
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This article is from the archive of our partner .
There comes a time in adulthood when having a few beers too many comes back the next day with a stomach-wring, head-hammering vengeance. People confronted with this change must rein it in a bit or face the consequences, like calling in sick with a lame excuse. That seems to happen a lot in America, where ruined workplace productivity due to hangovers costs the economy $160 billion a year.


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But over in Australia, a brave team of scientists are refusing to let stupid biology dictate their alcohol consumption. They're working on a new type of beer that keeps a person hydrated, dehydration being one of several suspects behind raging hangovers. The thinking is that it's almost impossible to get people who drink to stop drinking, so why not minimize the harm alcohol causes by crafting a smarter beer?

Ben Desbrow, a sports-nutrition expert at the Griffith Health Institute in the eastern city of Gold Coast, is helping forge this beery alchemy, presumably in the institute's new "research kitchen." (Desbrow's body of research will interest anyone who enjoys a tipple, as he's previously investigated how hangovers alter reaction times and social attitudes toward post-work imbibing.) He recently explained the concept behind the Frankenbrew to the Australian Associated Press:

"This is definitely not a good idea, but what we've found is that many people who sweat a lot, especially tradesmen, knock off work and have a beer," associate professor Ben Desbrow said.

"But alcohol in a dehydrated body can have all sorts of repercussions, including decreased awareness of risk.

"So, if you're going to live in the real world, you can either spend your time telling people what they shouldn't do, or you can work on ways of reducing the danger of some of these socialised activities."

So how's it work? In a word, it's electrolytes, because everyone knows they are what the body craves. Desbrow and company had their study participants perform heavy exercise and quaff commercial beers with electrolytes added; they then studied how quickly their bodies soaked in water lost during sweating. A salt-enhanced beer made people pee less, they found, and was a third more effective at rehydrating the body than your typical Foster's or Emu Bitter.


A few caveats are in order. Even the most effective brewski the team was able to whip up was not significantly better than some less-alcoholic commercial beers in terms of hydration. The scientists say "more research" is needed to fine-tune their recipe. And for diehard devotees of full-bodied suds—to the deepest pits of hell with that less-filling stuff—the best-performing laboratory liquid turned out to be light beer. Rather than put up with that swill, roughnecks in need a post-workout beverage might as well just go with Everclear mixed with Gatorade.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.




澳大利亚科学家对防宿醉啤酒的探索
在澳大利亚，一个勇敢的科学家团队正在拒绝让愚蠢的生物学决定他们的酒精消费。

约翰-梅特卡夫，《大西洋城》报道
2013年8月21日
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这篇文章来自我们的合作伙伴的档案。
成年后的某一天，喝多了几瓶啤酒，第二天就会出现胃痛、头疼的报复性反应。面对这种变化，人们必须控制一下，否则就要面对后果，比如用一个蹩脚的借口请病假。在美国，这种情况似乎经常发生，由于宿醉而导致的工作场所生产力的破坏，每年给经济带来1600亿美元的损失。


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但在澳大利亚，一个勇敢的科学家团队正在拒绝让愚蠢的生物学决定他们的酒精消费。他们正在研究一种新的啤酒，使人保持水分，而脱水是严重的宿醉背后的几个嫌疑人之一。他们的想法是，让喝酒的人停止喝酒几乎是不可能的，那么为什么不通过制作一种更聪明的啤酒来尽量减少酒精造成的伤害呢？

位于东部城市黄金海岸的格里菲斯健康研究所的运动营养专家本-德斯布罗（Ben Desbrow）正在帮助打造这种啤酒炼金术，估计是在该研究所的新 "研究厨房"。(Desbrow的研究将使任何喜欢小酒的人感兴趣，因为他以前曾调查过宿醉如何改变反应时间和对工作后饮酒的社会态度）。他最近向澳大利亚联合通讯社解释了弗兰克酒背后的概念。

"Ben Desbrow副教授说："这绝对不是一个好主意，但我们发现，许多出汗多的人，特别是工匠，下班后会喝啤酒。

"但是酒精在脱水的身体里会产生各种反作用，包括对风险的认识下降。

"因此，如果你要生活在现实世界中，你可以花时间告诉人们他们不应该做什么，或者你可以研究如何减少这些社交活动的危险。

那么它是如何工作的呢？一句话，是电解质，因为每个人都知道它们是身体所渴望的。德布罗和他的公司让他们的研究参与者进行剧烈运动，并喝下添加了电解质的商业啤酒；然后他们研究了他们的身体在出汗过程中失去的水分浸泡的速度。他们发现，添加了盐分的啤酒使人们尿得更少，而且比一般的福斯特啤酒或埃姆苦啤酒更有效地补充身体水分。


有几点需要注意的是。即使是该团队能够调制的最有效的啤酒，在水合方面也没有明显优于一些酒精含量较低的商业啤酒。科学家们说，需要进行 "更多研究 "来微调他们的配方。而对于酒体饱满的苏打水的死忠信徒来说，要想喝到那种不那么饱满的东西，最好的实验室液体原来是淡啤酒。与其忍受这些垃圾，需要运动后饮料的粗人还不如用Everclear与佳得乐混合的饮料。

这篇文章来自我们的合作伙伴The Wire的档案。