While working with Horticulture Innovation Australia to reveal some hidden benefits of the fruit, a CSIRO research team led by Professor Manny Noakes found that pears can lower cholesterol, relieve constipation and have anti-inflammatory effects.
But likely the most interesting discovery for those with a tendency to overindulge was the discovery that Korean pear juice can prevent hangovers as well as lower blood alcohol levels. Further research is needed to determine whether the hangover-preventing capabilities extend to other pear varieties as the studies have so far only involved the Korean pear, which is known to have a number of compositional differences to Western pear varieties.
With study subjects measuring hangover severity using a 14-item hangover symptom scale, those given 220 ml (7.4 oz) of Korean pear juice reported reduced overall hangover symptoms compared to those in the placebo group, with the most pronounced improvement reported in the area of "trouble concentrating."
Importantly, the hangover was only avoided if the pear juice was consumed before the alcohol, so downing the juice after a big night out won't help. And although the study involved pear juice, the researchers believe consuming whole pears would produce similar effects.
What's your favorite (scientifically approved) hangover cure?
takyon: The claims are based on preliminary results reported at CSIRO news blog. Here is the abstract of an older study: Effect of Korean pear (Pyruspyrifolia cv. Shingo) juice on hangover severity following alcohol consumption.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:02AM
Hangover is punishment from Allah for your shameful gluttony!
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:23AM
He's just mad cuz I backdoored him.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:29AM
The best comment here in a while. Two big middle fingers up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @07:18AM
Well, apparently it's punishment for not eating enough pears before drinking alcohol.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:16AM
I don't drink... It's even better at preventing my head and subsequent day going pear-shaped...
(Score: 4, Funny) by hemocyanin on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:20AM
-1 prude
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:23AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:36AM
I don't know about him, but I don't do either. Drinking, smoking, and doing drugs is for filthy normies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @07:26AM
You mean, the TV programme is so bad that you inevitably start drinking to compensate for it, therefore anyone who doesn't drink can't be watching TV?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @07:23AM
I drink a lot. I just avoid alcohol. I'm pretty sure that's more healthy than not drinking at all. ;-)
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday August 04 2015, @05:59PM
My head and day are still normal. It has caused my body to go a bit pear shaped, though.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:32AM
1. be social with idiots
2. fit in with the trendy crowd
3. find a loose hole to fuck
no thanks.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Post-Nihilist on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:56AM
Be like us, be different, be a nihilist!!!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Gravis on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:17AM
2. euphoria
3. temporary relief of stress
4. temporary relief of pain
if you are drinking for one of those reasons, there is a good chance you are an alcoholic.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:38AM
Or you are suffering from some wickedly intense pain that the doctors won't help with, as happened to me. (OOS/RSI/tendinitis)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:51AM
If you really think this, chances are you have an acute attack of hypoalcoholemia (aka too high level of blood in alcohol).
The main symptom: you take life too seriously.
Unwind, listen to some jazz for a couple of hours over a shot of 12yo dry rum infused with some coffee beans.
(just teasing, buddy, don't take me seriously... the way you take life... large grin...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Tuesday August 04 2015, @05:17AM
It's also possible he's been exposed to alcoholics and isn't aware that most people can enjoy the inebriating effects of alcohol on an occasional basis without being alcoholics.
(Score: 2) by MrNemesis on Tuesday August 04 2015, @09:15AM
Is that really an either/or thing though...? Lived with an alcoholic (of the actually-completely-addicted-and-dependany variety, not the seemingly american "drinks too much" variety), had a great deal of fun watching a good friend drink himself to death and I was one of the people that found the body three months after he was released from rehab.
Never put me off booze myself though. Just reminded me how dangerous any psychoactive substance can be when it's used not as a means to an end but as an end itself.
"To paraphrase Nietzsche, I have looked into the abyss and been sick in it."
(Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:50AM
That depends on how much and how often.
(Score: 1) by riT-k0MA on Tuesday August 04 2015, @05:36AM
According to my government's Health Department, anyone who has more than two drinks a week is an alcoholic. That pretty much covers 90% of the country.
(Score: 2) by moondrake on Tuesday August 04 2015, @10:06AM
Why would that be?
If one can avoid a burnout by drinking once a month (or even more often), I do not see anything wrong with that.
I am not sure about your definition of an alcoholic, but I would say addiction needs to be part of it (and no, an addiction is not a habit).
(Score: 1) by Post-Nihilist on Tuesday August 04 2015, @09:50PM
Few months ago, I drank when my grandmother past away, alcohol made the pain temporary duller, while time did it's work.
At work we like to have some beer on Friday while we go out for dinner; 2 pints of beers provides us euphoria and enhance the meal. (we drink local brew paired with the food)
I am alcoholic for that? I don't think so....
Be like us, be different, be a nihilist!!!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:05AM
Alcohol is a depressant. Which leads to...
Reduced sensory ability including smell and taste. It is only an illusion that alcohol enhances a meal because of your weakened mental state which explains...
At least until you sober up and realize now the stress and pain is back, only now there is less money and time to deal with both.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by sjames on Tuesday August 04 2015, @05:03AM
Paradoxically, most depressants cause euphoria, at least as the blood level is ramping up.
There is a point where the senses aren't significantly dulled but the concerns of the day are easily dismissed where it will enhance the experiance of food, music, and conversation.
If the stress itself was temporary, for example hard day at work, a drink or two can actually help to put it aside. Since it was temporary in the first place, it's still gone the next morning. Pain has a winding up phenomenon. If you knock it down for a while, the relief can persist long after the alcohol (or whatever) had cleared your system.
Of course, the correct amount for any of the above is generally not enough to cause a hangover.
Some people do find getting drunk occasionally to be cathartic. That's not a problem as long as it really is occasionally.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:55PM
If the stress itself was temporary, for example hard day at work, a drink or two can actually help to put it aside. Since it was temporary in the first place, it's still gone the next morning. Pain has a winding up phenomenon. If you knock it down for a while, the relief can persist long after the alcohol (or whatever) had cleared your system.
Hemingway had a great line on this subject: "If things are really all right and you are feeling a bit low a drink will make you feel better. If things are really bad, a drink will just make it worse". If I recall correctly, it was from the short story "Black Ass at the Crossroads", but I may have that wrong.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:30AM
Yeah, that whole interacting with people thing, it's for the birds.
A little booze would do you a lot of good in chatting people up without sperging out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:35AM
Yeah, that whole interacting with people thing, it's for the birds.
It's impossible to interact with others without alcohol.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @07:22AM
Technically true.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by deimios on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:37AM
1. Sometimes socializing is required and you cannot choose the idiots you do it with. Add in a dose of social anxiety and you got a night of hurt with possibly serious repercussions down the line depending on the nature of the event. Or you could just drink a bit and act like a normal human being (for some of us it's not easy nor is it natural).
2. Social pressure to fit in doesn't require a trendy crowd. Any group of people will shun you if you break their rules on accepted behavior. If that includes drinking then you can just reduce the amount, no need to get drunk at all.
3. I have this theory: for most couples that magical first night wouldn't have happened if not for alcohol or similar inhibition reducing agents. Yes, alcohol does help with one night stands yet it's main benefit is getting more normal people to enjoy sex. Of course drinking too much has the exact opposite effect both socially and physiologically.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday August 06 2015, @04:43AM
1. Sometimes socializing is required and you cannot choose the idiots you do it with. Add in a dose of social anxiety and you got a night of hurt with possibly serious repercussions down the line depending on the nature of the event. Or you could just drink a bit and act like a normal human being (for some of us it's not easy nor is it natural).
I don't know what occasions you're speaking of, because I have never been held at gunpoint and made to attend some social event. Nothing even similar to that has happened to me. I suspect that by "cannot choose", you mean that someone is 'forcing' you using much weaker methods, or it's one of those silly human rituals that are supposed to be 'mandatory' for you to go to that I never actually attend. Either way, no need to drink alcohol. If they get upset at you for your social anxiety or something similar, then they are shallow and worthless, and not worthy of your considerations.
2. Social pressure to fit in doesn't require a trendy crowd. Any group of people will shun you if you break their rules on accepted behavior. If that includes drinking then you can just reduce the amount, no need to get drunk at all.
Then let them shun you. They are weak and mindless.
(Score: 2) by deimios on Thursday August 06 2015, @05:55AM
1. A few examples of such occasions: weddings of family members; going to the restaurant with the bigwigs after sealing some major deal; accompanying your significant other to a meetup that is important to him/her
There are more effective persuasion techniques than being at gunpoint. At least with the gun you get shot and that's the end of it. No such luck with family.
2. Sometimes it's beneficial to infiltrate and exploit the weak and mindless, world domination is easier when others do the heavy lifting.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday August 06 2015, @05:00PM
1. A few examples of such occasions: weddings of family members; going to the restaurant with the bigwigs after sealing some major deal; accompanying your significant other to a meetup that is important to him/her
Decline, or if you are not assertive enough, alcohol is still not necessary. At the very least, you should want to drink alcohol yourself rather than be pressured into it.
2. Sometimes it's beneficial to infiltrate and exploit the weak and mindless, world domination is easier when others do the heavy lifting.
Nothing is likely to come of it, and it's better to do that when you're not under the influence of alcohol.
(Score: 1) by xav on Tuesday August 04 2015, @09:43AM
4. Tongue disinfection after 3.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @03:05AM
Drink lots of water and get a full night's sleep.
Source: I am a pathological drunk.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:56AM
You are so right about the water.
I recommend drinking a glass of water after every glass of booze. This prevents you from getting dehydrated. Even so, shortly before you go to bed, drink as much water as you can handle. And also swallow a pinch of salt to replace what you pissed away. Eating food after your night out, provided it's salty, accomplishes the same thing, but the pinch of salt is easy and doesn't require a meal.
These two things (the water and the salt) will go a long way to lessening a hangover.
Also, stay away from the rotgut liquor, the dark liquors like whiskey, and the sugary drinks with everything in them. Too many extra impurities besides ethanol that tend to make you sick.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @08:04AM
We've done this before here: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14/09/06/1135243 [soylentnews.org]
The only cure that actually works is... opiates. Sadly. Water doesn't come close.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @04:39AM
You mean two groups of people weren't exactly the same? Wow, let us leap to the nearest conclusion that lines our pockets with money.
(Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Tuesday August 04 2015, @06:08AM
It's called the scientific method, jackass.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @06:58AM
I have no idea what AC was attempting to highlight, but from what's been quoted we're not sure how well the scientific method has been applied. How was it double-blinded? Was it randomised? How was the self-reporting of the perceived affects done? How big was the study, and what was its power of the test?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @12:22PM
That was never considered science until the 1940s. You can find many people complaining about how the scientific method began changing from comparing results to theoretical prediction to testing a null hypothesis. Think about it, the latter makes no sense, it is just a way to get any result you want if you spend enough money. No two groups of people are ever exactly the same (unless you are measuring something that does not exist like telekinesis).
And sorry, it is not two groups are exactly the same, it is somehow even more implausible: that they are samples from the same hypothetical infinite population. You cannot justify any conclusion based on that info yet that is what is passing for science these days.
What we actually care about is the size of the difference and the various possible explanations for a difference of that size. What explanations for the effect were ruled out by this research? The mere presence of a difference is of zero interest, yet that gets all the focus.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:23PM
No two groups of people are ever exactly the same
Of course not. That's why you get big enough groups of people that are as similar as you can make them. Science doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be the best fit available.
it is somehow even more implausible: that they are samples from the same hypothetical infinite population. You cannot justify any conclusion based on that info
I have no idea what you're talking about here. There are not an infinite number of humans of the planet, so ipso facto any experiment that uses participants (or monkeys or anything else, really) is not drawing them from an infinite pool.
From these criticisms, it sounds like you're saying any experimenting to begin with is impossible. So basically you don't believe we should be able to prove anything scientifically?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2015, @01:47PM
http://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/130723/hypothesis-testing-and-the-scientific-method/ [stackexchange.com]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by xav on Tuesday August 04 2015, @09:53AM
For mild drinks (wine, beer) I usually drink as much glasses of water that I drank glasses of alcool, and I never have any hangover.
What is especially interesting in this news, is that Korean pear juice apparently lowers the blood alcohol levels. It's quite handy when you have to drive.
(Score: 1) by Marvin on Wednesday August 05 2015, @08:46AM
The main cause of hangover unease is the dehydration. The dehydration mainly occurs because alcohol inhibits ADH (antidiuretic hormone) which plays a key role in the body's "water regulation" through the kidneys.
If ADH is inhibited the kidneys pump out water no matter what.
It's stated that the pears also relieve constipation, which is another clue to back this.
(And quick googlin appears to show a link between ADH and cholesterol levels, but I'm no expert...)