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Doctors tout new functional shot/mixer to help reduce morning after, potential long term health risks to social drinkers
LAS VEGAS, NV, July 13, 2010 – An authentic remedy for the unpleasant after effects of social alcohol use (hangover) has been as elusive as a cure for the common cold. Doctors say a new functional beverage promises to make the morning after as smooth as your drink the night before.
The product, Cheerz IntelliShot, claims to help intercept morning after sluggishness, headache, nausea, palpitations and more serious potential long term health risks before they start by helping the body to more effectively process toxins created as the liver metabolizes alcohol–including acetaldehyde, a carcinogenic muscle poison believed to be as much as 30 times more toxic than alcohol itself.
“Based on my experience as a liver transplant specialist and my anecdotal observations both personally and with family members, as a supplement the Cheerz product is remarkably effective in reducing the symptomatic effects of alcohol toxicity with responsible social use,” says Dr. Dirk Slaker, a retired hepatologist and former resident at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis.
Dr. John Shen, a resident physician at UCSD Department of Internal Medicine in San Diego, Calif., says, “There is growing evidence that acetaldehyde is a main cause of hangover symptoms and also Asian flush. By helping to remove this toxic chemical from the body, Cheerz is remarkably different from other products, many of which are simply activated charcoal or repackaged vitamins,” he says.
A two-martini business lunch or a few drinks after work leaves most people tired and lethargic for several hours after the buzz has worn off. This is because the body is still struggling to metabolize the lingering acetaldehyde and other byproducts–or congeners–that turn pure alcohol into beer, wine, vodka, etc. The company says with Cheerz, when your blood alcohol returns to normal, so do you.
Las Vegas-based Cheerz USA says one IntelliShot taken with up to four standard adult beverages will help social drinkers wake up with a head as clear as a bell, instead of sounding like one. The shots cost approximately $3.50 each (www.CheerzHangover.com).
The 1.7 oz., lemon lime shot can be taken straight or as a functional cocktail mixer.
The company recently introduced iTabs™ for wine drinkers. The recommended serving size for the Aspirin-sized iTabs is one for every two standard drinks, with a package of eight tablets selling for $7.98.
Not Just Another ‘Repackaged Vitamin’
Cheerz’ European formula includes a proprietary blend of proven amino acids, super-antioxidants and immune system boosters based on pinus succinifera, or succinic acid, a key dicarboxylic acid in the Krebs cycle. Originally extracted from the fossilized resin of 40 million year old Baltic pine trees, succinic acid has been a popular natural protectant against ionizing radiation, infections, alcohol, and other toxins in Europe for centuries.
In 1993, the Russian Academy of Sciences developed a similar supplement to bolster the immune systems of victims of a chemical nuclear accident in Siberia that spread gamma radiation over widely populated areas. Renowned for their love of vodka, many who took the supplement were pleasantly surprised to discover the absence of morning after hangover.
The formula also includes N-acetyl cysteine, shown to increase the oxidation cycle of alcohol, and Milk Thistle Extract (silymarin), found to protect against toxins and substances harmful to the liver and other cells in the body and brain.
The Cheerz formula has also shown strong anecdotal effectiveness as a natural chelating agent for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related mitochondrial dysfunction from heavy metals and sulfur-based chelators like lead, arsenic and mercury.
Cheerz is manufactured in the USA under the FDA’s Dietary Supplement Health and Education guidelines. The product does not affect inebriation, absorb alcohol or lower blood alcohol content.
The Demon in Your Drink
When you drink, alcohol flows through the blood to the liver, where it gets converted into acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen produced as the liver breaks down alcohol that is 30 times more toxic than alcohol itself, according to a study published in the June 2004 issue of the medical journal Molecular Psychiatry.
A standard drink contains about one-half ounce of pure alcohol. The liver can only process less than a quarter of an ounce of alcohol an hour. It takes about 6 hours to eliminate all the alcohol in 3 glasses of wine. That’s 6 hours of continuous exposure to acetaldehyde, possibly longer. Unmetabolized acetaldehyde overloads the liver and floods the body via the blood stream, causing hangover symptoms, and worse. Numerous studies have linked acetaldehyde to liver disease, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, and even alcohol dependency.
As little as two drinks a day can dehydrate the skin enough to make your skin eventually wrinkle like a baked apple and your veins go spidey, according to Dr. Janet Maccaro, Ph.D. Acetaldehyde attacks the collagen and elastin that holds skin together, reducing elasticity and firmness. It robs the body of vitamin C, a crucial nutrient for healthy skin, and dilates blood vessels, leading to broken veins (telangiectasia).
Drinking before bedtime is even worse. The horizontal position of the body during sleep makes it easier for intoxicated capillaries to leak into soft tissue, resulting in skin stretching, facial puffiness, and faster wrinkle formation.
Acetaldehyde increases the risk of osteoporosis, because it interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium. This gets worse with age, especially for women, who tend to store more fat after 40, when the body takes longer to process alcohol.
Acetaldehyde even contributes to your beer belly, says Payal Banka, a Nutritionist at Life Mojo Health Solutions. “When you drink, acetaldehyde signals your body to stop burning fat,” he says.
Social Drinkers at Risk
According to a 2001 Harris Interactive survey of 900 people aged 21 and older, approximately 55 percent of respondents said they consume alcohol beverages at least once a week, and felt negative effects from as few as just three drinks from the previous night.
A study published in the June 2000 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine concluded, “Although hangover is associated with alcoholism, most of its cost is incurred by the light-to-moderate drinker. No evidence suggests that alleviation of hangover symptoms leads to further alcohol consumption, and the discomfort caused by such symptoms may do so. The successful treatment of hangovers could mitigate overall alcohol consumption.”
A 2009 Oxford University study was among the first to link low-to-moderate alcohol consumption to breast cancer in women who drink as little as a single alcoholic beverage a day. “There were no minimum levels of alcohol consumption that could be considered to be without risk,” according to cancer epidemiologist and lead researcher Naomi Allen.
There is no absolutely safe level of consumption. “It is not necessary to drink huge amounts of alcohol—even low amounts taken regularly in a sensitive person increases their risk,” according to Helmut Seitz, professor of alcohol research at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. “The cells don’t forget. This will initiate tumors 20 to 25 years later,” he says.
A 1997 study by the Research Institute of Public Health at the University of Kuopio, Finland found that 44 percent of men who reported having a hangover at least once a month were two and a half times more likely to suffer cardiovascular death.
Etienne Quertemont, Ph.D., an associate professor at Université de Liège, Belgium, says, “Acetaldehyde, the first product of alcohol metabolism, is a 1,000-fold more potent reinforcer than alcohol. There is substantial evidence that acetaldehyde contributes to the reinforcing effects of alcohol and is therefore involved in alcohol consumption and abuse.”
Last modified: 07/13/2010