Hangovers Veisalgia, More Commonly Known as a Hangover, Is the Name

Hangovers
Veisalgia, more commonly known as a hangover, is the name for the range of unpleasant physical effects that occur following the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly experienced effects include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, headache, thirst, and lethargy. The degree of the hangover's severity is determined by factors occurring both before and after the alcohol is metabolized.
The main pre-metabolic cause of veisalgia is the quantity of alcohol consumed. Binge drinking is one of the most notorious contributors to hangovers. Empirical research suggests that even an increase in consumption from four to six beers can result in twice the susceptibility to end up with a hangover. Another pre-consumption factor that contributes to hangovers is the amount of congeners present in the alcohol. Congeners are chemical substances produced during the fermentation process that give the alcohol color, taste, and aroma. Recent studies have shown that alcohol with a high congener content, such as bourbon (which is brown) , is three times as likely to cause a hangover as the same amount of a low-congener alcohol, such as vodka (which is clear) .
Post-metabolic causes of veisalgia have less to do with the amount or kind of alcohol consumed and more to do with genetics. One of the major post-metabolic causes of veisalgia is the production of acetaldehyde. During the initial stages of metabolization, the liver produces an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase. This enzyme works to convert the ethanol present in alcohol into the compound acetaldehyde. Studies have shown that individuals who lack this enzyme-and thus also lack the ability to break down ethanol in the liver-have a much higher rate of hangover occurrence, and experience more immediate and more severe hangover symptoms.
Question: What is the best summary of this passage?

A) Veisalgia is a term describing the effects of drinking too much alcohol. It has a number of pre-metabolic and post-metabolic causes.
B) Veisalgia can cause a number of unpleasant effects including nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and noise, as well as thirst and lethargy.
C) When congeners are produced in the liver, the symptoms of veisalgia can quickly appear in a heavy drinker.
D) The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase can convert ethanol into a compound known as acetaldehyde and can limit the unpleasant effects of a hangover.

Correct Answer:

Verified

Unlock this answer now
Get Access to more Verified Answers free of charge

Sign up to view answer