I don't need to preach about the greatness of bacon -- it seems every new product or Web site is already doing so. It's to the point that I'm suffering from bacon fatigue.
In February I called bacon mania ridiculous, and since then we've seen the porkgasm, Stonehenge recreated with Twinkies and bacon, and the bacon explosion inventors get a book deal.
Even scientists are getting in on the bacon love.
British researchers have proven that BLTs cure hangovers faster. Really, any protein and carbohydrate mixture will do the trick but
bacon is particularly good at quickly breaking down into amino acids
and those amino acids are exactly what the body needs after a rough
night on the town.
The same scientist, Elin Roberts, has also identified the Maillard reaction
as the reason bacon smells and tastes so good. It's the same
premise behind the smell of coffee or cinnamon rolls: "a
chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar which
often requires heat. The acid and sugar react to release a huge amount
of smells and flavors."
Despite its wonderfulness, bacon will only cure one part of the hangover. As this New Yorker article explains, hangovers are multi-faceted events that still puzzle top minds:
Scientists haven't yet found all the reasons for this network of woes,but they have proposed various causes. One is withdrawal, which would
bring on the tremors and also sweating. A second factor may be
dehydration. Alcohol interferes with the secretion of the hormone that
inhibits urination ... alcohol may also be inducing
hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which converts into light-headedness
and muscle weakness, the feeling that one's bones have turned to jello.
Meanwhile, the body, to break down the alcohol, is releasing chemicals
that may be more toxic than alcohol itself; these would result in
nausea and other symptoms. Finally, the alcohol has produced
inflammation, which in turn causes the white blood cells to flood the
bloodstream with molecules called cytokines. Apparently, cytokines are
the source of the aches and pains and lethargy that, when our bodies
are attacked by a flu virus -- and likewise, perhaps, by alcohol -- encourage
us to stay in bed rather than go to work, thereby freeing up the body's
energy for use by the white cells in combating the invader.
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