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Can Science Make Alcohol Safer? (scientificamerican.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader Zorro was the first to spot this story. Scientific American reports:
Could there be a "liver-friendly" vodka? One company claims its proprietary blend of additives reduces stress on the body... The researchers concluded that consuming the alcohol with the additives -- glycyrrhizin, derived from licorice; D-mannitol, a sugar alcohol; and potassium sorbate, a preservative -- may support improved liver health compared with drinking alcohol alone. Marsha Bates, a distinguished research professor and director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University, said the study design "seemed appropriate." But, she added, study itself was small, with only 12 healthy men and women, and "doesn't really provide any information of what the long-term effects of consuming alcohol with this additive would be. It's a positive preliminary study but certainly does not provide a firm basis for speculating about long-term impact."
Functional or not, Harsha Chigurupati needs approval from federal regulators before he can tout curative powers on a label... Specifically, Chigurupati is seeking approval to make the claim that his blend, known as NTX for "No Tox," provides "antioxidant and inflammatory support" and "reduces the risk of alcohol-induced liver diseases," among other claims... Chigurupati said his goal is not to enable people to drink more, but to drink with less physical harm.
The claim "leaves some experts deeply skeptical," adds the article, while 33-year-old Chigurupati admits that an earlier formula "tasted terrible and it actually burned my mouth." But his company later developed a formula which he says tasted good and is easier on the liver. "I don't believe in abstinence," Chigurupati told the Wall Street Journal. "What I do believe in is using technology to make life better. I'm not going to stop drinking, so why not make it safer?"
Functional or not, Harsha Chigurupati needs approval from federal regulators before he can tout curative powers on a label... Specifically, Chigurupati is seeking approval to make the claim that his blend, known as NTX for "No Tox," provides "antioxidant and inflammatory support" and "reduces the risk of alcohol-induced liver diseases," among other claims... Chigurupati said his goal is not to enable people to drink more, but to drink with less physical harm.
The claim "leaves some experts deeply skeptical," adds the article, while 33-year-old Chigurupati admits that an earlier formula "tasted terrible and it actually burned my mouth." But his company later developed a formula which he says tasted good and is easier on the liver. "I don't believe in abstinence," Chigurupati told the Wall Street Journal. "What I do believe in is using technology to make life better. I'm not going to stop drinking, so why not make it safer?"
Star Trek Cannon
LOL I don't remember a cannon in Star Trek, they usually use energy weapons.
I have been out drinking all night some times, never had a problem. At least, not that I can recall. I'm sure its perfectly safe.
Because drinking in general moderation is not considered unsafe?
If you wanted to make it safe you'd be drinking alcohol free beverages. You're far more likely to die from impairment than liver damage.
It does seem a little odd, like suggesting making binging and alcoholsm better.
Drinking in moderation is actually quite good for a person, and won't damage a person's liver to any extent.
I'm not certain what substances exist that are not toxic in huge amounts, be it water, oxygen or other stuff we need to live.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
The only thing I see wrong with alcohol as it is today is misuse and over use. Perhaps what we need is a little more self discipline and self control. Have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at the ball game but don't go nuts.
Except most people intentionally use alcohol to loosen up and it's a socially accepted explanation for your behavior if you happen to do something stupid or embarrassing. If people managed to let go of their inhibitions and worries on their own and they weren't judged by different standards they wouldn't need alcohol. For better and for worse I've done things under the influence of alcohol I'd never imagine doing sober.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Well, moderation is not in the wheelhouse of most substance abusers... so there's always a market for ideas like this one. My own project is weed infused Oreo cookies. The beauty of my idea is the marketing is baked right in, so to speak.
Bummed out?
Have a cookie!
Got the munchies?
Have a cookie!
Walls breathing too loudly?
Have a cookie!
I tell you, it's flawless!**
** Not intended for diabetics, people who's lifestyle calls for motor skills, sustained effort, or cogent thought. Should not be used by people that can't pull their own pants up without a mechanical device to assist them. Ask your doctor if getting totally blasted is OK for you. If not, then ask your doctor if they want a cookie. If so, then wait 30 minutes after the cookie and ask again if getting totally blasted is OK for you.
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
D-mannitol is an Osmotic diuretic. Tastes sweet but difficult to digest. Grain alcohol (ethanol) is prioritized over sugar when it comes to metabolizing (it is a poison that the body tries to rid itself of). Mixing normal sugars with ethanol can cause hyperglycemia which can cause the body start converting sugars into lipids (hyperlipidemia).
Potassium sorbate is more than a preservative, it slows the uptake of alcohol. You could eat peanuts with your drink and get a similar effect.
Any more vitamin C that your body can absorb will be urinated out. Take large amounts of it, and it makes your stomach hurt and gives you diarrhea. I see no benefit to adding it to alcohol, other than taste.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
Can't I not just put tonic in my gin?
Try adding some Cryptocurrencies to your gin tonic . . . they seem to be very efficient at intoxicating folks beyond sanity.
If you had said "blockchain" instead of Cryptocurrencies your post would have been modded up 400%.
lucm, indeed.
Yes. I'm mean no. Wait, yes I think.
#rapeculture
lucm, indeed.
Star Trek already did it.
If something is bad for you and you refuse to stop doing it despite the negative consequences then it's called an addiction. If you drink so much that you destroy your own liver then you have earned your liver failure because that is no simple feat as it require years of heavy drinking. The only thing doing this would accomplish is enabling addicts in their addictions in a way that will be a further drain on society. This is the wrong approach to solving the problem at hand.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Define "moderation". From your own wikipedia page the first paragraph points to the IARC which lists everything which can cause cancer regardless of the dosage. This include things like sunlight (something without which you would eventually become sick due to vitamin d deficiency).
The link is clear, but the risk... from the two studies linked the one in Australia basically is talking about 4 cans of beer a day, the European study talks about greater than 1 pint of English ale.
Both of those exceed the definitions for "moderate drinking" by not only the respective governments where the study was done but also from the CDC's definition.
So yes, it can be considered unsafe.
So let's assume I do drink enough to be over the legal driving limit every single day. Those studies basically tie a worst case of 10% attributed to set of very specific cancers the most common of which in men in that list of people who don't smoke is pancreatic cancer with a 1% chance of development and an even smaller chance of that before the age of 65.
So define for me "unsafe" because right now I'm more concerned about having a stroke thinking about the poor genes that my father may have passed on me causing me to die 10 years earlier because of cancer than I am from drinking, even if I didn't drink in moderation.
No, that isn't how the FDA works. You can add vitamin C to beer and sell it as "beer with extra vitamin C", and the FDA won't care (unless the addition of vitamin C somehow makes the beer more toxic). What the FDA cares about is when you start marketing it as having health benefits, especially if you start claiming that it cures or prevents some specific disease. Once you start talking about health benefits, you've moved away from selling beer and moved towards selling medicine, and there are strict requirements about proving safety and efficacy of medicines.
LOL I don't remember a cannon in Star Trek
What about the one where Kirk fashions some sort of rudimentary lathe^W cannon.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/...
SJW n. One who posts facts.
In the immortal words of Freewheelin' Franklin, "Better living through chemistry!"...