"Chaser" product

[Gestahl]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone here had any information on the "Chaser" pill being advertised in the US to prevent hangovers. Evidently, with two little pills taken before drinking, you are hangover free. The advertisement on television used such dubious phrases as "absorbs toxins." Has anyone come across any information on the efficacy of this product? It reeks of dishonesty...

 

[c0rbin]

An easy and possibly rewarding claim to test.

Science is fundamental!

 

[Bjorn]

..... "absorbs toxins." Has anyone come across any information on the efficacy of this product? It reeks of dishonesty...

When I drink, I want to absorbe the toxins myself, thank you.

 

[Wrath of the Swarm]

Taking a pill with a tall glass of water will fix a great many hangovers. Not because of the pill, which is a placebo, but because dehydration is responsible for some of a hangover's effects.

 

[Psi Baba]

I've seen those commercials too. My BS meter really went off on that one. Once you've got a hangover the toxins from the alcohol are already in your head. I can't imagine that some OTC pill (or even a presciption drug for that matter) is going to be able to extract them. Wrath just might be right about the water being the operative part of the whole trick.

But like c0rbin said, conducting a test could be fun. Where do we sign up? It is said that Gin has the most toxins due to the juniper berries, so I will make the supreme sacrifice to science and volunteer for the gin category.

 

[Hexxenhammer]

The commercial I saw for something similar had you taking a pill before you drank and another after every so many drinks. That made more sense than another I had seen that had no explanation. Still think it sounds fishy though.

 

[jj]

I haven't seen the claims or the product, but it seems to me that such a solution would have to have a way to clear up the results of alcohol dehydrogenase exhaustion in the liver, etc, sort of an anti-antabuse thing.

This would have some pretty profound metabolic implications.

There are other issues, as well, this one comes to mind off the top.

What I would like to see is a valid test of its effectiveness, what controls were used, etc.

 

[Number Six]

I've seen that commercial too. Actually, the first time I saw it I thought it was a joke commercial of some kind. But anyway, I'm pretty sure they use the phrase "clinically proven" in that ad, which makes me thing that maybe they have at least some kinda of study that showed some kind of improvement. But I'd like to know the real deal on it.

 

[scotth]

You can at least see exactly what they claim here:
http://www.doublechaser.com

 

[Bjorn]

You can at least see exactly what they claim here:
http://www.doublechaser.com

From the website:

Chaser has been tested and proven effective hangover relief from 17 common symptoms. In IRB approved, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trials at a leading testing facility. After the study, 83 percent of test subjects said they would "recommend the product."

It tends to make me suspicious .... was it their own 'leading facility'?

 

[jj]

Let me guess, it's rehydration salts, and you have to take it with at least about 16 oz of water, right?

 

[Goshawk]

Nahhh, it's even less useful--rehydration salts at least would be something.

Here's what's in it, from further down the home page:

Our natural ingredients prevent hangover by attracting and absorbing congeners using activated calcium carbonate and charcoal.

Oyster shell and charcoal. Right.

And: Very important point, that I think some people are missing: They're not really billing it as a hangover "cure" (although they do mention it), they're mainly billing it as a hangover "preventative". You're supposed to take the pills while you're drinking, not afterwards. So there doesn't need to be any mysterious biochemical reaction in the liver, no "pretty profound metabolic implications". It's just nothing but "first, do no harm" inert ingredients.

 

[Goshawk]

http://www.doublechaser.com/best.htm

Our Chaser hangover pill stops symptoms by absorbing harmful elements in beer, wine and spirits before their detrimental effects have a chance to occur. These elements, called congeners, make up the flavor, aroma and color of alcoholic beverages. When congeners enter your bloodstream, your immune system eliminates them by releasing cytokines. This surge of cytokines is what causes the symptoms you feel. This powerful reaction to alcoholic beverages can turn a night of celebration into a morning of misery. The prevention ingredients in a Chaser pill is activated calcium carbonate and charcoal that attract congeners and soak them up like a sponge before they can do their damage helping you wake up refreshed and ready to go. It is simply the most effective prevention there is - much better than all those other methods you've probably already tried and realized don't work.

Plus, it is safe with no side effects. Its ingredients have received the FDA's highest safety rating - GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).

To avoid that morning after feeling, simply take two caplets with your first drink. If you drink more than six beverages, simply take two more caplets for additional prevention.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/896646552.Me.r.html

Lastly, some people believe that certain impurities or toxins that can be found in alcoholic drinks, called congeners, can cause hangover. In fact, there is a brand of vodka that used to market itself as so pure that it was hangover free; I believe some governmental agency has since made them stop saying that. In any event, drinks like vodka and gin have fewer congeners, and are supposed to produce less of a hangover, whereas drinks like whisky and red wine, which have lots of non-alcohol ingredients, are supposed to insure a big headache. Along these same lines is the idea that a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism (acetaldehyde), builds in the bloodstream and causes hangover.

I suppose I just have a couple of things to say about congeners and acetaldehyde. First, the acetaldehyde hypothesis simply is incorrect; blood levels never really get very high, the levels aren't correlated with hangover symptoms, and it's all gone by the time you actually have the hangover. Regarding the congeners, most of the studies done on hangover used pure alcohol as the drink, so its pretty clear you can get a whopper of a hangover just by drinking alcohol. Second, the scientific studies are all over the map on this point. Some say congeners definitely make a difference, other found no difference whatsoever. It could be that some people are more susceptible than others, or that people get the result they expect to get. Scientifically though, the question hasn't been adequately answered yet in my mind.

 

[Exposer]

When the liver breaks down alcohol, what are the by-products? Some kind of "toxin" if I recall correctly.

Another major cause of hangovers, I have been told by my doctor, is very low blood sugar levels. When you drink beer, it floods your body with sugars. That's why you feel buzzed, or pumped up.

Your body fights this sugar off with a flood of its own -- insulin. So, by the time you wake up in the morning, your blood sugar levels are in the tank. That's why a half-gallon of Gatorade always seems to help.

 

[Yahweh]

Best way to cure a hangover:

Start drinking.

 

[Bjorn]

Best way to cure a hangover:

Start drinking.

Even better:

Don't drink the night before.

 

[Virgil]

When the liver breaks down alcohol, what are the by-products? Some kind of "toxin" if I recall correctly.
.

acetic acid...just like in vineagar


Virgil

 

[Exposer]

acetic acid...

ACETIC ACID 's Properties:
Clear, colorless liquid, pungent odor. Miscible with water, alcohol, glycerol
and ether. Insoluble in carbon disulfide.

Hazard:
Moderate fire risk. Pure acetic acid is moderately toxic by ingestion and
inhalation, but dilute material is approved by FDA for food use. Strong
irritant to skin and tissue.

Uses:
Production of plastics, pharma ceuticals, dyes, insecticides, photographic
chemicals, food additive, latex coagulant, oil well acidizer, textile printing.

http://www.ratson.com/chemicals/acetic.htm


Hmmm... that doesn't sound good for the body.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Their claim is "The primary cause of a hangover is congeners. "

Noun 1. congener - an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)

From the online freedictionary.

Congener Any one particular member of the same chemical family; e.g., there are 75 congeners of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins.

So what cogners are they referring to in their hangove cure? Cogeners of alcohol would be of the same chemical family, but only one type of actual chemical alcohol is in the beverages right?

They are using pseudoscience. Therefore there is no explanation as to how it works, thus it is some made up substance. What is this cure thing actually made up of???

Cannot seem to find out. Must be a "secret formula" of their

calcium carbonate and charcoal

Keep in mind

Chaser does not prevent intoxication or absorb alcohol

uh huh. And how does eating the calcium carbonate and charcoal get out of your digestive system intact to where they need to go in your body and absorb these imaginary "cogeners" and also get them out of the body in order to prevent a hangover? Or are hangovers caused by cogeners in the digestive tract?

I always drink a lot of water to prevent hangover. In this context Wrath is right. Drinking water helps.

On that note, I'm guessing you down the chasers with water? Looking up directions on useage.

Now moderate drinkers can enjoy their favorite beverages

Oh, and what is a moderate drinker? One who drinks only one glass of an alcholic beverage?

Two caplets last for three hours of drinking, or for up to six drinks. If you drink over a longer period, or more than six drinks, take two more caplets.

Skip the stupid caplets. I wouldn't get a hangover of "headache, nausea and fatigue" (only what is supposedly cured) if drinking two drinks an hour like that. You do have to limit yourself to six drinks in 3 hours. That is two an hour.

So, anybody test it yet?

Have 6 drinks in 3 hours without the pills and write out your symptoms. If you normally drink water, then do that too. Don't alter your drinking habits. If you don't normall drink any water, then don't.

Then have 6 drinks the same way in 3 hours and take the pills as directed. Let us know if there is any difference.

How many test subjects can we get?

Chaser is an all natural dietary supplement.

Therefore unregulated, and untested by anybody but them.

 

[Gestahl]

Some thoughts....

WoTS had a good point about the water, however, the metabolization and diuretic effects of ethanol are what cause dehydration, so taking it before would probably not help (you'd just piss it all away). In my experience, at least, drinking more (non-ethanol) liquid before hand or during does not help... only after you stop drinking does the water seem to help.

Secondly, the absorbing toxins bit is stupid, because drinking Golden Grain will give you one *hell* of a hangover (trust me ;-). Fruit juice does not give me a hangover, but if I mix GG with it (which is *the* cheapest way to have a tasty, really alcoholic drink) I do. Trust me, it's just the alcohol.

Now, if the charcoal and lime (CaCO3) could absorb alcohol or a metabolic byproduct of it, I might be convinced. That isn't what they claim though. Plus, notice that they do not cite results, only that "83% would *recommend* it." Not that they felt better or were able to drink more, etc.