The exact cause of hangovers are not completely understood, but they are a well known problem with ingesting alcohol. Bad alcohol hangovers are considered to be worse than the day-after effects of nearly any other psychoactive. Alcohol causes liver damage and bad hangovers may indicate alcohol toxicity and should be avoided. The primary causes of hangover are believed to be dehydration and related electrolyte imbalance, blood-sugar regulation disturbance, acute withdrawal, toxicity from alcohol metabolites, interaction with congeners (non-alcohol components of drinks), reduced sleep quality, and personal biological profile.

For more information above hangovers, see Alcohol Hangovers

According to the Mayo Clinic, Alcohol can:

• Reduce your risk of developing heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and intermittent claudication
• Reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack
• Reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes
• Lower your risk of gallstones

• Increase risk of oral, throat, colon, liver, and breast cancer [Boffetta P. 2006]
• Cirrhosis of the liver [Leon DA. 2006]
• Fetal alcohol syndrome if used by pregnant women in large quantities [Willford J 2006]
• Injuries from accidents, falls, motor vehicle accidents, etc
• Fatty Liver Disease [Surernti C, et al. 2003]
• Very high doses can lead to acute toxicity, coma, and death. [Yoon YH. 2003]

• Milk Thistle Seed
• Taurine reduces alcohol-binging-related liver damage? Dec 2005, BBC
• Kerai MD, Waterfield CJ, Kenyon SH, Asker DS, Timbrell JA. "Reversal of ethanol-induced hepatic steatosis and lipid peroxidation by taurine: a study in rats." Alcohol and Alcoholism. 1999

• Undoing alcohol's damage to the mind, Dec 25, 2006, LA Times