If you’re looking for a quick hangover fix this holiday season, then one ingredient found in a range of foods might be the answer.
A study found that an amino acid called L-cysteine can help prevent or ease hangover-related nausea, headaches, stress and anxiety.
The chemical – often sold as a dietary supplement and found in everything from granola to garlic – is deemed important for its role in making proteins within the body, and boosting other metabolic functions.
The study conducted by Finnish researchers hypothesized that L-cysteine helps to eliminate acetaldehyde in the body, in turn preventing a hangover.
When ethanol – the intoxicating agent in beer, wine and liquor – is ingested, it gets converted into acetaldehyde.
The build-up of acetaldehyde is what causes the hangover.
In high concentrations, it can cause toxic effects, such as a rapid pulse, sweating, skin flushing, nausea, and vomiting.
And the body can’t fully recover until the excess acetaldehyde has been destroyed and digested.
If you’re looking for a quick hangover fix this holiday season, then one ingredient found in a range of foods might be the answer
Naturally-occurring enzymes found in the liver are known to have the ability to wipe out acetaldehyde – but don’t always act fast enough.
In the study, which was published in published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, researchers from the University of Helsinki tested L-cysteine tablets on a group of men who were ordered to drink alcohol for several hours on six different occasions.
Men given the pill reported fewer hangover symptoms of nausea, headache, stress and anxiety compared to men given a placebo, results showed.
The study involved six drinking sessions on subsequent Friday evenings which all started around 7pm and finished at 10pm.
At every hour between 7pm and midnight, the participants had to swallow their given tablet.
They were randomly chosen to receive either six placebo tablets, six L-cysteine tablets – either a 1,200mg or 600mg dose – or three of each.
In the morning, participants expressed their degree of hangover, nausea, headache and anxiety on a scale of zero to 10, and of stress from zero to 4.
The researchers claim that if the pill helps to reduce stress and anxiety, people are less likely to drink again to try and avoid or get over a hangover – otherwise known as ‘hair of the dog’.
However, they did highlight that the L-cysteine tablets they administered for the study contained other vitamins, like B1 and C.
They could not rule out if these had some sort of effect.
Many hangover remedies include L-cysteine, such as some capsules made by the wellness brand Cheers
Another limitation of the study was that there were only 19 study participants and they were all male.
Despite this, experts say there isn’t any harm in adding L-cysteine to your diet, especially after a heavy night of drinking.
Experts from Mount Sinai say there is evidence to suggest the supplement could also help safeguard against a range of other health problems including the flu, HIV or AIDS, and certain cancers.
They note that your body makes cysteine from methionine, an essential amino acid.
It is also found in most high-protein foods, including ricotta, cottage cheese, yogurt, pork, chicken, sausage meat, turkey, duck, lunch meats, granola, and oat flakes.
Many hangover remedies include L-cysteine, such as some capsules made by the wellness brand Cheers.
The company’s Restore tablets – designed to be taken before bed – contain L-Cysteine and dihydromyricetin (DHM), which is an herbal remedy also believed to help with alcohol toxicity.
Since launching in 2014, the company claims it has sold more than 25 million doses of its hangover remedies, making it one of the most popular brands in the alcohol-related health and wellness sector.
