Hangover Cures

If you do an online search for “hangover pills” you will find that there are many available.    Most are designed to be taken before and while drinking as a hangover prevention rather than a hangover cure, and they contain many types of ingredients. Some contain natural herbs such as milk thistle and other mixtures, some contain B complex vitamins, and others contain carbon. While doctors generally will tell you that there is no scientific evidence that these products can help prevent hangovers, there is ample anecdotal evidence to indicate that they are effective, at least for significant numbers of people.  Since the products are considered quite safe to take, it certainly doesn’t hurt to give it a try.

How do these pills work?  Well, lets start with milk thistle.  Milk thistle is prescribed medically for ongoing use by persons with liver disease.  It is known to help the liver protect and filter out toxins. Milk thistle taken on an occasional basis before and during an evening of drinking may have a similar effect.  Herbal hangover pills, may also contain such things as green tea extract, peppermint, magnesium, fennel and willow bark.  How these ingredients work is not clear, however some have been used to treat headaches, nausea and stomach ailments which are the hallmark side effects that accompany a hangover.  Drinking alcohol also depletes B vitamins in the body. B complex vitamins aid in the metabolizing process and dilate blood vessels which speed the breakdown and elimination of alcohol.  Taking a high-dose of extra B complex vitamins before and after drinking will help shorten the duration of a hangover and restore your energy level.

Another group of hangover prevention pills, such as Chaser and others, contain pharmaceutical grade vegetable carbon and calcium carbonate.  Carbon has qualities which can help the body absorb the toxic effects of alcohol.  It balances alcohol metabolism by slowing process of ethanol oxidation into acetaldehyde, so less acetaldehyde is produced in the first place. It also speeds up the process of acetaldehyde decomposition into acetic acid which converts to water and carbon dioxide. You may have even heard of burned toast as an old hangover cure.  Burned toast also contains carbon.  Another hangover pill called Hangover Prevention contains a pharmaceutical-grade ingredient called S-adenosem AP, which works similarly to carbon to metabolize alcohol. 

Which of these pills works best?  If you check out various message boards and blog sites, you will find that they all have testimonials as well as detractors.  Some products are also more expensive than others, so shop around. As with all hangover prevention methods, the positive effects can be improved by simply drinking plenty of plain water before or during an evening of heavy drinking and prior to going to sleep.