Some swear by these hangover remedies, but best be wary
Do you really want to start the first day of the roaring ‘20s with a roaring hangover?
The answer is no, obviously. But turn to an internet search for advice on “curing” your hangover and you’ll find no shortage of bad ideas. Sure, you could rub lemon slices up and down your armpits. But then you’d just be another hungover Northern Californian with citrus pits.
Many research efforts, including one first published in 2009 by “Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental,” say that the exact method by which alcohol consumption causes hangovers remains “poorly understood.” While the most common belief is that alcohol’s dehydrating quality is mostly to blame, others have put forth that most of hangovers’ miserable symptoms are due to ethanol making its way into a person’s bloodstream faster than the liver can process it.
After a bit of research, here’s a breakdown of some popular hangover remedies and what to expect if you use them on New Year’s or any other occasion.
‘Morning Recovery’: Japanese raisin extract, in a bottle
One of the hottest herbal remedies in the modern hangover relief market comes via something called Dihydromyricetin, aka DHM, aka Hovenia dulcis extract, aka Oriental Raisin Tree extract, aka Japanese Raisin Tree extract.
On More Labs’ website, the company includes what it calls a clinical study of Morning Recovery’s efficacy in relieving hangover symptoms. More Labs says it conducted “a multi-site, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study” overseen by physicians and scientists.
The self-conducted study claims drinking Morning Recovery “led to statistically significant improvements in several key symptoms related to the aftereffects of alcohol: headaches, concentration (‘rain fog’), heart-pounding (‘chest discomfort’), clumsiness, and anxiety,” and that users “felt up to 80%+ better than those without Morning Recovery.” The same study, though, did not find statistically significant improvements in light sensitivity, physical weakness, dizziness or nausea.
‘Play Mode’: A Sacramento startup
Branding itself as an “all natural” equivalent to Pedialyte for adults, Play Mode first went up for sale in 2015. The company was founded by Michael Baeta of Sacramento.
In its early stages, Baeta told local media outlets, including the Sacramento Business Journal, that Play mode had the potential of preventing “that unsettling feeling” of a hangover “prior to it even happening.”
But in 2019, Play Mode’s website states that the drink is “not a hangover supplement” but was “formulated to replenish lost body fluid and provide a powerful functionality with alcohol,” and can be consumed by itself or mixed with alcohol.
Intravenous drips
Drip Hydration offers 12 different IV “blends” ranging from $199 to $999 a pop. “Hangover Treatment” costs $279, and Drip’s website claims it will “combat hangover symptoms within 30-60 minutes” using a blend of rehydration fluids, vitamin B12, and antinausea and anti-inflammatory medication.
On one menu webpage, Drip Hydration says this blend will “detoxify your body and cure your hangover symptoms.”
But a disclaimer at the bottom of every page reminds customers: “These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The material on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.” What do experts say? A large number of doctors and scientists speaking to numerous national news outlets in the U.S. and abroad have expressed that there is no evidence that IV drips are an effective hangover remedy and some say any improvement noticed by a consumer is likely a placebo effect.
“There’s no scientific support that these treatments do anything,” Lewis S. Nelson, a toxicologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, told The New York Times in 2014.
How about hair of the dog?
Having a drink in the morning has stood for ages as a viable hangover remedy in many cultures, with “hair of the dog” long ago becoming the English expression for it.
There seems to be a consensus in the health and science communities that hair of the dog does not help cure hangovers; it only delays the inevitable symptoms. Additionally, it can lead to harmful habits.
Expert advice
Here’s what the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says about hangovers and recovering from them: The best and only surefire way to avoid a hangover is to avoid drinking to excess.
“There is no way to speed up the brain’s recovery from alcohol use -drinking coffee, taking a shower, or having an alcoholic beverage the next morning will not cure a hangover,” the institute says.
“Some people take overthe-counter pain relievers (often acetaminophen) before going to bed to minimize hangovers. It is important to recognize that the combination of alcohol and acetaminophen can be toxic to the liver ... Proceed with caution when using these medications before or after consuming alcohol.”