Experts swear by one amino acid to cure your holiday hangovers

If you’re looking for a quick fix for a hangover this holiday season, an ingredient from a range of foods could be the answer.

A study found that the amino acid L-cysteine ​​may help prevent or relieve hangover-related nausea, headaches, stress and anxiety.

The chemical – often sold as a dietary supplement and found in everything from granola to garlic – is thought to be important for its role in making proteins in the body and boosting other metabolic functions.

The study conducted by Finnish researchers hypothesized that L-cysteine ​​helps with this eliminate acetaldehyde in the body and in turn prevent a hangover.

When ethanol – the intoxicant in beer, wine and spirits – is ingested, it is converted into acetaldehyde.

The buildup of acetaldehyde causes the hangover.

In high concentrations it can cause toxic effects such as rapid heart rate, sweating, flushing of the skin, nausea and vomiting.

And the body cannot fully recover until the excess acetaldehyde is destroyed and digested.

Naturally occurring enzymes in the liver are known to have the ability to eradicate acetaldehyde, but they don’t always act fast enough.

In the study, which was published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, researchers from the University of Helsinki tested L-cysteine ​​tablets on a group of men who had to drink alcohol for several hours on six different occasions.

Men given the pill reported fewer hangover symptoms such as nausea, headaches, stress and anxiety compared to men given a placebo, the results showed.

The study involved six drinking sessions on subsequent Friday evenings, all starting around 7pm and ending at 10pm.

Every hour between 7 p.m. and midnight, participants had to swallow their given tablet.

They were randomly chosen to receive six placebo tablets, six L-cysteine ​​tablets (a dose of 1,200 mg or 600 mg) or three of each.

In the morning, participants rated their level of hangover, nausea, headache and anxiety on a scale from zero to 10, and stress from zero to 4.

The researchers claim that if the pill helps reduce stress and anxiety, people will be less likely to drink again to avoid or overcome a hangover, also known as ‘hair of the dog’.

However, they did emphasize that the L-cysteine ​​tablets they administered for the study contained other vitamins, such as B1 and C.

They could not rule out whether these had some effect.

Many hangover remedies contain L-cysteine, such as some capsules from the wellness brand Cheers

Another limitation of the study was that there were only 19 participants in the study and all of them were male.

Still, experts say there’s no harm in adding L-cysteine ​​to your diet, especially after a night of heavy drinking.

Mount Sinai experts say there is evidence the supplement may also help protect against a range of other health problems, including 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 protein-rich foods, including ricotta, cottage cheese, yogurt, pork, chicken, sausage meat, turkey, duck, lunch meat, granola and oat flakes.

Many hangover remedies contain L-cysteine, such as some capsules from the wellness brand Cheers.

The company’s Restore tablets – designed to be taken before bedtime – contain L-Cysteine ​​and dihydromyricetin (DHM), a herbal medicine that is also believed to help with alcohol poisoning.

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.