Hangover Supplements: What the Evidence Shows

HEALTH · GLOBAL

Hangover Supplements: What the Evidence Shows

What causes a hangover, what has been studied, the risks and what actually works

Products claiming to prevent or reduce hangovers are widely sold, and the research behind them is limited. Understanding what a hangover actually is explains why.

What causes it

Several things at once — dehydration, disrupted sleep, inflammation, irritation of the stomach lining, and the toxic metabolite acetaldehyde produced as the body processes alcohol. Congeners in darker drinks add to it.

No single ingredient addresses all of that, which is why no product reliably prevents a hangover.

What has been studied

Reviews of hangover remedies generally conclude that evidence is weak and trials are small, short and of poor quality. Some ingredients — prickly pear, red ginseng, Korean pear — have single small studies behind them.

Nothing has evidence strong enough to be described as effective. A product may make you feel somewhat better and will not make drinking heavily safe.

The risk of feeling protected

The genuine concern with these products is that they encourage people to drink more than they otherwise would. The harm from alcohol comes from the alcohol rather than from the hangover.

Ingredients to check

Some contain high doses of vitamins or extracts that interact with medication. Anything containing paracetamol should be avoided entirely around alcohol, since the combination stresses the liver.

N-acetylcysteine and milk thistle are commonly included and should not be assumed harmless for everyone.

What genuinely helps

Drinking less. Alternating with water, eating beforehand, choosing lighter-coloured drinks, and allowing time before driving or working.

Rehydration, simple painkillers used according to the label, food and sleep are what the evidence supports for recovery.

Drinking sensibly

Home measures are typically far larger than a bar measure, which is why people underestimate what they have drunk. Pouring measured drinks changes the arithmetic considerably.

Alcohol disrupts the second half of the night's sleep even when it helps you fall asleep, which is a large part of why the next day feels bad.

Driving

Alcohol is still in the system the morning after, and morning-after drink driving is more common than people assume. Allow roughly an hour per unit plus an hour, and if in doubt do not drive.

Supplement quality

Check the amount of each ingredient per serving against the dose used in any study cited, and look for third-party testing. A proprietary blend listing ingredients without quantities cannot be assessed.

Tell a doctor or pharmacist what you take, since several common botanical ingredients interact with medication.

When to worry

Confusion, vomiting that will not stop, slow breathing or unresponsiveness after drinking is a medical emergency.

Know your national guidance on weekly units, and speak to a doctor if drinking feels difficult to control.

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