After the party...

Though science is conclusive that drinking alcohol has a negative effect on our health we wanted to take a look at the science behind those bad next-day feelings. 

The infamous "hangover" - it's the unwelcome companion to our weekend festivities, often turning the fun-filled revelries of Friday and Saturday nights into the dreaded "Sunday scaries".

Thought to be caused by dehydration as alcohol is a diuretic (a substance that increases the production of urine), there is actually little evidence to suggest that electrolyte imbalances contribute to or are associated with hangovers (1,2). "Hangover" appears to be the result of ethanol-producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). These are generated during the breakdown of alcohol to acetaldehyde. These ROS interact with inflammation pathways, the immune system and the body's metabolic system. The symptoms that you might be familiar with from a hangover such as nausea, vomiting and tremor all occur in the presence of elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines and ROS (3).

There has been a huge uptick in requests for "hangover" and "recovery" product requests at Cambridge Commodities. So, we thought it was high time to discuss which supplements show potential for helping to decrease the symptoms of a hangover.

Dietary Zinc and nicotinic acid are known to have a role in the metabolism of alcohol (ethanol) into acetaldehyde. Some studies have shown that drinkers with higher intakes of zinc and nicotinic acid have a lower hangover severity (4).

In a study of 49 men from 2020, it was shown that a dose of 1200mg of L-cystine could help to decrease the symptoms of a hangover including nausea, headache, stress and anxiety (5). However, this study was only completed on men so the results may not be able to be extrapolated to the rest of the population. There is also some evidence for clove extract and red ginseng but the evidence is of lower quality (6).

While there is little hope for treating the biological causes of a hangover after drinking, it might be prudent to help support the body through a hangover. There are several studies that show that curcumin is hepaprotective (protective of the liver) (7,8,9) so, while this wouldn't be helping to treat a hangover immediately, it would help to support the body's organs against long-term damage. 

Sleep can also help improve hangover severity, a study of 578 students found that reduced total sleep time (<5 hours) is associated with more severe hangovers than those who slept for longer (>7 hours). So, ingredients that help to improve sleep time and quality might be helpful in hangover products. These include Levagen®)+, KSM-66 Ashwagandha® are the perfect products in this case as they have both been studied and shown to improve sleep onset time and Levagen®+ was shown to improve cognition upon waking while KSM-66 Ashwagandha® was shown to increase total time in bed (10,11).

Cambridge Commodities encourages readers and customers to be mindful about their consumption of alcohol, please ensure that you are drinking responsibly if you or someone that you know is suffering from alcoholism please contact Drinkware's hotline 0300 123 1110. 

*None of the claims in this article are validated EFSA health claims.

References:

1. Wiese JG, Shlipak MG, Browner WS. The alcohol hangover. Ann Intern Med. 2000 Jun 6;132(11):897-902. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-132-11-200006060-00008. PMID: 10836917.
2. Ylikahri RH, Pösö AR, Huttunen MO, Hillbom ME. Alcohol intoxication and hangover: effects on plasma electrolyte concentrations and acid-base balance. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1974 Dec;34(4):327-36. doi: 10.3109/00365517409049888. PMID: 4460229.
3. Van de Loo, A. J. A. E., Mackus, M., Kwon, O., Krishnakumar, I. M., Garssen, J., Kraneveld, A. D., Scholey, A., & Verster, J. C. (2020). The Inflammatory Response to Alcohol Consumption and Its Role in the Pathology of Alcohol Hangover. Biological Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107918
4. Verster JC, Vermeulen SA, Loo AJAEV, Balikji S, Kraneveld AD, Garssen J, Scholey A. Dietary Nutrient Intake, Alcohol Metabolism, and Hangover Severity. J Clin Med. 2019 Aug 27;8(9):1316. doi: 10.3390/jcm8091316. PMID: 31461972; PMCID: PMC6780234.
5. Eriksson, C. J. P., Metsälä, M., Möykkynen, T., Mäkisalo, H., Kärkkäinen, O., Palmén, M., Salminen, J. E., & Kauhanen, J. (2020). L-Cysteine Containing Vitamin Supplement Which Prevents or Alleviates Alcohol-related Hangover Symptoms: Nausea, Headache, Stress and Anxiety. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 55(6), 705. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agaa088
6. Roberts E, Smith R, Hotopf M, Drummond C. The efficacy and tolerability of pharmacologically active interventions for alcohol-induced hangover symptomatology: a systematic review of the evidence from randomised placebo-controlled trials. Addiction. 2022 Aug;117(8):2157-2167. doi: 10.1111/add.15786. Epub 2022 Jan 24. PMID: 34972259.
7. Panahi, Y., Kianpour, P., Mohtashami, R., Jafari, R., Simental-Mendía, L. E., & Sahebkar, A. (2017). Efficacy and Safety of Phytosomal Curcumin in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Drug Res, 2017 67: 244–251. doi: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-100019
8. Nabavi SF, Daglia M, Moghaddam AH, Habtemariam S, Nabavi SM. Curcumin and Liver Disease: from Chemistry to Medicine. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2014 Jan;13(1):62-77. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12047. PMID: 33412694.
9. Rahmani, S., Asgary, S., Askari, G., Keshvari, M., Hatamipour, M., Feizi, A., & Sahebkar, A. (2016). Treatment of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Curcumin: A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial. Phytotherapy Research, 30, 1540–1548. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.5659
10. Langade D, Kanchi S, Salve J, Debnath K, Ambegaokar D. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Insomnia and Anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study. Cureus. 2019 Sep 28;11(9):e5797. doi: 10.7759/cureus.5797. PMID: 31728244; PMCID: PMC6827862.
11. Rao, A., Ebelt, P., Mallard, A., & Briskey, D. (2021). Palmitoylethanolamide for sleep disturbance: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled interventional study. Sleep Science and Practice, 5(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41606-021-00065-3