For thousands of years man has been searching for the means to cure a hangover. Every conceivable method which might just work has been tried. Given that medical science has finally found the answer, it is odd that more people do not know about it. The answer is to eat N-acetylcystine and wash it down with water.
N-acetylcystine has a remedial effect on acetaldehyde. After you drink alcohol, it metabolises into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde causes hangovers, especially when combined with dehydration. N-acetylcystine effectively metabolises acetaldehyde. Still with me? Good.
This isn’t some really nasty chemical which you should fear beyong belief. It’s a chemical which your body produces naturally. Unfortunately, as you get older, you produce less and less of it. Luckily you can buy it. Annoyingly, the only place in the UK which I know sells it is Hollande & Barratt, the ‘health’ chain store. There, it is sold as a meaningless food supplement with a recommended dosage which is unlikely to achieve anything at all because it is too low.
To use it to cure a hangover, really you need medical advice. Ideally you should take this from a doctor but if you fancy your intellectual chances about being able to follow the advice which your doctor takes, you can read the British National Formulary (BNF) yourself. Myself, I’d go to the doctor. I’d prefer all you non-medical people out there to go to the doctor too. Back in the real world, you’re already checking out your supposed medical problems online anyway. Idiots. The BNF grants you free registration for access to its mysteries, so long as you are “in the UK or in the HINARI group of developing nations who intend to use the information for personal or health professional purposes.” Anywhere that’s a source for medical advice but N-acetylcystine no longer appears in there. I just checked. Oh dear.
You have to swallow it during or immediately after drinking. Therefore, strictluy speaking it isn’t a hangover cure because you will be taking it before the hangover arrives. I discovered it from some medical friends of mine and have used it. It worked for me. It was a 100% cure. I’ve taken it several times. I believe that there isn’t much research on it and I would imagine that there may be a risk with taking it too often. Drinking too much alcohol or drinking too often also carries risks. You don’t need me to tell you that!
Basically, when I ‘experimented’ with it I was about 16 stone in weight and I’m six foot two inches in height on a good day. At the time I was about 35 years old and I am a man. Just in case that wasn’t obvious. I calculated by reference to the print edition of the BNF that I had to eat one pill of the magic stuff as served up by Hollande & Barratt per pint I’d drunk but on no account more than ten. Get your own medical advice! My wife’s a doctor and I had some assistance with this process. As with all medication, you can overdose.
Unfortunately, the times you most need a hangover cure neatly coincide with the times when you are least inclined to look after yourself. The result of that was that on a number of occasions I simply forgot to take the cure before going to be, even though it was in the house. This happened so often that in the end I didn’t bother stocking up on it because I knew I wouldn’t use it! This morning I wish I took a different approach. 