For over 9,000 years, people have been searching for the best hangover cure, according to Penn Museum. That was the time when humans first learned to store their extra food after they learned the art and science of agriculture. They learned that giving fruits the chance to sit around and ferment will eventually result in an alcoholic beverage.
Since then, some hangover cures were invented, including herbal teas, fizzy drinks, and many others. But now, researchers believe that a hangover could be solved by a cheap pill that is meant to strengthen the immune system and reduce mucus in people with asthma and cystic fibrosis.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Tablets are Better Hangover Cure for Women
The paper, entitled "The use of N-acetylcysteine in the prevention of hangover: a randomized trial," published in Scientific Reports, showed that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) tablets better reduce the symptoms of hangover on women than on men.
The team of four researchers from St. Luke's University Health Network in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, wrote in their paper that their study could have a profound significance in improving quality of life and offer a better understanding of alleviating hangover symptoms that could have beneficial effects on the society.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) tablets have been used in the past to break down mucus and treat paracetamol poisoning and chest pain and against allergic reaction to an epilepsy drug.
This pill can easily be accessible over-the-counter or taken at home. Researchers thought that its potential to prevent hangover symptoms without the burden of it being expensive could make it a new hangover cure.
Researchers explain that the enzymes and co-enzymes in the liver, called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glutathione, and cystine, break down ethanol to produce a toxic by-product called acetaldehyde. But excessive ethanol disables the liver's function in completing this process. The body would have to wait for at least 24 hours for the liver to make glutathione to rid of the acetaldehyde.
"Since [NAC] is a precursor to L-glutathione, it has the potential to decrease oxidative stress on the liver during ethanol degradation as a glutathione donor," researchers said as quoted by Daily Mail.
They tested it on males and females over the age of 21 and have no issues related to alcohol. They were given either NAC tablets and placebo capsules. Overall, they found that females have improved hangover symptoms after taking the NAC tablet compared to the placebo.
However, researchers are unable to identify reasons for the gender-specific susceptibility to the benefits of NAC.
Side Effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) tablets
Researchers did record some minor side effects when participants took the NAC tablets. According to WebMD, taking NAC tablets by mouth is generally safe for most adults, but it can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, or constipation. The pill could rarely cause rashes, fever, headache, low blood pressure, drowsiness, and liver problems.
When NAC is taken intravenously, it is still safe and rarely causes rashes, fever, headache, and liver problems. Sometimes, NAC is also prescribed as an inhaler for a prescribed medication, but this too is safe. Although it rarely causes swelling in the mouth, runny nose, drowsiness, ad chest tightness.
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