For those deep into the holiday spirit, there is an amino acid that may be able to ease your hangover.
Americans tend to drink twice their usual amount of alcohol during the holidays – that’s a lot of eggnog going straight down the noggin. Hangover symptoms, which usually begin hours after the last call, include fatigue, headache, muscle aches, nausea, anxiety, irritability and depression.
Drinking plenty of water, taking a pain reliever such as ibuprofen, eating soft foods such as crackers, and getting enough rest can help speed healing.
Research from Finland found that L-cysteine can also prevent or ease the nausea, headaches, stress and anxiety associated with hangovers.
L-cysteine is an amino acid, which means it contributes to the synthesis of new proteins within the body.
L-cysteine also increases levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps repair damaged cells and supports liver detoxification. Most alcohol is metabolized in the liver.
Our bodies make cysteine from the amino acid methionine – many high protein foods also contain cysteine. L-cysteine can also be found in nutritional supplements in the form of N-acetyl cysteine.
A writer for the UK’s Metro said this week that she took two tablets of Myrkl, an “anti-hangover” supplement that boasts L-cysteine, vitamin B12 and probiotic bacteria, before downing five beers and two shots of tequila.
“I feel great,” Lydia Wheatley said. “I’ve taken my night sickness well, but my nausea is almost non-existent and my head is pretty clear. I actually feel kind of refreshed.”
L-cysteine is certainly not a magic bullet. The 2020 Finnish study – “the strongest evidence to date of L-cysteine improving hangovers” had some limitations.
There were only 19 study participants (all men) and the supplement contained many vitamins and nutrients, so it’s unclear whether L-cysteine should get all the credit.
Plus, the research was funded by Catapult Cat, which manufactures the L-cysteine tablets consumed in the study.
However, there is no harm in adding L-cysteine to your diet, especially after a long night of drinking. Here are some foods that contain amino acids.
Foods containing L-cysteine
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Duck
- Pork
- Bottom steak
- Beef liver
- Sausage meat
- Lunch meats
- Tuna
- Crab cakes
- yogurt
- Ricotta
- Curd
- egg
- Wheat embryo
- Granola
- oatmeal
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Lima beans
- Sunflower seeds
- Red peppers
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