There are people who can go out and drink a bottle of wine or more and wake up feeling fine. Fuzzy headed maybe, but not in a desperate state.
And then there are people who can drink a few glasses of wine and wake up feeling like they’ve been struck down by a migraine and norovirus at the same time.
And that’s me.
I’ve tried a good few things to try to fend off the inevitable hangover but I’ve yet to find a cure.
I’ve done the drinking lots of water before bed, the gulping down B-vitamin drinks, the rehydration powders.
But, no matter what I’ve turned to the after-effects have been the same. And there’s every chance that if I’ve overdone it I’m probably going to pay for it.
So, when a Swedish probiotic firm announced it had launched a new and scientifically tested pill for preventing hangovers I made sure I was among the first to get my hands on it.
The makers of the Myrkl anti-hangover pill (do you see what they did with the name there?) say it’s designed to break down alcohol before it reaches your liver.
This, say DeFaire Medical, can prevent the formation of toxic acetaldehyde, which can add to hangover symptoms like nausea and headaches.
So far so good.
Science behind the new hangover pill
Participants in a clinical trial who drank very moderately had on average 50% less alcohol in their blood after 30 minutes.
After 60 minutes, they had 70% less, say the makers, thus significantly reducing alcohol’s impact on the body.
The magic formula – including targeted bacteria strains and fermented rice bran – is designed to put gut flora in your digestive system that will help process alcohol before it’s absorbed into your blood.
Some will wonder if it wouldn’t be better and cheaper to just drink a little less, a little slower.
But we all know there are going to be those occasions when good sense goes out the window.
And while the research behind Myrkl sounded really impressive, the small print did reveal it had involved a study carried out on just 24 people.
So really, there was nothing else for it.
I had to try it for myself.
Time to put it to the test
On the first night, I pushed my luck by drinking two large glasses of wine. Crazy, I know.
I took one pill, rather than the recommended two, figuring I might not need the full anti-hangover dose.
So because I'm the world's biggest sucker when it comes to trying magic products that offer the world, I tried this Myrkl "miracle hangover pill" this weekend and it actually works great? I feel like I didn't drink yesterday at all.
— Laura Shortridge-Scott 💙🏴 (@DiscordianKitty) July 10, 2022
The effects of alcohol seemed slightly less noticeable.
And there was no after-taste of alcohol later that night, or a definite feeling that I’d been drinking.
The next morning though, I didn’t feel great. I was tired and my stomach felt a bit rough.
Not sure if I was just having an off day – and in the interest of science – I tried again the next night.
This time I took the recommended two pills before drinking another two glasses of wine with dinner.
An hour later I really didn’t feel like I’d been drinking much at all.
So far so good.
The next morning I woke up feeling fine. I was clearer headed and brighter than I’d usually have felt after drinking.
Could it really be a Myrkl, I wondered. Can two tiny pills relieve me from my hangover hell?
But that’s when the dramatic twist kicked in and I was seized by stomach cramps that sent me running to the toilet.
I spent the next 10 minutes in there wishing all I had to worry about was a hangover.
And that’s probably enough said.
I won’t be repeating the experiment. Put it that way.
Lessons learned – and back to square one
I can’t say for sure if it was the pills – or that anyone else would feel the same.
I’ve had stomach upsets after taking probiotics before. But I know that, for me, the outcome this time was every bit as unpleasant as the side effects of a night on the tiles.
With novel anti-hangover pill #Myrkl hitting the market, @DrADhanda @UHP_NHS @PlymUni explains to @ConversationUK what we need to know.
Read the article https://t.co/0Q2yW1kKb4 pic.twitter.com/bR3Qpohh5b
— PlymUniNews (@PlymUniNews) July 5, 2022
So what’s the moral of this little tale?
We all know excessive drinking is harmful to our health – that hangovers are horrible and the long-term effects are even worse.
When it comes to booze there’s still no magical pill that can turn wine into water.
And since I’m rolling out the biblical references, here’s another – we reap what we sow.
Hangovers are here to stay I reckon, and if you’re looking to avoid them, prevention is still better than the cure.
Conversation