Advertisements on podcasts and social media were tempting: over-the-counter probiotic supplements that could prevent the worst effects of a hangover if taken before drinking.
As a bourbon reviewer who enjoys the taste of spirits but has always been prone to hangovers, Eric Burke was intrigued. He ordered a few bottles of Pre-Alcohol, a probiotic drink from the company ZBiotics, to try it out.
The mixture of water, salt, flavoring and was drunk. genetically modified bacteria. He followed it up with a cocktail, a meal, and two bourbons, and woke up the next morning feeling considerably more cheerful than he expected.
The next night, emboldened by success, he drank another half-ounce bottle of Pre-Alcohol. He drank a little more than the night before: a beer with dinner and then four glasses of bourbon.
Typically, that amount would make you sore and sluggish the next day.
Which was exactly what he felt when he opened his eyes hours later.
“That was disgusting,” Burke, 48, said. “I woke up that morning thinking, 'Well, I'm not 21 anymore.' “
A hangover is a collection of physical and mental symptoms resulting from the inflammation and oxidative stress that alcohol causes in the human body.
One of the many factors that contribute to morning-after misery is the buildup of acetaldehyde, a chemical byproduct of the breakdown of ethanol from beverages in the body. Acetaldehyde is a carcinogen that is prominent in nausea, upset stomach, sweating, and other physical symptoms associated with excessive consumption.
Pre-Alcohol from ZBiotics and Myrkl, the competing supplement from Swedish biotech company De Faire Medical AB, rely on live bacteria to process excess acetaldehyde. Other researchers and recreational drinkers They have also experimented with probiotics for similar purposes.
According to the hypothesis, reducing the amount of acetaldehyde should also reduce the physical symptoms caused by its buildup.
A waiter holds a martini with lemon.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“The more you drink, the more you have to deal with the effects of things other than acetaldehyde,” ZBiotics CEO Zack Abbott said by email when asked about Burke's results. “That said, for the vast majority of people, acetaldehyde is a major factor and therefore prealcohol makes them feel better (if not perfect) the next day.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers ZBiotics and Myrkl to be dietary supplements or functional foods, not drugs, and therefore does not evaluate their health claims. Microbiome experts warn that a probiotic supplement alone won't prevent you from the worst effects of too much.
For starters, the bloodstream carries most of the ethanol in an alcoholic beverage directly to the liver, where an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase breaks it down into acetaldehyde. The brain, gastrointestinal tract, and pancreas also process some alcohol. Only a relatively small amount of ethanol is metabolized in the intestines, where probiotics do their work.
Adding probiotics to your pre-party regimen won't cause you any harm, said Karsten Zengler, a microbiologist and professor of pediatrics and bioengineering at UC San Diego.
But it's also unlikely to have a substantial effect on how you feel the next day, since your intestines come pre-equipped with an army of bacteria capable of breaking down alcohol byproducts, he said.
“There isn't much ethanol and acetaldehyde in the large intestine to begin with,” Zengler said, and “the vast majority of bacteria in the gut already metabolize acetaldehyde for you, so simply adding some more might not be enough. “
ZBiotics has funded studies that demonstrate both the safety of its product and that its bacteria effectively break down a significant amount of acetaldehyde under simulated intestinal conditions in a laboratory. As for the real-world effects of that crash, Abbott pointed to a 2006 outside paper that found that rats given ethanol had fewer hangover-like symptoms the next day when the acetaldehyde was removed.
Myrkl financed a small study which showed that their product reduced blood alcohol levels in some participants. The subjects were instructed to take the supplement for a week before drinking, instead of the single pre-party dose indicated on the package.
The hard truth said Joris C. Versterprofessor of pharmacology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and founder of the Alcohol Hangover Research Group consortium, is that there is currently a scientifically validated way to prevent hangovers: drink less alcohol.
“Although many hangover products are marketed, there is no convincing scientific evidence that these treatments are effective. Independent, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials in social drinkers are needed,” Verster said. “Currently, the only effective way to prevent a hangover is to consume alcohol in moderation.”
As unpleasant as they are, hangovers serve a valuable purpose, he said. Dr Daryl Daviesprofessor of clinical pharmacy and director of the Alcohol and Brain Research Laboratory at the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
“What I usually tell people is that if you're hungover, you're drinking too much,” Davies said. “It's the body trying to tell you something is wrong.”
