GARLIC could get rid of a stinking hangover, a study suggests.
Researchers found “notable improvements” to morning-after aches in people who took a fermented garlic extract before boozing.
They scored lower on symptoms including sickness, headache, tiredness and thirst.
Scientists at South Korean supplement maker Hyundai Bioland tested their pills on 25 drinkers aged between 20 and 40.
They took two pills with water half an hour before a session drinking whiskey.
Participants then had blood tests and rated nine symptoms on scales of one to seven at regular intervals for 15 hours after drinking.
The symptoms were hangover, thirst, fatigue, headache, dizziness, loss of appetite, stomach ache, nausea and “heart tremble”.
Writing in the journal Food Science and Biotechnology, the scientists said: “At all-time points, the garlic extract group showed significantly lower hangover scores compared to the placebo group.
“The greatest difference was observed four hours after alcohol consumption, with the garlic extract group showing an approximately 67 per cent decrease on the acute hangover scale.”
After 15 hours the people who took the supplement were still only about half as hungover as those who did not, with an average score of 3.2 compared to 7.5.
The pills were created by fermenting garlic in lactobacillus bacteria commonly found in yoghurt.
The researchers said this boosted its antioxidant effects and reduced its smell and taste.
Blood tests on the participants found they had less alcohol in their system that people who had not taken the pills.
Experiments in the lab showed this is because the garlic increased the activity of enzymes that digest booze in the body, reducing how much is absorbed into the bloodstream.
Studies of other food supplements suggest ginger, turmeric, ginseng and milk thistle may all help to fend off hangovers, too.
The researchers added: “Lactobacillus-fermented garlic extract demonstrates potential as an ingredient for alleviating hangover symptoms, primarily by reducing blood alcohol.”
