France's hangover cure might reach Britain

A Normandy–based company is hopeful to allow British suppliers on a hangover cure after convincing the highest civil court of France to reverse a ban on its sale.

It is said that 30ml of Security Feel Better, made with a secret recipe based on plant extracts, can make alcohol vanish in the bloodstream six more times quicker than it performs naturally.

Yesterday, Internet sales continued and a company spokesman stated that the return to usual supermarket business will be progressive, that is if French authorities will not appeal.

In February, a story in The Daily Telegraph regarding the product resulted to international interest when hundreds of possible distributors in and outside Britain asked to be in touch with PPN, the makers.

The head of PPN, Patrick Nicaise, denied that advertising persuaded people to drive after drinking. He also said that the product was on sale for years without problems until a growth in export chances encouraged a fresh wave of publicity.

The new publicity still states ‘No Hangover' but illustrates the potion as a help in digestion after drink and food.

Mr Nicaise was pleased with the decision of the court. PPN said that Security Feel Better is now being sold in Spain, Belgium, Russia, Switzerland and Germany and it expects to have British distributors.

Not a single British entity called by the newspaper team yesterday can comment how the product, which can either be an alcohol or medicine, should be regulated. The Department of Health, when contacted, pointed to the Food Standards Agency, which then passed the buck to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Lastly, the Portman Group, established by the drinks industry in order to encourage safe alcohol use, stated that there were already a number of hangover medications available in the markets but they lack the ability to regulate them.

How To Avoid Hangover

Those who drink are well acquainted with hangovers. Some believe that the best way to escape a hangover is, not to indulge in drinking at all. But basically varying amount of alcohol consumption leaves you with varying ill effects.

Undoubtedly avoiding a hangover is several times better than curing one. What usually happens is that by the time you plan for the cure; your body is already caught into a hangover. The feeling of nausea and pain is very awful indeed! Coping up with a hangover is very difficult, especially for the working class, where you can't even afford to have one.

Most effective way to avoid hangover is to drink moderately and to eat imbibe water while drinking. Hangover can be easily avoided if for each pint measure you drink one glassful of water.

The only problem with beer is that the beverage not associated with eating unlike rest of the alcoholic drinks. But it all depends on your taste and outlook. Usually the attitude alters in order to get up fresh, the next morning.

Prefer carbohydrates and fats for eating if you do not want a hangover. Curry-rice, meat meal or good pasta are some good options. Another trick, which has worked for many people, is the intake of at least 5 pieces of vegetable or fruit everyday. You must eat throughout the drinking session and then you need not bother about the hangovers.

Finally, gulp two or three glasses of water before going to bed and then take a sound sleep. This sleep should last for 8-9 hours before waking up.

HANGOVER

Introduction:

The hangover occurs due to excessive intake of alcohol. This is common to everyone. The persons with hangover problem should avoid driving and operating machinery. The law permits the presence of blood alcohol only up to 80mg per 100ml of blood, when you drive. If you need to drive within the next 24 hours, it is advisable to avoid alcohol. Hangovers have impacts on society and health as well. Employers lose man-hours and quality of performance if employees take sick leave due to hangovers. As heavy drinkers can behave violently, it spoils the relationships.

What are the causes of hangover?

Alcohol promotes excretion of urine, which results in dehydration. This leads to symptoms of hangover. Alcohol, as a diuretic, increases the production of urine and encourages filtering out sodium and potassium salts from blood. Therefore, blood loses large amount of water. This water drains out through urine.

Alcohol causes malnutrition too. The vitamins and minerals stored in the body are used by alcohol and the level of blood sugar is reduced. This causes headache also, besides dehydration. Alcohol also causes dilation of blood vessels, enhancing the severity of headache.

What are the symptoms of hangover?

The symptoms of hangover include headache, sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, muscle aches, mild diarrohoea, nausea, vomiting, tremors, red eyes and thirst. The dizziness experienced while drinking may continue the next day, as a hangover symptom. The hangover can cause behavioural changes such as irritation and anxiety. It can cause depression too. Alcohol spoils the normal quality of sleep. Therefore, in the morning you feel as if you have not slept in the night.

The symptoms of hangover differ with persons. It also depends on the amount of alcohol consumed. It has fewer effects on persons with heavy body weight. Researches reveal that alcoholic drinks in dark colour may cause severe hangover symptoms as they contain congeners, which are toxic. Congeners are responsible for the characters of the drinks. Most commonly, tyramine is present in alcohol which is responsible for headaches. Dehydration caused by alcohol, also results in thirst and headaches.

How to treat a hangover?

Treatment involves rehydrating the body and combating the pains. You can get relieved from headache and muscle pains with the help of analgesics. Aspirin should be avoided as it may irritate the stomach, causing increased nausea. Fruit juice and honey contain a natural sugar called fructose. This facilitates speedy processing of alcohol. Loss of minerals and vitamins can be compensated by taking Bouillon soup.

Drinking plenty of water or soda water can compensate salt losses. Isotonic drinks also can help compensating the loss of salt in the system.

Tips for reducing the severity of hangover:

You should not have more than one drink per hour, as your system can process only 15ml of alcohol per hour.

Do not take alcohol in empty stomach. If food is already present in the stomach, it can absorb alcohol and give more time to the body for processing the alcohol. This reduces hangover risks.

Intake of large quantum of water can prevent dehydration. Add enough water to raw alcohol before consuming it. This avoids thirst in the morning.

Alcoholic drinks containing high level of congeners should be avoided, as they cause severe hangovers. Dark coloured alcoholic drinks contain large amounts of congeners.