As a Beauty Editor, my assignments tend to revolve around things like slathering on some yummy smelling foot cream, or trying out some revolutionary new fake lashes. Until now, that is, when I had to add the following to my To Do list: ’Get drunk’. Allow me to explain.
The search for the hangover cure
In December, I was contacted by a company promoting something I think we all dream of: a hangover cure. I peered at the email. From a company called the ‘Advanced Nutrition Programme’ came something named ‘Glutamine Powder’. Already, I was interested. I love to try anything remotely scientific sounding, and this seemed a million miles away from the Old Wives Tales-esque hangover cures you usually hear about. You know, things like ‘to ward off a hangover, simply mulch 14 dandelions and consume them under a full moon’. Stuff like that.
A quick Google of glutamine powder revealed that this was widely accepted as something that can stave off hangovers, as well as maintaining a healthy gut, boosting your immune system, and helping your body through stressful situations. Here comes the science, as they say – essentially, glutamine steers your body through the nasty ‘morning after’ symptoms, and curbs cravings for sugary and carb-laden foods. Hello product of my dreams, I muttered to myself. If you’re still following the technical stuff, glutamine is a nutrient required by the body to detoxify alcohol. When you drink a lot, glutamine stores get depleted, and you wake up feeling disgusting, craving food.
I thought it was worth a try. During my teenage years, I’d been that most annoying of people; the girl who never had a hangover. I’d bound out of bed the day after a big house party, mystified as to how everyone else was still lying in a heap on the floor. Then the Law of Sod came along and delivered me some entirely beastly hangovers during my early twenties. Leaping out of bed the next day? I was lucky if I could get out of bed AT ALL the day after. If I could, I’d go and make myself a bucket of pasta with cheese, followed by a bag of Haribo.
Post-uni, it got even worse. A job in advertising meant I spent months teetering between being tipsy and hungover. Hangovers kicked in before the end of the night, with the added loveliness of me getting hugely emotional from all the booze. Months on, I’ve tried to kick the habit. You might have heard the item on the news today about how we’re still all drinking much more than we need to. I decided to test the Glutamine powder on New Year’s Eve, and see whether it had an effect on my hangover AND my drinking habits. I did nothing else different, and made sure I still drank enough to test it fairly –hey, hey. Come on now! It was research!
The night itself: I stirred a teaspoon full of Glutamine powder into a glass of water before I started drinking. It’s flavourless, but powdery water isn’t the most delectable of things, so next time I’d probably pop it into a smoothie – just to be almost obscenely healthy. I drank one glass before going out, then one when I got back before going to bed.
During the night: I don’t know if this was an effect of the powder, but drinks didn’t seem to be hitting me so hard, and I felt more in control. I also think the very act of taking the stuff made me think more about how much I was drinking, and as a result, I was much more in control of my alcohol intake, and I ended up having a FANTASTIC night! Seriously, I can’t recommend cutting down on your booze on a night out. I talked to heaps of new people without having that “oh god, what did I say?” feeling the next day. I also didn’t wake up and go “oh nooo, I spent £172 last night on terrible cocktails”.
The next morning: I had one more glass of water and glutamine powder just to be safe, but ultimately I felt good. I wasn’t weeping in a corner over an advert featuring a sad puppy. I wasn’t diving head first into a packet of crisps. It definitely suppressed my cravings for junk food and carbs, and it really took the edge off my hangover. Before you say “it’s because you didn’t drink that much!” then you have to believe me when I tell you that I’ve had hangovers after two glasses of wine.
I won’t say the powder is a miracle cure that will totally remove any traces of your hangover and have you bounding around looking like Gwyneth Paltrow. What I will say is that it made me think more about how much I was drinking, and helped me plan out in advance my alcohol consumption for the evening. I didn’t have a lot of my usual hangover symptoms, and all because of a little bit of powdery water. I will be buying again.
More information is available at www.iiaa.eu - click on Advanced Nutrition Programme. They don’t sell off the site but if you get in contact with the team they can tell you of the nearest bricks and mortar stockist or those online.
