Cactus fruit cocktail containing prickly pears and cherries found to be ‘best hangover cure’

A JUICE drink made from prickly pears and cherries is the best cure for a hangover, research reveals.

It was able to halve rates of sickness and reduce headache pain by a third.

The cactus fruit cocktail helped the body cleanse itself of booze faster than any other remedy.

The researchers also dismissed the idea that dehydration is behind some of the most common symptoms of the morning after the night before.

The findings come from a German study in which volunteers gulped down alcohol.

Those given a drink containing extracts from cherries, prickly pears or cactus fruit, ginkgo biloba, willow and ginger root had milder hangovers.

Polyphenol and flavonoid compounds in the five plant extracts have been linked with curbing the effects of alcohol in experimental studies. But it's not clear how.

Various natural remedies have been recommended to ease hangover symptoms, but there is as yet no strong scientific evidence for their use.

A full English breakfast, a big cup of coffee or even drinking more alcohol - the list of touted hangover cures is forever growing.

So the researchers assessed the potential of specific plant extracts, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidant compounds to ease a range of recognised physical and psychological symptoms associated with drinking alcohol.

But researcher Professor Bernard Lieb said: “The underlying mechanisms remain to be unravelled.”

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