Manila after darkMNLWhat the evidence says about the hangover
No remedy has been proven to prevent one. The state of each supplement, the habits that hold up, and the zero-proof drinks we found in Manila.
The short answer
Nothing on the shelf has been shown to prevent a hangover. In 2022, a review in the journal Addiction by Roberts and colleagues looked at 21 placebo-controlled trials of hangover remedies and found only very-low-quality evidence for any of them, with no result replicated. A 2005 review in the BMJ, covering eight trials, reached the same place and named what does work: drinking less, or not drinking.
That is the frame for everything below. This column is on the side of your morning, so we tell you what the studies found, including when they found very little. This is reporting, not medical advice.
The supplements, one line each
DHM has no robust human trial on its own; most of the work is in animals, and small 2024 crossover trials of Hovenia dulcis, the plant it comes from, showed lower blood alcohol early on. ZBiotics' 2024 data in PLOS One came from lab tests and was company-funded, and we found no human trial.
Myrkl has one small randomised trial, with 24 people enrolled and 14 analysed, and its outcome was blood alcohol; it did not test hangover symptoms. NAC, or N-acetylcysteine, showed no overall effect in a 2021 crossover trial in Scientific Reports with 49 completers, and a signal in women came from a later analysis that counts as a hypothesis for now.
Prickly pear extract had one randomised trial, with 55 people analysed and no significant overall benefit. Korean pear juice lowered hangover severity by 16 to 21 percent in a 2013 single-blind study of 14 men, with the effect depending on their ALDH2 gene type, and nobody has repeated it.
What holds up as practice
Eat before you drink. NHS guidance, as we found it summarised, says food slows how fast alcohol is absorbed. It is the oldest tip there is, and still the one we start with.
Pace yourself, because the amount matters most. The BMJ review's one firm conclusion was moderation, and a 2010 study of 95 heavy drinkers found alcohol itself was the main driver of the hangover. The same study reported bourbon hangovers rated worse than vodka ones, with the same impairment either way, so darker spirits may make the morning feel worse while leaving you just as drunk.
Then sleep, and give it time. Alcohol helps you fall asleep faster and adds deep sleep early in the night, then disrupts the second half and cuts REM sleep, according to a 2013 review by Ebrahim and colleagues. A late last round lands on the half of your sleep that alcohol already disrupts.
On water and electrolytes, the evidence is thinner than the marketing. We found no controlled study of water between drinks, and none comparing electrolyte drinks with plain water. Both are cheap and easy, and we would promise nothing more than that.
What is sold in Manila
Most of the named remedies are import only. We found no Lazada, Shopee, Watsons or Mercury listing for DHM, ZBiotics, Myrkl, NAC sold for hangovers, or prickly pear. What is on local shelves is rehydration.
| Item | What it does | Price in Manila | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedialyte, 500 ml | Electrolyte drink | ₱138.75 to ₱145.25 | Watsons listing |
| Hydrite | Oral rehydration salt, sold for diarrhoea | ₱18 a sachet | Watsons listing |
| DHM, ZBiotics, Myrkl, NAC, prickly pear | Sold abroad as hangover aids; evidence above | Import only, no local listing found | Lazada, Shopee, Watsons, Mercury searches |
| Lyre's | Alcohol-free spirits | Import only | Ubuy PH |
| Heineken 0.0 | Alcohol-free beer | Import page only, out of stock | Ubuy |
| ReCraft zero-proof section | Alcohol-free drinks, Manila | No peso price published | ReCraft |
| Manila Hotel 0% wines | Alcohol-free wine on the menu | No peso price published | Manila Hotel menu |
The zero-proof round
The surest way to skip a hangover is a drink with no alcohol in it, and Manila's list is short. ReCraft lists a small zero-proof section, and the Manila Hotel menu carries 0% wines; neither published a peso price we could find. Lyre's alcohol-free spirits come by import through Ubuy, Seedlip has no Philippine stockist we could find, and Heineken 0.0 appeared only on an out-of-stock Ubuy import page.
We also looked for a San Miguel 0.0 and found no evidence that one exists. If you run a bar in Manila with a zero-proof list, tell us, and we will put you on the map.
For the short version on your phone, DM "SOBER" to @partylifemnl. We send the no-hangover tips and the alcohol-free list, and we update it when we find more.