Common kitchen staple could slash hangover effects by 50 per cent, experts claim

We've all been there - the throbbing headache, disorientation, nausea and upset stomach that follow a night of overindulgence in alcohol.

Over the years, various home remedies have been suggested to cure this dreaded hangover, from pickle juice and fried eggs to the controversial 'hair of the dog'.

But it seems the real secret to easing those unpleasant symptoms might have been hiding in your fruit bowl all along.

Research suggests that fruit could be the miracle hangover cure we've all been waiting for, with experts finding that a delicious plant-based snack could reduce hangover effects by an impressive 50%!

This health benefit is believed to come from fructose, a natural sugar found in fruit, which can significantly speed up the body's ability to eliminate alcohol, reducing it by nearly half, reports Daily Mail.

Nutritionist Dr Rhonda Patrick discussed these findings on a recent podcast, explaining that consuming fruits like grapes, watermelon, and bananas before hitting the town can lower the amount of alcohol in your blood and consequently lessen the severity of your hangover the next day.

Drinking alcohol depletes your body of essential nutrients resulting in a dreadful hangover, but an unconventional solution might just be at arm's reach - fruit. But its not just any type of fruit that will do the job, it's whole fruit; as having fruit juice wont help.

Based on recent research, chomping down fruit after a boozy night could potentially speed up recovery by replacing salts lost overnight and also keeping you hydrated.

This is because the sugar in fruit (fructose) can aid faster metabolism of alcohol in the body, reports Gloucestershire Live.

However, this doesn't mean raiding your local Tesco for a carton of Tropicana, as the sugar in fruit juice can lead to drastic fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Whole fruit ensures a steady absorption of sugars, thus avoiding unnecessary blood sugar spikes.

If you are keen to try out this fruity remedy, Dr Patrick advises a hefty intake of fruit. Eating about a gram of fructose for every kilogram of body weight could cut down the hangover effects by a whopping 31 per cent.

For instance, if you weigh somewhere around 79 kg, you'd need to munch on approximately 5 to 6 apples to hit that fructose sweet spot.

As enticing as this may sound, we wouldnt recommend replacing your full English breakfast just yet. As Dr. Patrick reiterated during his FoundMyFitness podcast: "Am I suggesting that fructose is an anti-hangover remedy? No. But this is an interesting mechanism by which food and fruit, in particular, may lessen some of the adverse effects of alcohol."

"Note that fructose from whole fruit, with the benefit of its fibre and micronutrients, is vastly different than highly refined fructose from fruit juices."

In a fascinating study highlighted by a nutrition expert, researchers delving into metabolic disorders examined how fructose impacts the body's ability to process alcohol in a group of 45 healthy men aged between 25 and 35.

Before the experiment commenced, participants identified themselves as light drinkers. For every gram of alcohol per kilogram of their body weight, they were given an equivalent amount of fructose but crucially, not sourced from whole fruits.

The results were striking: Fructose significantly reduced the duration of intoxication by approximately 30.7%, and it also accelerated the elimination of alcohol from the body by about 44.7%.

Dr.Patrick reflected on the study's implications, stating: "Eating some fruit with a meal before you drink may help lessen its negative effects and this could also involve mixing alcohol with fruit juice, which also contains fructose."

However, Dr.Patrick warned that while this method might improve alcohol metabolism, combining alcohol with fructose could lead to higher spikes in blood glucose and triglyceride levels than consuming each separately.