Cabbage, cloves and light-hearted goats: how hangovers used to be treated

Cabbage, almonds, baked quince, wormwood and even goat’s lungs — all of these were, at various times, considered to be remedies capable of preventing a hangover. After a feast, people were advised to go for a walk, get some sleep, or, as a last resort, induce vomiting.

Joan Fitzpatrick, a researcher in English literature at Loughborough University, has traced the history of such remedies. Her review shows how perceptions of hangovers have changed alongside the culture of alcohol consumption. However, these old recommendations should not be taken as medical advice.

Details

In Ancient Greece and Rome, wine was usually diluted with water. Drinking undiluted wine was considered dangerous and barbaric. However, intoxication also had ritual significance: followers of Dionysus associated it with achieving a state of spiritual elation.

In medieval Europe, wine remained an expensive drink and a status symbol. The poor tended to drink strong beer and ale, which is why the authorities often associated drunkenness and breaches of public order with them.

In a 16th-century guide, the English physician Andrew Boorde described symptoms familiar to modern readers: dulled senses, loss of appetite, dizziness and headache. Such texts frequently drew on ancient authors and focused more on preventing a hangover than on treating it.

Before a feast, it was advised to eat almonds, cabbage, baked quince, wormwood or goat’s liver. After excessive eating and drinking, a moderate walk and sleep were recommended. Medieval authors regarded cloves as a general tonic and used them for stomach problems.

Some of these old ideas have survived to the present day in a new form. For example, clove extract was studied in a small placebo-controlled trial. However, a single positive result does not necessarily mean that the remedy actually works.

Why this is important

Modern science has not yet found a reliable cure for a hangover. A systematic review published in the journal *Addiction* covered 21 randomised, placebo-controlled studies involving 386 people. These studies tested 23 different remedies, and none had been studied again in an independent trial.

The authors of the review rated all the data on efficacy as very low-quality evidence. The studies were often small, used different types and doses of alcohol, measured symptoms in different ways, and frequently included only men. Therefore, even clove extract, tolfenamic acid and pyrithinol—which showed some effect in individual studies—merit further investigation for the time being.

A hangover occurs when the concentration of alcohol in the blood approaches zero. Its mechanism is complex and not fully understood: dehydration, the immune response, glucose levels, additional substances in alcoholic drinks and individual physiological characteristics may all play a role.

The most reliable way to avoid a hangover is to avoid alcohol altogether or to limit one’s intake. Attempting to ‘cure’ a hangover with another drink may prolong excessive drinking and increase the risk of addiction.

Source

Historical overview by Joan Fitzpatrick: ‘A brief history of the hangover and its cures — from cabbages to cloves and the lungs of a goat’, The Conversation. The article was also published on Phys.org.

Emmert Roberts and co-authors. The efficacy and tolerability of pharmacologically active interventions for alcohol-induced hangover symptomatology. Addiction, 2022, vol. 117, issue 8, pp. 2157–2167.