The CSIRO says pears could be a healthy hangover cure

HEADING to the pub tonight? Make sure you stop by the greengrocer on the way to pick up something that could help ease your hangover tomorrow morning.

The healthy hangover cure we’ve been waiting for

WHEN a scientist starts talking about hangover cures, we sit up and listen.

The CSIRO is currently reviewing all the research available about the nutritional makeup of pears in a huge study funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia.

One of the study’s preliminary findings could be your saviour this weekend if you’re planning on having a big one. Eating a pear before a big drinking session can significantly reduce your blood alcohol level and hangover symptoms.

“Korean pears have been used as a hangover cure for centuries in Korea and China,” Professor Manny Noakes from the CSIRO told news.com.au.

“This study that by Korean researches showed there was some validity to the claim that consuming 220mL of pear juice prior to alcohol consumption could reduce blood alcohol levels by 20 per cent and reduced the symptoms of a hangover,” she said.

MORE: What does a hangover do to you?

Korean pears act on the key enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism to help the body metabolise and eliminate alcohol quickly.

“In particular, reductions were seen in blood acetaldehyde levels, the toxic metabolic thought to be responsible for the hangover symptoms, with pear juice consumption,” the CSIRO reported.

Professor Noakes said Nashi pears were similar to Korean pears, which are often referred to as Asian pears, Japanese pears or sand peras.

“[The Nashi] might have a similar effect to Korean pears, but we don’t really know whether the particular attribute of detoxing alcohol is generalisable to all pears We’re still looking at what the literature tells us.”

And yes, we asked her if pear cider counts: “No, but I think you’re about the sixth person to ask me that question.”

MORE: Five ways to avoid a hangover

In the Korean study, hangover symptoms were improved in people who had a particular gene type.

“We know in some Asian countries they have a lowered ability to metabolise alcohol. So it was in those gene types where alcohol metabolism was the slowest that the impact was more pronounced,” Professor Noakes said.

So what does Professor Noakes recommend as the ultimate hangover cure? “Not overdrinking in the first place,” she said. Touche.

The full report, the Comprehensive Review of Pears, will be released in about two months’ time.