A dietitian has gone viral on TikTok after sharing a recipe for a lemonade which she drinks every time she has a hangover.
Monica D’Agostino, who is based in New York City, US, says she makes the concoction every weekend after having drunk “ten Tequila sodas” at a bar the night before.
In a video, which has now been viewed more than 3.5 million times, she said the so-called “recovery lemonade” is a quick and easy way to replenish nutrients when hungover.
“The biggest reason you’re going to feel better from this is hydration, I’m not going to b*llsh*t you, but I am adding some good stuff,” she told viewers.
She begins by filling a mason jar with water and adding three tablespoons of bottled lemon juice and three teaspoons of ginger.
Lastly, she adds a sachet of sweetener from Whole Earth, which contains turmeric, stevia leaf extract, black pepper, and monk fruit extract.
For those not in the US who can’t purchase the sweetener, she advises adding turmeric powder, black pepper and sweetener of choice.
The recipe has received high praise on the platform, with one user commenting: “My liver hand-wrote me a poem after I drank this.”
Another said: “Made this today and [it’s] so good! I added beetroot powder to mine.”
“Thank you! I know water is important, but it’s something hard for me to drink. This has been so helpful for me. Love it!” a third person commented.
As noted by D’Agostino, the primary reason her recovery lemonade helps her feel better after a night of drinking is that it provides hydration.
On its website, the NHS states that hangover “cures” are “generally a myth”.
It recommends treating a hangover by rehydrating the body and increasing sugar intake “to help you feel less trembly”.
One recent study, by researchers at King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, concluded that most popular hangover cures, such as vitamin supplements, red ginseng or eating artichoke, do not work.
Experts analysed the findings of 21 placebo-controlled trials involving 23 remedies.
Of the remedies tested, trial participants reported that only seven had any effect of improving their symptoms, but these studies were of “low-quality” and deemed unconvincing by experts.
