Almost everyone loves ice cream, and now heavy drinkers have a reason to love it even more. An ice cream bar that is also a hangover cure has been released in South Korea. It’s called Gyeondyo-bar, which roughly translates as “hang in there.” It contains the juice of the fruit from the oriental raisin tree, which has been used as a Korean treatment for hangover since the 1600s. The ice cream form of the treatment is new, as it had only been served in soup form up until now.
The fruit juice treatment is even listed in some medical texts. The juice’s special ability to stop a hangover is due to a chemical called dihydromyricetin (DHM). In 2012 it caught the attention of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, who studied DHM to see how it works. They found that, not only could it stop a hangover, but it could also break the cycle of alcohol addition. In experiments, DHM blocked intoxication in drunk rats.
The lead researcher of the UCLA study, Jing Liang, said, “DHM will reduce the degree of drunkenness for the amount of alcohol drunk and will definitely reduce the hangover symptoms. In time, it will reduce their desire for alcohol.” The new grapefruit-flavored ice cream bar uses the same active ingredient, so there is a good chance it will help to curb the hangovers of those with a sweet tooth.
South Korea has the highest per capita alcohol consumption among Asian countries. Drinking in South Korea leads to nearly $8 billion in lost productivity every year. According to the convenience store chain Withme FS, which sells the hangover ice cream bar, the Gyeondyo-bar’s name “expresses the hardships of employees who have to suffer a working day after heavy drinking, as well as to provide comfort to those who have to come to work early after frequent nights of drinking.”
Withme FS plans to export the hangover remedy worldwide.