It’s a question we often ask ourselves, how can we drink and enjoy ourselves without the horrible after effects associated with a hangover?
Well soon this may become a reality. “So called “healthy” alcohol may be just a few years away according to a British Professor.
The professor says that we should have a drink that provides all the positive effects of alcohol but none of the negatives in the next 2 years or so, if someone is willing to fund his research.
Professor David Nutt, a drugs expert believes that healthy alcohol is the future of alcohol but to continue his research he needs a financial backer.
An article on News.com.au provided some background on the Professor,
Professor David Nutt, who once said taking ecstasy was no more dangerous than riding a horse, wants to create a drink that gives people the sensation of intoxication without hangovers, long-term health problems, or addiction.
The professor, who in 2009 was fired as the UK Government’s chief drugs adviser, claims to have identified compounds which provide the pleasurable feelings of alcohol but don’t lead to aggression and addiction.
He sees them being added to a range of flavoured cocktails sold in bars alongside normal alcohol.
He also claims to have an “antidote” to the chemicals to instantly sober you up.
“You have the pleasure of being inebriated, take another drug, then sober up and drive home,” Professor Nutt claims.
Professor Nutt has discussed this “antidote” before. He first flagged the concept in 2006 after scientists created drugs to mimic the effect of being drunk.
In 2009 the professor revealed that he had begun working on “healthy alcohol”, claiming it would help combat Britain’s binge drinking epidemic.
The Professor promises that his research had developed alcohol which did not cause a hangover or any adverse effect on the liver and even claims to have trialled the method on himself.
Prof Nutt says that when testing the antidote on himself, he was in a state of intoxication and five minutes after was sober and giving a lecture.
The professor is now appealing for funding and investment into his research which in his words would help solve a very serious problem.
Prof Nutt says that his “healthy alcohol” mimicks real alcohol by targeting the brains “gaba” neurotransmitter, so you get the benefits without the down side.
The Professor went on to explain:
“The other great advantage of this scientific approach to intoxication is that if we target compounds that affect the Gaba system, then it is possible to produce other drugs that could be sold alongside the alcohol substitute as an antidote,” he wrote in the Guardian.
“The challenge is to prepare the new drink in a fashion that makes it as tasty and appealing. This is likely to be in the form of a cocktail, so I foresee plenty of different flavours. “
The professor expects that his healthy alcohol will be ready to hit the market within the next 2 years, until then we will have to settle for drinking in moderation and being responsible drinkers.