NAC and hangovers
What NAC (N-acetylcysteine) is, why people take it before drinking, how it compares to DHM, and how to use them together on a night out.
NAC (N-acetylcysteine) is an amino-acid supplement people take before drinking because it supports glutathione. DHM works differently: it's the patented, fast-acting ingredient in Joyrise's hangover alcohol metabolizing aid. Here's how they compare and how people use them.
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Updated · Joyrise Science Team
NAC is N-acetylcysteine. In a 2021 randomized trial, Coppersmith and colleagues describe it as a precursor of glutathione, the compound the liver uses when it is under oxidative stress, and they note that oral NAC reaches a peak in about 45 to 60 minutes in the pharmacology paper they cite. People buy it as a capsule. This page is about how hangover trials used it.
Sources: Coppersmith et al., 2021: NAC and hangover symptoms, a randomized trial
The 2021 paper's rationale is glutathione. The authors write that when a lot of ethanol is consumed, glutathione stores drop, and that NAC, as a glutathione donor, might lessen oxidative stress during alcohol metabolism. They cite animal work in which rats were pretreated with NAC. That is why the "before drinking" idea is common. It is the reason researchers gave, not a result.
The human trial itself did not give NAC before the first drink. It was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Forty-nine volunteers finished it. They drank the same beer until a breath alcohol of 0.1 g/210 L, then received identical-looking capsules of NAC or lactose placebo. The other treatment came at the second visit. The next morning they filled out a Hangover Symptom Scale. The NAC amount was 600 mg capsules, one to three of them depending on how many beers they had drunk, so the dose the investigators used was 600 to 1800 mg. This page does not recommend that dose or any other.
On the main result, the paper says no significant difference was found in overall hangover scores. The authors' conclusion is: "Although no difference was found in the general hangover scale scores, the study was suggestive of a gender difference with females having improved hangover symptoms after NAC use." They also say participants reported no serious adverse effects. Complaints they recorded after the NAC capsules included gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, rash, muscle twitches, and insomnia. Headache and gastrointestinal symptoms were also reported after placebo.
Sources: Coppersmith et al., 2021: NAC and hangover symptoms, a randomized trial
A second randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, published in 2024, did give NAC on both sides of the drinking. Forty students drank gin over about an hour and a half. The NAC group received 1.2 g dissolved in sweetened water before the session and 1.2 g after it. The placebo was the same lemon water without NAC. The next morning, the authors report that NAC had no impact on hangover symptoms, and no effect on the sodium and oxidative-stress blood measures they tracked.
Read side by side: the 2021 trial dosed people after they had already reached a set breath alcohol, and the 2024 trial dosed them before and after a supervised session. Neither paper is a set of instructions for a night out.
Sources: Coppersmith et al., 2021: NAC and hangover symptoms, a randomized trial; Podobnik et al., 2024: NAC and hangover after binge drinking
NAC and DHM are different compounds. The hangover trials above studied N-acetylcysteine. What is DHM is dihydromyricetin, the flavonoid Joyrise uses. No trial in the sources read for this page compared the two head to head.
Joyrise is a fast-acting, all natural, patented hangover alcohol metabolizing aid, with max DHM bioavailability and a delivery approach covered by U.S. Patent US11871770B1. The capsule page lists DHM from vine tea, a bioavailability design, and a patented invention. It is caffeine-free and made in the USA. On November 2, 2026 the 45-capsule bottle was $29.99 for 15 labeled servings, $2.00 a serving, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The label says to take 3 capsules while consuming alcohol, or before bed, and not to exceed 3 servings (9 capsules) per day. The same page says Joyrise does not lower BAC or impairment. Directions are on the Alcohol Metabolizing Aid capsules page.
Timing for the capsule, including before, during, and after, is on when to take DHM.
Sources: Coppersmith et al., 2021: NAC and hangover symptoms, a randomized trial; Joyrise capsules: product page, price and label directions
The papers read here did not test NAC and DHM in the same person. There is no combined result to quote. They are sold for different reasons: NAC shows up in hangover research as a glutathione precursor, and DHM is the ingredient in Joyrise's alcohol metabolizing aid. If you use both, you are combining two labeled products, and each label stands on its own.
Sources: Coppersmith et al., 2021: NAC and hangover symptoms, a randomized trial; Podobnik et al., 2024: NAC and hangover after binge drinking; Joyrise capsules: product page, price and label directions
Hangover products mix different ingredients, timings, and formats. Capsule labels, probiotic drinks, and next-day formulas are not one category. The buying guide is best hangover pills. Use it to compare a full label instead of assuming NAC, DHM, or a vitamin blend are interchangeable.
Sources: Joyrise capsules: product page, price and label directions
| NAC | Joyrise DHM capsules | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | N-acetylcysteine, described as a glutathione precursor | DHM from vine tea, a fast-acting alcohol metabolizing aid |
| How it was studied or labeled | 2021 and 2024 randomized hangover trials | Capsule label: use while drinking or before bed |
| Timing in those sources | 2021: after breath alcohol hit 0.1. 2024: before and after the session | 3 capsules while consuming alcohol, or before bed |
| Format | Capsules in 2021; a dissolved drink in 2024 | Capsules |
Public-health guidance, peer-reviewed studies, and current labels provide different kinds of evidence. Manufacturer descriptions establish product details, not clinical results.
The 2021 randomized crossover trial found no significant difference in overall hangover scores between NAC and placebo. The authors called a gender difference suggestive, not the main result. A 2024 randomized trial also reported no impact of NAC on next-morning hangover symptoms. Details are in Coppersmith et al., PMC8238992.
The before-drinking idea comes from NAC's description as a glutathione precursor, including animal pretreatment studies cited in the 2021 paper. That human trial actually gave the capsules after breath alcohol reached 0.1 g/210 L. A 2024 trial gave a dose before the session and a dose after.
NAC is N-acetylcysteine. DHM is dihydromyricetin, the patented, fast-acting ingredient in Joyrise's hangover alcohol metabolizing aid. The trials above studied NAC, not DHM. See what is DHM and the Alcohol Metabolizing Aid capsules label.
Both trials gave NAC to people who were drinking or had just reached a set breath alcohol, under supervision. That is a study design. The 2021 paper recorded gastrointestinal complaints, headache, rash, muscle twitches, and insomnia after NAC capsules, and some of the same complaints after placebo.
No trial read for this page tested that combination, so there is no joint result to report. Joyrise's DHM capsule has its own label: 3 capsules while consuming alcohol, or before bed. NAC is a separate product. Read when to take DHM.
