Drinkers could benefit from a new 60p pill, new research shows. The herbal supplement could help alcohol cravings, reports The Sun. Around one million Brits are hospitalised each year due to drinking.
Alcohol Change UK says around 16.4 million adults drink in a way that could be harmful to their health. A new US based study has found that taking a kudzu supplement, which is a plant used in traditional medicine in East Asia, has helped people with an alcohol use disorder drink a third less frequently, compared to those taking a placebo.
Researchers found the benefits were still apparent after three months. In the UK, kudzu can be purchased for around £20, which works out to 60p a day. The part of a plant has been used in Eastern medicine for a long time, and now, it could help with alcohol dependence. Some studies show it could also help with liver damage, due to its antioxidant content. Kudzu may also be helpful for menopause symptoms, studies reveal.
In the study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, scientists followed 120 adults with alcohol use disorder who binge drank heavily at least once a week. The research showed that the supplement worked by helping to banish cravings.
Participants in the study were asked to take kudzu whenever they felt an urge to drink. By the end of the treatment, the average number of binge drinking days had fallen from 2.15 to 1.42 per week for those taking the kudzu supplement, a reduction of 34%. However, for people taking the placebo, their binge drinking days reduced by just 4%.
Three months after treatment, people who had taken kudzu continued to have fewer binge drinking days, compared to those who were given the placebo. No serious side effects were reported by those who took kudzu. Even though the findings seem promising, researchers say more studies will be needed to confirm them, as this one was small, reports The Sun.
The NHS says: “If you regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week, try these simple tips to help you cut down. 14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 6 medium glasses of wine.” It adds that there are several benefits of cutting down on alcohol.
Cutting down can help lower your risk of serious conditions linked to drinking too much alcohol, such as:
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This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
