This meat treat claims to prevent hangovers

The meat is made with a special blend of herbs and spices, cured and air-dried. (Serious Pig)

It’s that time of the year, when holiday parties ratchet up the prospect for a head-splitting hangover.

There are believed to be hundreds of cures to ease the pain, from prickly pears cactus to penis soup (you’ll have to travel to Bolivia for that one.).

Now a U.K. butcher has come up with a snack that it says prevents hangovers before they happen.

“Hangover Cured” is a meat treat from Serious Pig, a craft meat firm based in London.  It’s a high-protein sausage snack with added chili and ginger.  Its makers said that if you eat it while drinking, you can reap its supposed properties against nausea and fatigue – two of the usual symptoms of having too much alcohol intake.

The sausage snack has added chili and ginger, which its makers say helps stave off a hangover. (Serious Pig)

George Rice and Johnny Bradshaw, who started the company over a discussion at a bar about the perfect snack to go with a pint of real ale and glass of red Bordeaux, say it’s a tried and tested cure.

“We’ve put it to the test at home, and down the pub and it works a dream. Our friends and family have been our guinea pigs, too, and they’ve all told us it definitely eased their hangovers,” said Rice.

According to a new report from the Center for Disease Control finds that excessive drinking—particularly binging, defined as more than four drinks for women or more than five for men—cost the U.S. economy nearly $250 billion in lost productivity in 2010.

So does the world’s first meat hangover cure really work?

Some health care professionals say eating meat when drinking is a good idea because it’s rich in the amino acids that help with brain function—but simple things like rehydrating with water may do a better job.