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Chinese researchers may have found the cure for a hangover before it takes hold - lemonade.

The Independent reports research from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou which explains why lemonade, such as Sprite or Schweppes, could be the trick.

The researchers said that those nasty symptoms of a hangover are not caused by the alcohol itself but by the way the body breaks it down.

The body goes through a two stage metabolic process to break down the ethanol.

First the liver metabolizes the ethanol into acetaldehyde through an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and then it breaks it down into acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH).

While acetate is generally considered harmless and even responsible for some of the more beneficial effects of drinking, exposure to acetaldehyde actually causes the symptoms of a hangover, including nausea, vomiting and a headache.

This is why the 'hair of the dog' sometimes makes you feel better because it prevents the body from continuing to break down the alcohol.

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