Came across this yesterday. Sprite as a hangover cure? Sure.

But yet, there’s actual science behind this claim.

Some of the adverse effects of alcohol are thought to be caused, not by the ethanol itself, but by ethanol’s first metabolite, acetaldehyde. Ethanol is metabolised into acetaldehyde by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and then into acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Unlike acetaldehyde, acetate is innocuous and may even be responsible for some of the positive health benefits of alcohol consumption. Therefore the key to reducing alcohol-related damage lies in minimising the amount of time acetaldehyde is present in the body.

And that’s where Sprite comes in. The combination of ingredients in Sprite turn out to be perfect for converting acetaldehyde into acetate.

Now, before you pooh-pooh all this, note that these findings were published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. So next time you hoist one too many, be sure you’ve got an emergency can of Sprite around, just in case.