The Zaca patch: An organic hangover cure?

Hangovers can be painful. Or at least that’s what we hear. (We only drink green juice, of course.)

But a company called Zaca claims they have the answer—a tiny Recovery patch you stick onto your body before you imbibe. It contains prickly pear, milk thistle, and loads of B and C vitamins. And it’s organic, which is, you know, important, when you’re beating your liver to death.

We asked naturopathic doctor Dr. Brooke Kalanick if Zaca’s product was legit. “We always have to be wary of anything that seems like we’ve been given a hall pass to engage in something we know isn’t so healthy for us,” she said.

But, she conceded, the B vitamins in the formula are important to liver metabolism and the blend of antioxidants had potential. Since Zaca doesn’t give proportions or explain its delivery system, it was impossible for her to tell if it would help.

So, after her assurance of safety, we had to test it. For research purposes only (obviously), my sister and I stuck on the patches and drank our way through the Fourth of July. (We’re not talking Jagermeister shots. Just a few more beers than we should have.)

In the morning, I stumbled out of bed feeling nauseous and asked her if hers had worked. “Well, my head is pounding like crazy,” she said, her eyes glazed over. I took that as a no.

The genius of the product, though, is that hangovers are completely unpredictable in severity. You’re inevitably left thinking, “Well, maybe I would have felt even worse had I not worn the patch.”

“I suspect a good multivitamin, particularly one that’s high in B vitamins, taken regularly, might do the trick just as well if not better,” offered Dr. Kalanick.

Or, maybe we should just stick to the green juice. —Lisa Elaine Held

Zaca Recovery Patches, 6 for $19.95, www.zacalife.com