Because you’re a sinner. Just kidding, even angels can get them. Caution — science ahead:
Alcohol contains ethanol. When your body breaks this down, it produces acetaldehyde — a toxin. In large enough quantities it can cause nausea, headaches, fatigue and irritability, which unite to become a hangover. It’s also been linked to a host of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, heart attacks, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Translation: you don’t want this in your body.
Your body gets rid of acetaldehyde and other evil toxins with an all-purpose enzyme called glutathione. It does some serious cleanup, but when you drink it gets wiped out and needs to be replenished. Mercy to the rescue. We put just the right amount of N-acetyl cysteine, L-carnitine and synergist vitamins B1 and C together with the amino acid glutamine (more on that in just a second) to boost your body’s glutathione supply.
Our good friend glutamine serves a variety of important functions and your body is stocked with the stuff, but it, too, gets depleted quickly. After a night of drinking, your body works hard to replace glutamine, which can cause you to wake up every couple of hours in the process.
To make matters worse, alcohol causes dehydration. You lose vital electrolytes such as sodium and potassium with every trip to the bathroom and feel worse for the wear by morning.
Mercy replenishes glutamine and electrolytes, allowing for a restful night’s sleep – and a fresh start to your day.
Back to topMercy contains a blend of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and herbs, each of which plays an important role in helping your body stop a hangover before it even starts. Our ingredients are effective individually and, when they join forces, are even more beneficial. Even glucose, one of our sugars, has been chosen for its functional properties as it assists in the production of glutathione and thus aids in breaking down acetaldehyde. Everything is here for a very good reason.
Here's a list of the ingredients and a description of what each one does:
NAC is the acetylated form of the amino acid cysteine and a key building block of one of the body's most important detoxifiers, glutathione, a substance found in each cell of the body. It helps the liver remove foreign chemicals, including the toxic alcohol byproduct acetaldehyde. When the body's reserves of glutathione become exhausted, severe liver damage can result. The best way to boost your glutathione level is to consume its components, encouraging your body to produce more of the compound.
NAC is also a potent antioxidant, which means it attaches itself to dangerous free radicals and neutralizes them. It can even inhibit the carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, a big plus for anyone who's been in a smoky bar all night.
The B vitamins are known for their tendency to work better as a team, which is why we included four of the most important ones in Mercy. The liver is the main detoxification center of the human body. B1 (thiamine), stored in the liver, is used in breaking down ethanol to acetaldehyde but gets rapidly depleted when you drink. B1 is also a key synergist to the amino acid N-Acetyl-Cysteine, making NAC more effective.
Pairing NAC with B1 and C is critical to helping your body produce more of the detoxifying agent glutathione, which is needed to break down acetaldehyde and thus protect you from getting a hangover. Symptoms of thiamine deficiency include confusion, irritability, depression, fatigue, insomnia, and headaches. Physicians are known to take B1 when feeling sick, run down, or hung over.
Vitamin B6 helps to keep the liver free of excess fat, which can build-up with long-term alcohol consumption and also has an antioxidant effect. Folic acid (also known as folate and B9) works with B12 to help the body generate methionine, which is a beneficial amino acid. Vitamin B12 is useful in detoxifying the liver and can improve recovery time from drinking-related symptoms.
Much of the cell-damage that occurs in liver degeneration is believed to be caused by free radicals.
Acetaldehyde, the primary metabolic product of alcohol in the liver, appears to be a key generator of free radicals. Enter our hero, Vitamin C. As a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C neutralizes free radicals.
Potassium and magnesium are two of the many vital electrolytes found in your body, but they are depleted during heavy alcohol consumption, leading to chemical imbalances. Magnesium significantly helps aid the absorption rate of NAC. Consuming electrolytes while drinking helps bring the body's chemistry back into balance.
Glutamine, one of your body's natural stimulants, is an amino acid that helps build various proteins and contributes to the production of glutathione, a detoxifying agent in your body. Unlike standard L-glutamine, glutamine AKG bypasses your digestive system and works directly at the cell level, increasing the potency and effectiveness of glutamine by a great measure.
Drinking alcohol inhibits the production of glutamine, one of the body's natural stimulants. The body tries to make up for the lost glutamine by producing more than it needs, which stimulates the brain and keeps you from reaching restful REM sleep. This is a significant contributor to the fatigue that comes with a hangover. The AKG in Mercy will help prevent your body from overproducing glutamine, allowing you to sleep better and feel refreshed in the morning.
L-carnitine is an amino acid and powerful antioxidant that is helpful in increasing glutathione levels and thus breaking down acetaldehyde. In addition to their impact on glutathione production, NAC and L-carnitine have both been hailed in the research community as perhaps the most powerful antioxidants available with some serious health-boosting abilities.
Milk thistle is a plant extract that contains silymarin, which has been used for many years to fight liver and gall bladder ailments. It works by inhibiting the production of an enzyme that can agitate the liver during the breakdown of alcohol, and is important in maintaining the overall health of the liver. Milk Thistle has been shown to have a calming, palliative effect on the liver during times of increased activity and stress, and also protects the liver against toxins.
Chamomile extract is used to counter gastritis, or irritation of the stomach, a major hangover symptom.
Back to topThat depends on how much alcohol you consume and how quickly your liver breaks down acetaldehyde. We recommend one can of Mercy for every five alcoholic beverages. Just remember that mixed drinks, such as a vodka Mercy, generally do not include a full can. We don't recommend more than three cans in any 24-hour period.
Back to topWe designed this beverage for prevention, not the morning after, so it’s most effective when consumed during or shortly after a night of drinking. Ask your friendly neighborhood bartender to mix it with your favorite spirit, have a nice cold Mercy between drinks, or down one at the end of the night.
Just one Mercy can take on up to five alcoholic beverages. Serve chilled or over ice, but you probably knew that already.
You can also drink Mercy as a daily boost to your overall health. Physicians are known to take high levels of vitamins B1 when feeling sick, run down, or hungover, as it works with vitamin C to boost your immune system. N-acetyl cysteine and L-carnitine are some of the most powerful antioxidants available, and milk thistle helps keep your liver healthy.
To combat alcohol flush (a.k.a. “Asian Flush”) you should start drinking Mercy directly after you start noticing the symptoms, but hopefully before your friends do.
Back to topThe hangover prevention market has expanded dramatically in recent years, as pills, patches, powders and effervescent tablets have been introduced. Many of these products are inconvenient, require multiple doses or can be messy. Patches also have the potential for an allergic skin reaction. Hangover prevention shots and shooters, many in small servings of 1½ to 3 ounces, need to be taken repeatedly throughout the night.
Just one can of Mercy is often enough to prevent a hangover, although two cans may be required when drinking more than five alcoholic beverages in an evening.
Mercy is the only beverage that contains B1 (thiamine), which is critical to the prevention of hangovers. B1, in most forms, does not taste or smell good. As it ages, some of its sulfur molecules break apart and degrade, causing a noxious odor. So despite its well-established benefits, B1 has not been used in beverages until now. Our research uncovered a unique variant of the vitamin that is both effective and pleasant tasting.
In focus groups Mercy has been consistently rated high on flavor, and was frequently referred to as light, tasty and refreshing.
Mercy includes high levels of the most important pre-cursors to glutathione and their synergists, helping the body produce high levels of glutathione naturally. Mercy contains the highest levels per serving of these key ingredients in the market, making it the most potent product available.
Back to topYes. While Mercy is not meant to be consumed in large quantities – one or two cans is usually enough to help prevent your hangover symptoms – we created it to be safe even if you drink more of it. When it comes to vitamins, too much of a good thing is not always a good for you, so we don't recommend more than three cans of Mercy in a 24-hour period.
Do not take Mercy if you are allergic to any B vitamins, are pregnant or nursing, have kidney failure, a heart block, or have had an ileostomy, are allergic to Vitamin C, have Leber's disease, kidney problems, cirrhosis of the liver, Reye's syndrome or diabetes.
Back to topConsult your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease, gout, kidney stones, sickle-cell anemia, cystinuria, iron storage disease, anemia of unknown etiology, intestinal problems, an overactive thyroid, are undergoing chemotherapy, are over 55, and/or have recently been under severe stress due to major illness, burns, recent surgery or an accident.
Back to topYes. If your body can’t break down acetaldehyde, as is the case with many individuals of Asian descent, it can cause alcohol flush. More commonly known as Asian Flush, symptoms include a reddening of the face, dizziness and nausea, which can ruin anyone’s night. Mercy helps your body break down acetaldehyde and alleviate those symptoms.
Back to topTaking Mercy will not help to prevent alcoholism. If left untreated, alcoholism is a deadly disease. If you think you may have a drinking problem, you should seek professional medical care.
Back to topMercy is effective no matter how often you drink. In fact, hangovers are more common among light-to-moderate drinkers than with heavier drinkers.
Back to topNo. Mercy does not reduce your level of intoxication. So don’t overdo it with the drinks and attempt to drive, operate heavy machinery, or do anything else that you shouldn’t do while drunk. Mercy will not prevent drunk-dialing or texting.
Back to topMercy is available at select bars, clubs and lounges and can be purchased online.
Back to topIf you’ve read all of this and still have questions, feel free to try us here