AFTERBURNERS

Evidence-based alcohol recovery

Same night. Better morning.

Alcohol recovery is not one event. It's a chain of biological windows — before, during the clearance, rebound, morning, and severe — each with its own chemistry and its own ingredient shortlist. Afterburners treats them as five separate problems.

Start with Preflight

30 ingredients · 14 mechanisms · 5 stages

Fastest path

Just tell me what to take

The three ingredients that do most of the work, and when to take them.

Quick start → How it works

Explain the system

Five stages, five mechanisms, one architecture. Why timing is the thing most products miss.

The mechanisms → Full depth

Show me the research

The biology behind every ingredient and every stage. Acetaldehyde, glutathione, GABA rebound.

Research →

Before any supplement matters

Quick start

Five stages

Start from your situation

What the protocol targets

Sleep architecture repair

Protect REM and deep sleep from the clearance window. The largest felt-difference lever.

Hydration & electrolytes

Counter vasopressin suppression and replace sodium and potassium lost to alcohol diuresis.

NAD⁺ restoration

Refill the cofactor pool ethanol crashes — the rate-limiter for ALDH2 and the TCA cycle.

Glutathione restoration

Replenish the antioxidant alcohol depletes fastest; protect ALDH2 from auto-inactivation.

Acetaldehyde clearance

Support ALDH2 (the dominant pathway) during the active clearance window.

Inflammation control

Block the LPS-driven cytokine cascade that prolongs symptoms.

Neurotransmitter rebalance

Dampen glutamate surge and restore calm.

Ingredient reference

Amino acids

  • Glycine

    Sacrificial amine for acetaldehyde; inhibitory neurotransmitter.

    tier 2
  • L-Cysteine

    Sulfur substrate for glutathione synthesis; secondary local trap in oral and gastric compartments only.

    tier 2
  • NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine)

    Glutathione precursor; acetaminophen safety net.

    tier 1

Vitamins & cofactors

  • Benfotiamine

    Fat-soluble B1; restores the TPP cofactor alcohol depletes.

    tier 2
  • Ubiquinol (CoQ10)

    Mitochondrial antioxidant; protects ALDH2 from its own byproducts.

    tier 2

Minerals

Western botanicals

Traditional Chinese

  • Bai Shao

    Optional white-peony TCM herb for cramping and tension patterns.

    tier 4
  • Ban Xia

    Optional TCM anti-nausea herb for queasy morning-after recovery.

    tier 4
  • Che Qian Zi

    Optional plantain-seed drainage herb for puffy recovery mornings.

    tier 4
  • DHM (Dihydromyricetin)

    Accelerates alcohol clearance; blunts GABA rebound.

    tier 1
  • Fu Ling

    Optional poria-based drainage herb in the TCM recovery layer.

    tier 4
  • Fu Shen

    Optional TCM calming herb for restless rebound after drinking.

    tier 4
  • Ge Gen (Kudzu Root)

    TCM herb with puerarin; clinical data on alcohol metabolism.

    tier 3
  • Gou Qi Zi

    Optional goji-based TCM support for dry, wired recovery.

    tier 4
  • He Huan Hua

    Optional TCM mood-support herb for jagged, irritable recovery.

    tier 4
  • Mai Men Dong

    Optional TCM fluid-generation herb for dry, depleted recovery.

    tier 4
  • Mei Gui Hua

    Optional rose-bud TCM support for irritable, constrained recovery.

    tier 4
  • Niu Xi

    Optional TCM descending-support herb for upward pressure patterns.

    tier 4
  • Sang Shen

    Optional mulberry-based TCM support for dry, depleted recovery.

    tier 4
  • Shi Hu

    Optional TCM fluid-support herb for dry, overheated recovery.

    tier 4
  • Suan Zao Ren

    Optional TCM sleep herb for predictable rebound nights.

    tier 4
  • Tu Fu Ling

    Optional TCM damp-clearance adjunct for heavy recovery days.

    tier 4
  • Wu Wei Zi

    Optional schisandra-based liver-support herb in the TCM layer.

    tier 4
  • Yan Hu Suo

    Optional TCM analgesic herb for residual ache and tension.

    tier 4
  • Yin Chen Hao

    Optional TCM drainage herb for hot, stagnant morning-after recovery.

    tier 4
  • Ze Xie

    Optional TCM fluid-shedding herb for swollen, heavy recovery.

    tier 4
  • Zhi Huang Qi

    Optional TCM repletion herb for flat, depleted recovery mornings.

    tier 4
  • Zhu Ling

    Optional urinary-drainage herb for puffy, heavy recovery mornings.

    tier 4

Core research themes

Research & methodology · Why five stages

Why five stages

Alcohol recovery is not one event. It is a chain of distinct biological windows, each with its own chemistry and its own ingredient shortlist. Preflight is gene induction. Afterburner is acute clearance. Nightcap is rebound management. Debrief is residue cleanup. Mayday is full-coverage recovery when symptoms are severe.

Collapsing them into a single "hangover pill" loses the lead time on sulforaphane, the timing window on DHM, the rebound math on glycine, and the escalation logic on Mayday. Each stage exists because its window cannot be served by any other.

What the system targets

Hangovers are not one mechanism. Acetaldehyde drives the carcinogen-exposure story; for next-morning function, the dominant mechanisms are sleep architecture damage, electrolyte and water loss, NAD⁺ depletion, and gut-derived inflammation. The protocol covers all of them, with the heaviest weight on the levers that produce the largest felt difference per unit effort.

ALDH2 is the dominant enzymatic clearance pathway. The protocol supports it (NAD⁺ via NR; protection via GSH precursors; pre-induction via Nrf2 activators) and addresses the downstream consequences of clearance (electrolyte loss, sleep disruption, inflammation) with separate ingredient layers. Every ingredient on the site is assigned to one or more of these mechanistic roles, and every protocol stage is structured as a tier-ranked stack hitting those roles at the right time.

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