Its Christmas time again which means it's also the season for countless office Christmas parties, family get-togethers and year-end parties that will test anyone's liver.

Just in time for this season's festivities are news about a hangover cure that will instantly sober over-indulging revelers in just 45 minutes. The drink Security Feel Better went on sale in Australia last week and it promises to flush the alcohol in the blood stream within 45 minutes.

The French-made drink is based on an artichoke extract that has an enzyme that will break down the alcohol in the body five times faster than the body can naturally. The drink hasn't been scientifically tested yet so consumers need to take the drink's claim of cleansing alcohol levels with a grain of salt. The drink is available for $5.95 a bottle on an Australian pharmacy website.

Of course instant hangover cures are something of a legend that never goes away. People would love to get away from overindulging without paying the price so products that promise that will always crop up especially in the holiday season. Of course don't be tempted because most of them won't work. A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2005 reviewed a dozen or so foolproof hangover cures such as walking in fresh air and even nutritional supplements and found that no cure is truly 100 percent effective.

And that fact is not likely that scientists will find a cure anytime soon especially since they can't even pinpoint why drinking too much alcohol causes hangovers. Doctors only know that booze dehydrates the human body and that alcohol blocks hormones in your kidney that would keep water in. Every glass of alcohol you drink will make you lose more water than you take in. So aside from recommending taking a drink of water for every beer or cocktail you drink, doctors don't really have more information than you do.

Everyone and their friends have their own hangover cures. You may have your own fool-proof way of avoiding that searing headache in the morning. Taking pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen can fen d off the head ache but don't take more than you need. Aspirin is a blood thinner that can cause bleeding in your stomach and gastrointestinal tract. Take one or two pills. Avoid taking acetaminophen such as Tylenol or Excedrin because the drug combined with alcohol can cause liver damage.

A good meal will alleviate some of the hangover symptoms. Bananas will replenish your potassium levels. Eating just about anything will help because food will coat the lining of your intestines. Blander food will be easier to digest.

You might be tempted to drink more alcohol in the morning in the misguided notion of curing your hangover with "hair of the dog". This cure absolutely does not work and will only set you on the slippery slope to alcohol dependency. You're just prolonging your misery by numbing the pain of a drinking binge the night before. Avoid this.