Latest news with #DavidNutt
Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Times
More than one glass of wine a year is harmful, says former drugs tsar
For some, one large glass of wine may just be a well-earned reward for getting through another day at the office. However, according to a former government adviser, humans really should only be consuming up to one large glass of wine a year or risk causing themselves harm. Professor David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London, said that if alcohol was invented today, it would not pass safety checks and would be banned from shops. Speaking on the Instant Genius podcast, Nutt, who was the chief drugs adviser under Gordon Brown's Labour government, said: 'I can accept that 40,000 years of alcohol use is precedence but if we invented it today, we wouldn't have that precedence.' Nutt said on the Instant Genius podcast that alcohol was so damaging it was exempted from normal testing Nutt added: 'So what would we do? Well, what we would do is you would put your alcohol through food safety testing and it would fail. 'It would fail because the maximal recommended amount of alcohol any individual should consume in a year, based on the toxicology, is a large glass of wine per year. That's why they had to exempt it because you couldn't put it through normal testing so that tells you how relatively harmful alcohol is.' The earliest evidence of alcohol use comes from China in about 7,000BC when people would use clay pots to produce drinks made from fermented rice, millet, grapes and honey. The NHS now advises adults to consume no more than 14 units a week, equivalent to about five large glasses of lower-strength wine. • Last orders for post-work drinks as Gen Z shuns alcohol Nutt has long spoken about the harm done by alcohol. In 2009 he was sacked from his role as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs by Alan Johnson, then home secretary, after claiming in a scientific paper that alcohol and tobacco were more harmful than LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. Johnson said at the time that Nutt had 'damaged efforts to give the public clear messages about the dangers of drugs'. In the role Nutt also clashed with Jacqui Smith, Johnson's predecessor as home secretary, after arguing that taking ecstasy was not more dangerous than horse riding. Last year Nutt also launched a non-alcoholic drink that can replicate some of the feelings of being tipsy. The drink, Sentia Gaba Gold, enhances a neurotransmitter in the brain that produces relaxation and makes people more sociable. However, a recent study from researchers at the University of Barcelona found that those who drank 3 to 12 small glasses of wine a month had a 38 per cent lower risk of heart disease compared with those who drank less than that. It also found that a glass of wine every night halved the risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes compared with people who did not drink.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientist claims you should only drink one glass of wine a YEAR
After a stressful day, sometimes all you want is to crack open a bottle of wine. But you'd better make it a generous pour – as a scientist claims it's only safe to drink one glass a year. The human body can only safely consume one 'large' glass of wine every 12 months because it is too 'toxic', according to Professor David Nutt, a leading drug researcher at Imperial College London. He says that if alcohol was invented today it would fail modern food safety standards because of how harmful it is to our bodies. Studies on the toxicology of alcohol - the adverse effects chemicals have on living organisms - reveal that the 'maximal recommended amount' per year is just one large glass of wine, according to the expert. Speaking on the BBC 's Instant Genius podcast, the 74-year-old said: 'I can accept that 40,000 years of alcohol use is precedence but if we invented it today we wouldn't have that precedence. 'So what would we do? Well, what we would do is you would put your alcohol through food safety testing and it would fail. 'It would fail because the maximal recommended amount of alcohol any individual should consume in a year, based on the toxicology, is a large glass of wine per year. 'So that tells you how relatively harmful alcohol is.' Professor Nutt, from Bristol, is an experienced neuropsychopharmacologist and former government chief drugs advisor. He argued that – apart from tobacco – alcohol is responsible for more deaths across the world than any other drug. However, he added: 'My approach to alcohol is not that it's all bad. If it was all bad, it would have disappeared. 'There are good aspects to it, and it would be nice if we could maximise the benefits and minimise the harms.' In recent decades some studies have found a link between the moderate consumption of red wine and improved heart health. But in 2018 a major global study, published in one of the world's leading medical journals, confirmed there is 'no safe level of alcohol consumption'. The research, published in The Lancet Public Health, said the risk of cancer and other diseases from drinking alcohol outweighs any potential protections. Commenting on the study at the time Professor David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, sounded a note of caution about the findings. 'Given the pleasure presumably associated with moderate drinking, claiming there is no 'safe' level does not seem an argument for abstention,' he said. 'There is no safe level of driving, but the government does not recommend that people avoid driving. 'Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention.' In the UK, men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week on a regular basis. This is the equivalent of around four large glasses of wine.
Sky News
13-04-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Low-level drinkers have increased cancer and cardiovascular risk, study finds
Low-level drinking can increase your chances of cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Research conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team, on behalf of the charity Alcohol Change UK, examined the drinking habits of more than 4,000 UK adults. It found that people who consumed alcohol within the NHS guidelines had worse health than non-drinkers. Compared to people who never consumed alcohol, rates of cardiovascular disease increased from 1% to 5%, for cancer it went from 1% to 4%. The study also found "low-risk" drinkers reported reduced sleep quality, worse daily functioning, and poorer dental health, compared to those who have never consumed alcohol. With over 30 million people in the UK drinking at these levels, campaigners are calling for people to rethink their drinking habits. Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: "For decades, we've fallen prey to a binary but false idea that 'drinking problems' only affect a minority of people with alcohol dependence. "But as this research makes clear, alcohol is taking a toll on our health and wellbeing right across the drinking spectrum, even at 'low-risk' levels." The NHS recommends that people should not consume more than six pints of medium-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine a week, but scientists warn that it is the way some people consume those volumes of alcohol which can be problematic for their health. Professor David Nutt, a former government chief drugs adviser, said some view 14 units a week as a target and others binge drink. "There are people who think, 'I've got 14 units, I can have seven drinks on a Friday, seven on a Saturday, that's okay'. "We know that drinking the maximum allowance in one or two goes is very dangerous. That is where the data becomes quite complicated because some of the harms are undoubtedly magnified by binge drinking within that low-risk weekly level." Nathan Eades, 37, runs two high-end pubs in Cheltenham and used to regularly drink large quantities of alcohol but has recently changed his habits. "Being able to cut out alcohol from having five, six pints at the end of a shift to maybe one vodka soda, two vodka sodas a week has really helped benefit us as a business and me as a person," he said. "After you have probably had one too many, how do your family take it? How are your co-workers interacting with you? How are they feeling with your mood swings, brain fog and irrationality? That is the area which we all need to be a bit more mindful of." Alcohol Change UK is calling on the government to introduce health risk labelling on alcohol as well as marketing restrictions so that people have more information about the alcohol they are consuming and are not so regularly being encouraged to buy drinks. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We recognise the need for urgent action to reverse the unacceptable levels of alcohol harm and deaths. "As part of our Plan for Change, we are shifting our focus from sickness to prevention, prioritising early intervention and health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives across the UK."
Telegraph
01-04-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The naturally occurring substance that gives you the same buzz as alcohol
It's one of the wellness world's biggest buzzwords, with a thriving industry dedicated to products claiming to stimulate its release in our bodies. Gaba, short for gamma-aminobutyric acid, is a naturally occurring substance that's made by our bodies and helps regulate sleep, promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. Its role in a host of other health concerns – including the gut microbiome, memory, epilepsy, Parkinson's, seizures and autism – is the subject of a growing body of research. In Japan, Gaba-enriched products are everywhere: by 2021, the country recorded more than 270 being produced and Gaba ranks third among its labelled functional food ingredients. Even tomatoes are being genome-edited to increase their Gaba content: the Sicilian Rouge brand of cherry tomatoes contains five times more Gaba than conventional ones. But all over the world, researchers are exploring ways to enhance our Gaba activity. In Britain, there's a growing market for functional drinks, in particular, which is valued at £2.4 billion. Several of these claim to increase the efficiency of Gaba in the brain. The most famous, Sentia, created by a team led by David Nutt, a professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, is intended to mimic the relaxed feeling we might get after a couple of alcoholic drinks with its blend of plants proven to have an effect on Gaba receptors. Sentia is intended to mimic the initial stage of drunkenness, when we feel relaxed and convivial, but does not lead to the other stages, including euphoria, memory loss and dependency. Another, Impossibrew, contains ingredients including ashwagandha and l-theanine, an amino acid found in tea that is thought to increase Gaba levels in the brain. It seems unlikely Britain will follow in Japan's footsteps by putting Gaba directly into food, but researchers are searching for new compounds which could potentially have an Gaba-activating impact. But what exactly is Gaba, and is it really possible to boost our levels? Here's what the science says. What does Gaba do? Gaba is made by our bodies and present in other animals, plants and microorganisms. In humans, it's what we call a neurotransmitter, sending chemical messages in the brain just like serotonin or dopamine. It plays a hugely important role in our central nervous system as the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, which means it blocks chemical messages and decreases the stimulation of our nerve cells. In other words, it has a calming and relaxing effect. If brain activity consists of billions of neurons turning on and off, 'glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter, is the 'on' switch,' says Prof Nutt. 'Gaba is the 'off' switch.' Alcohol increases Gaba activity in the brain, leading to a temporary feeling of relaxation and a reduction in anxiety, as do drugs which have a sedative effect, for example benzodiazepines such as Valium. (Conversely, stimulant drugs such as cocaine increase glutamate and lower Gaba.) However over time, excessive alcohol consumption can diminish Gaba signalling. The more we drink, the more Gaba goes down, leading to anxiety and potentially to addiction as the receptors need more of the alcohol to provide the same effect. Gaba is actually made from glutamate and to have a properly functioning brain, a delicate balance must be maintained between the two. Decreased Gaba activity has been linked to conditions such as anxiety disorder, depression, schizophrenia, autism and epilepsy. While the highest concentration of Gaba is found in the brain, smaller amounts can also be found in organs such as the bladder, heart, lung, ovaries and pancreas, with recent research suggesting it has an important function in regulating insulin and metabolising sugar. What part does Gaba play in gut health? Most of us are increasingly aware of the importance of gut health as it links to every aspect of our overall wellbeing, from our immune systems to our moods. Fewer realise the key role Gaba plays in our microbiome, the community of microorganisms within our intestines. 'In the past decade, research has shown that the gut has a lot of Gaba receptors,' says Prof Nutt. These are believed to influence everything from gut motility to the enteric immune system which protects the digestive tract from pathogens, and the prevention of inflammation. 'Gaba is fundamental to the effective working of the gut,' he adds. Research also shows that the level of Gaba activity in our guts is linked to our mental health. A review published in scientific journal Nature has shown a strong link between mental health disorders and dysregulation of the microbiome as a result of low Gaba activity. Conversely, studies have shown that raising Gaba levels in the intestine improved depression-like behaviour and stress hormone levels. 'Gaba is an important modulator of microbiome activity in the gut, and of the gut-brain axis – the two-way communication system between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract,' explains Prof Nutt. In other words, if the gut's Gaba receptors are working efficiently, our mental wellbeing will be better, too. The friendly probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides all produce Gaba in the gut, and also in the brain. This is thought to be the result of the communication between the two organs, and including these in your diet – whether via food or supplements – is likely to be beneficial to both. Can our diet improve Gaba activity? Many studies have shown the beneficial effects of Gaba derived from diet, including helping to lower blood pressure, control weight and prevent diabetes. Foods naturally high in Gaba include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale, sweet potatoes, soybeans, tomatoes, strawberries, mushrooms, germinated rice and tea. Much higher levels are produced when foods are fermented using lactic acid bacteria, such as kimchi, miso, tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir and certain cheeses. These foods are probiotics, known to boost the diversity of good bacteria in the gut. Prof Nutt says: 'There is absolutely no doubt that if you're looking after your microbiome, your Gaba is going to be working more effectively. Eating more fibre, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and legumes will all help.' Vitamin B6, found in foods such as bananas, salmon, chicken, tuna, chickpeas, potatoes and eggs, has also been found to support Gaba production and has a positive impact on our mental wellbeing. Can we boost our Gaba levels by taking supplements? No, taking large quantities of Gaba orally is not believed to be effective or bring any particular health benefits. While research has shown that blood Gaba levels are elevated 30 minutes after oral Gaba intake, it doesn't reach the brain. 'Gaba cannot cross the blood-brain barrier,' explains Prof Nutt. Instead, any excess is believed to be broken down by the liver. Gaba supplements are prohibited for sale in Britain and other European countries because of concern over potential for misuse but are legal in the US and Japan, along with a variety of Gaba-enhanced gummies and foods such as chocolate, cereals and teas. A 2020 systematic review of 14 studies into the impact of consuming Gaba-rich food or supplements on stress and sleep found 'limited evidence for stress and very limited evidence for sleep benefits of oral Gaba intake'. Instead, supplementing with probiotics is a promising alternative. The probiotics increase Gaba activity in the gut – and, in turn, increase it in the brain. One 2023 study found that of commercially available probiotics, the strain Lactobacillus brevis
The Guardian
19-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Gaba is the off switch of the brain': Is it also the answer to better sleep, sobriety and less anxiety?
'Chinese medicine.' 'That weird Hungarian liqueur.' 'Something my grandad would drink.' The taste test is not going well. Dry January is over and we're hitting the bottle, but this is not alcohol we're drinking. It's theoretically the next best thing: Sentia Black, 'a unique blend of functional botanicals, designed for focus and conviviality,' reads the blurb We've been trying it neat, but once you mix it with tonic water it becomes much more palatable – 'festive and grownup', as one of my test subjects puts it. Taste aside, though, does it work? The conversation is certainly free-flowing, but whether it is more 'focused and convivial' than it would have been without the Sentia is hard to say. None of us end up dancing on the table or spoiling for a fight, at least. Nor does anyone wake up with a hangover the next morning, so there's that. Mind you, it is £32 a bottle. The active ingredients in the drink have been chosen because they 'stimulate the release of Gaba' – a neurotransmitter that slows down the brain – gently mimicking what alcohol can do to extreme levels. Gaba is short for gamma-aminobutyric acid and it's being talked of in terms of not just alcohol substitution but a whole range of health applications. It is often associated with sleep, relaxation and anxiety, but it also has a role to play in epilepsy, Parkinson's, blood pressure, seizures, memory and much more. As such, Gaba has become something of a buzzword in health and wellness circles, which inevitably means there is a lot of confusion and misinformation. Gaba itself is a naturally occurring substance. Our bodies can make it, and it's present in common foods, with higher concentrations in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale, sweet potatoes, fermented foods such as kimchi and tempeh, and certain herbs. The sale of pure Gaba (it can be synthesised by fermenting food) is prohibited in the UK and EU due to concerns over potential for misuse, but it's legal in the US and Japan, where you can buy myriad Gaba supplements, with dosages ranging from 10mg to 750mg, not to mention Gaba-enhanced chocolate, gummies, drinks – and it doesn't stop there. But its uses and effects are far from straightforward. 'Gaba is the off switch of the brain,' says the neuropsychopharmacologist Prof David Nutt, of Imperial College London, who is also one of the creators of Sentia. At the most basic level, brain activity consists of billions of neurons turning on and off, he says. 'The turning on is glutamate; the turning off is Gaba.' This is why Gaba has a connection with calming. 'When we go into a social situation with strangers, the social parts of our brain are set to 'slightly anxious' because it's better than being overconfident,' says Nutt. 'What alcohol does, and what Sentia does, is enhance the Gaba there to take away that anxiety, so you can be as social as you really want to be.' Sentia, which launched in 2021, seeks to mimic the first stage of drunkenness – the relaxed, 'convivial' feeling you might get after one or two drinks – but without leading to subsequent phases: euphoria, loss of judgment, pain reduction, memory loss, dependence. You don't get more faux-drunk the more Sentia you drink; you just remain in that 'sweet spot' of sociability, it's claimed. 'We are not replicating alcohol,' says Nutt. 'We don't want people to get drunk and addicted and hungover.' Nutt says he was led down this path by first-hand experience. 'I spent most of my first 20 years as a doctor trying to treat people with alcohol withdrawal, alcohol craving, alcohol brain damage.' According to the latest statistics, alcohol-related deaths in the UK hit a record high in 2023, exceeding 10,000 for the first time. Meanwhile, we are increasingly turning off alcohol. A recent UK survey found that 43% of 18- to 34-year-olds and 32% of 35- to 54-year-olds no longer drink it at all. So there is clearly a place for drinks like Sentia. Nutt was fired as a government adviser on drug policy in 2009, for arguing that some illegal drugs, such as ecstasy, LSD and cannabis, were less harmful than legal ones including alcohol and tobacco. He has been researching alcohol alternatives ever since, and in 2019 he co-founded GABA Labs, which makes Sentia. 'There are small molecules that do mimic the effects of alcohol. We looked at those, and we found they were complex, difficult and expensive. So we started making our own molecules.' It is a challenging and expensive process, he says, but 'in the last 10 years, we've made 50 molecules that target the Gaba system as we want.' They also studied plants and herbal remedies associated with calmness and relaxation in western, Chinese and Ayurvedic traditions – valerian and ashwagandha, for example. Sentia is a mix of natural ingredients, some for Gaba-enhancement, some for flavour, including blackberry juice, aronia, magnolia, linden, passionflower, liquorice, ashwagandha and more – plus what is described on the label as 'GABA Labs proprietary blend' – which includes those synthetic Gaba-targeting molecules Nutt was talking about. I've tried Sentia over a few evenings now. There are two other colours, red and gold, which claim to have slightly different effects. The gold one tastes like concentrated orange juice neat, but mixed with ginger beer it's very tasty. I've had perfectly pleasant times, but it is still difficult to know how much the drink was a part of that. There was no 'buzz', as some Sentia drinkers have reported. I relay my uncertainty to Nutt. Do other people respond that way? 'Only journalists,' he replies jokingly. Women prefer it to men, he's found, but he can only speculate as to why – perhaps they are less desensitised by previous alcohol-drinking, or it interacts with the female hormone system differently. He does have scientific proof for Sentia's claims, though: studies have shown that compounds in many of the plants they use have an effect on Gaba receptors in the brain; an experiment on mice at the University of Portsmouth indicated that Sentia enhances Gaba in the gut in a mammalian system. He also shows me EEG scans carried out on Sentia drinkers by the University of Exeter, which showed that it produces changes in the brain 'compatible with relaxation and sociability'. Sentia is not the only alcohol alternative going down the Gaba route. There's also Kin Euphorics, sold in the US, some of whose drinks are infused with actual Gaba, or Three Spirit, which uses 'adaptogens and nootropics' (a similar herbal mix to Sentia but without their proprietary ingredients) to 'enhance your mood, rhythm and mind'. Then there's Impossibrew, the 'impossibly relaxing non-alcoholic beer'. Along with ashwagandha, one of its key ingredients is l-theanine – an amino acid found in tea, among other natural sources, that is thought to increase Gaba levels in the brain. Impossibrew was founded by Mark Wong, a 28-year-old former student homebrewer who had to quit drinking for health reasons. He developed a non-alcoholic alternative, working with Dr Paul Chazot, a professor of pharmacology at Durham University. Wong says that a light came on when he visited his family in Hong Kong and explored traditional Chinese herbal remedies. Working these into a beer was a challenge – 'these things have a really pungent, planty taste' – but Impossibrew tastes as good as any non-alcoholic beer: fruity and hoppy with a citrus finish. And I must admit, I did feel somewhat looser and more animated after drinking it, though that could have been down to the spectacular pasta dish I'd cooked (including Gaba-rich broccoli). Wong presented his product on Dragons' Den a few years ago but failed to attract any investment. He's doing fine without it: Impossibrew shifted over a million units last year, he says. 'We aim to continue doubling every year.' Controlling the brain's 'off switch' has myriad applications beyond just alcohol-like sociability. Gaba's neurological role was identified in the 1950s, and many medications target its system to treat conditions such as epilepsy, anxiety disorders, seizures and drug withdrawal symptoms – hence medical brand names such as pregabalin and gabapentin (which are controlled class C substances in the UK). Likewise, drugs that are often prescribed for sleep problems, such as Zolpidem (Ambien) or benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, temazepam), work by enhancing Gaba in the brain (albeit with side-effects). Health-store Gaba supplements claim to do something similar, but the way Gaba works on humans is complicated. It is not thought to pass through the 'blood-brain barrier' in significant quantities, which means you cannot simply swallow a load of Gaba and find it makes its way to your brain. This is why products such as Sentia and Impossibrew claim to enhance the uptake of Gaba in the brain, rather than adding to it directly. Consuming Gaba orally is not particularly effective, says Renger Witkamp, a professor in nutritional biology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. 'What we see, if you give someone a large amount of Gaba, is that it is quickly taken up in your blood, but that peak very rapidly disappears, in as little as half an hour. Gaba is a natural compound, so our body has all kinds of systems and enzymes that are constantly keeping it in balance.' Does that mean that Gaba pills and supplements are a waste of time? Anecdotally, many people attest to their efficacy, but in 2020 a systematic review of 14 studies found 'limited evidence for stress and very limited evidence for sleep benefits of oral Gaba intake'. Gaba certainly plays a role in sleep, but the supplements are a bit of a lottery, says Prof John Groeger of Nottingham Trent University, co-author of the review, who has studied sleep for over 20 years: 'You really don't know how much you're taking. Even when you buy a supplement that says it has 1,000 milligrams in it, there is no recommended dose.' This is not the whole story, though, says Nutt. Gaba can still have an effect by another route: 'The gut has a lot of Gaba receptors, and Gaba affects gut function. And if you change gut function, then the nerves from the gut to the brain are changed, and therefore the brain is changed.' In addition, 'There is growing evidence that the microbiome uses Gaba to grow and to communicate between the various bugs, so Gaba itself could be active at several levels.' On the subject of Gaba supplements, Nutt says: 'They may work.' One place in particular has been swearing by Gaba for decades: Japan. 'Gaba is like vitamin C here,' says Prof Hiroshi Ezura of the plant innovation research centre at the University of Tsukuba. 'Many Japanese people know what Gaba is and many Japanese food companies enrich their products with it.' Since 2005, the confectioner Glico has made a range of Gaba 'mental balance chocolate', for example, which claims to aid relaxation for workers. It is credited with having popularised chocolate consumption by men, which was previously considered a 'feminine' confectionery in Japan. The brewery Suntory's Gaba-enhanced, alcohol-free beer All Free, meanwhile, claims to improve memory. Ezura's field is tomatoes. His team has developed a Gaba-rich variety using genome-editing technology. Their Sicilian Rouge cherry tomatoes contain five times more Gaba than conventional ones, Ezura says, and they claim to not only relieve stress and aid sleep, but also maintain skin elasticity and lower your blood pressure. They could not make these claims without hard evidence, approved by the Japanese ministry of health, labour and welfare, he says. They have also worked for him personally: 'Normally my blood pressure is 135 or 140, but by eating the tomatoes every day, it's down to 120.' The tomatoes came on to the Japanese market (where regulations for Gaba and GM foods are less strict) in 2021 and are available in more than 100 shops, mainly in the Tokyo area. They are now expanding their range of tomato varieties and making processed products, such as tomato puree, says Ezura. There are plans to begin growing them in the Philippines, and they have been approved by the FDA in the US. Gaba undoubtedly has actual and potential benefits, and more research is needed, but not everybody is drinking the Kool-Aid – or Sentia and tonic. Prof Witkamp, for one. Even with some of the 'scientifically proven' claims around Gaba, he's wary of 'what we call cherrypicking', he says: 'You get a lot of loose bits and pieces, you connect them and they sound nice, but has it been proven?' To really confirm the relaxation effects of drinks like Sentia, he says, you would need a properly designed, placebo-controlled experiment. Instead, 'there are a lot of subjective feelings about 'becoming relaxed'', he says. Nutt acknowledges: 'We tend to get positive feedback, but then there's probably not a lot of point in people telling us they didn't get much of an effect.' Similarly, with Impossibrew's claim that '71% of our customers felt more relaxed after drinking Impossibrew', Wong concedes that the data is from self-selecting customers who were willing to fill out the company's questionnaire. Besides, measuring something qualitative such as 'relaxation' is inherently difficult. 'I've subjected myself to a whole range of different drugs over my 50 years,' says Nutt, 'so I know what it's like to be zonked, but when you're looking for those subtle changes, it's trickier.' But a subtle change is the goal: 'It's very unlikely that people are going to sit down by themselves and just drink Sentia to get out of their head; we think it works predominantly in social situations, because that's what we want – for people to engage socially … but sometimes we're not that good at being social.' So sharing a Gaba-enhancing cocktail could be just the fun social lubricant we need, without the hangover – even if the conversation is mostly just, 'Are you feeling anything yet?'
