How to Beat the Dreaded Wine Hangover

Are you wondering why you always get a wine headache the morning after drinking?

Wine is made up of many chemicals, which affect our blood pressure. It also contains histamines, which some people can’t metabolise. If wine affects you more so than other drinks, non-drowsy antihistamines prior to drinking may help.

Research has also shown that the tannins in wine may boost production of the brain chemical serotonin, and changes in serotonin levels can trigger headaches especially in people who suffer from migraines.

You should also consider other factors that can cause hangovers. Ask yourself, do you get wine headaches if you have a glass after a long workday but not whilst you are on holiday? This could be because underlying stress can be a big factor, alongside dehydration. Top tip try and drink water before and alongside drinking wine, to keep hydration levels topped up.

Obviously, the best tip to avoid a hangover is to not drink at all, but hey we are all human after all and there are some great bottles out there. If you are going to drink, Slow down and limit intake. Ultimately, the severity of your wine hangover is directly proportional to how much wine you’ve had to drink. So, the best prevention tip is to drink less.

In addition, increasing the amount of time between each glass of wine can have a big effect, as well as drinking water between glasses and pairing this with “lining the stomach”, simply eat before you go out.

Wine hangovers are arguable one of the worst types you can have. One of the reasons is because wine contains more congeners when compared to clear spirits and light beer.

You may ask, what are congeners?

They are a natural by-product produced as a result of the ageing and fermentation process that wine goes through. It gives wine its distinct aroma and flavour.

The most common congeners in wine include:

Tannins

Responsible for the dry and bitter taste of wine and have been shown to be a trigger for wine headaches.

Flavonoids and polyphenols:

These organic compounds have antioxidant properties, but they also lead to a build-up of phenols. Phenols react with other molecules and can be the cause of inflammation.

Sulfites

Sulfites, as they are best known in the wine world, is a chemical compound that occurs naturally at low levels during the process of wine fermentation. It is also added by many winemakers during the fermentation stage of winemaking to protect and preserve the wine's character, flavour, and colour.

When it comes to hangovers, red wine is especially bad compared to white wine or rosé. This is because it contains a lot more of the congeners mentioned above.

So, the ultimate question… How to avoid a hangover?

An ideal wine hangover cure would mean to take away your symptoms completely.

Before we start this section, it’s important to mention that a magic “wine hangover cure” doesn’t exist.

That being said, there are some things you can do to soften the blow.

1. Rehydration

Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes your kidneys produce more urine. In fact, every gram of alcohol makes you pee an extra 10mls. A glass of wine contains around 14 grams of alcohol. Therefore, every glass of wine makes you lose 140ml of water.

If you’ve had several glasses of wine, you can see this adds up. Therefore, dehydration is one of the main causes of a wine hangover.

So, drink lots of water, it helps!

2. Sleep

By far your best bet for a wine hangover cure is sleep and rest. It’s only possible If you’re lucky enough to have the day off from work or able to hand over family responsibilities to a partner.

But it allows your body time to recover from some of the havoc caused by wine.

3. Painkillers

Over the counter painkillers like paracetamol, aspirin and Ibuprofen are potential options. Painkillers can help take some of the pain away, but they aren’t wine hangover cures.

4.Ginger

Ginger is a natural anti-sickness remedy. Sipping on ginger tea or taking a ginger supplement can also help.

Now that we’ve covered some simple wine hangover remedies, next up we’ll go over things you’ll probably want to avoid.

1. Coffee

Many people reach for a cup of coffee as their first drink in the hope it’ll cure their wine hangover. Unfortunately, coffee could do more harm than good.

Firstly, it’s a diuretic like alcohol. You’ll already be dehydrated as well, and coffee will accelerate this.

Secondly, it’s a stimulant which means it’ll increase your heart rate and the amount you sweat. It’s not ideal because your body has already been put through its paces from the damaging effects of alcohol and congeners in wine.

On the other hand, caffeine will make you more alert and temporarily boost energy levels so there are pros and cons to consider.

2. Exercise

Most of us have heard or have said “let’s sweat it out” as a wine hangover cure tactic. Well, it doesn’t work as well as you may think, as your body has been put through its paces already. There’s nothing left to “sweat out” apart from more water which will add the stress your body is already under.

On the other hand, exercise may make you feel better as physical workouts release endorphins. But on the whole, it’s probably best avoided.

3. Hair of the dog

Drinking more alcohol to cure your wine hangover could technically work.

After all, hangover symptoms start when your blood alcohol levels drop to zero. Therefore, topping blood alcohol levels up should basically make you tipsy again and numb the pain.

However, you’ll be setting yourself up for an even more severe hangover once you decide to stop drinking. Hair of the dog only delays the inevitable.

So, there you have it, we have walked you through all the reasons why you may have a wine hangover and how to make it a little better. We hope it helps!