22 Aug 2016 Does red wine give you a horrible hangover?

Steve Allsop, director of the National Drug Research Institute at Calvin University in Australia, recently studied how differences in congeners—the element that gives colour and flavour to a variety of alcoholic beverages—may alter that drink’s effect on the body. Throughout the study, participants were asked to drink over the course of two nights, consuming bourbon—which has a higher level of congeners—on one night, and vodka with a placebo on the other.

Overall, the drinkers reported having more severe hangovers after the consumption of the bourbon.

“Some people find that drinks with high levels of congeners make them feel worse. And there is some evidence supporting this,” Allsop says.

This evidence also applies to wine choices, as darker red wines contain more congeners than their lighter counterparts. However, some wine experts say that the colour isn’t the only reason varieties of wine can affect the body differently.

“The percentage of alcohol is one factor: White wines usually contain between 9 to 14 percent… whereas reds contain between 12 to 16 percent,” says sommelier Gino Santangelo.

He also points out that “Some cheap wines might have added tannins, or synthetic tannins… which can interfere with serotonin levels and make your hangover feel worse.”

Since tannins are higher in reds, a cheaper bottle of the darker wine will impact the body more than a similarly priced bottle of white.

You may also want to consider the potential allergens or sensitivities within.

“There may be a reaction to histamines…which might be more present in red wine than in white wine. Again, learn from experience and don’t put a reaction down to histamines if you have drunk a lot of alcohol — it’s probably just how much you drank!” says Allsop.

If you are sensitive to histamines, they can be filtered out with a product such as PureWine’s The Wand, which you can place in your glass of wine (of any colour) and remove sulphites and histamines.

Allsop also notes that many believe preservatives to be the real culprit behind a more intense hangover, though “the science about this is limited,” and suggests trying out organic, preservative-free wines as another option.

Source: Today.com