If the quantity of alcohol ingested influences the severity of the hangover, know that the quality of the alcohol also has an impact.
The hangover is the unpleasant feeling which occurs when you wake up, the day after an evening rich in alcohol. It includes a variety of symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue associated with drowsiness, dry and pasty mouth, headache, intense thirst… which usually go away in less than 24 hours. Many scientists have looked into the issue of hangovers and argue that dehydration caused by alcohol is the main cause of hangover symptoms. However, it seems that the distillation of alcohol also plays a role in the severity of symptoms. Distillation is the action of purifying a liquid through a heating process. A Danish study published in Alcohol and Alchoholism show that the less alcohol is distilled, the greater the risk of a hangover.
Dark alcohols, worse?
Thus, with equal quantity and quality, dark alcohols (little distilled) gave no more typical symptoms of a hangover that “white” alcohols (which were therefore more distilled) like the Vodka, Gin, white or blond beer, white wine or Sake. Among the so-called “dark” alcohols, we find:
- THE Whiskey
- THE Brandy
- THE Dark or amber rum
- THE Red wine
- THE Port
- There Brown beer
- THE liquors (Campari, Amaretto…)
“The presence and severity of a hangover is influenced by many factors other than the amount of alcohol: one of these factors is the presence of congeners in alcoholic beverages. Congeners are substances that flavor and color drinks” hence the “dark” side of certain lightly distilled alcoholsexplain the researchers. It can be concluded that alcoholic beverages that contain more congeners produce a more serious hangover“. In laboratory experiments, the fact of mixing pure alcohol with orange juice had significantly reduced the presence of congeners. What if the solution to limiting hangovers was to combine alcohol with orange juice, like orange-vodka or punch? For our naturopath, Sophia Hanania, the best solution to prevent hangovers when waking up is (besides not drinking alcohol at all) “ofalternate 2 glasses of water for 1 glass of alcohol to stay well hydrated and remember to drink water especially before bed because alcohol is a substance that dehydrates”.
Champagne intoxicates faster
Another one study published in the Journal Of Forensic and Legal Medicine showed that Champagne and soft cocktails (rum and coke, gin and tonic, mojito or spritz For example) get drunk more quickly and lead to more severe hangovers. To reach their conclusion, the researchers followed 21 people (12 men and 9 women) who consumed three drinks: pure vodka (37.5% alcohol), vodka mixed with still water (18.75% alcohol), vodka mixed with sparkling water (18.75% alcohol). People who have drunk alcohol diluted with plain water eliminated alcohol more quickly than those who consumed pure vodka or alcohol with sparkling water.