A severe red wine hangover has been scientifically explained: the darker it is, the worse it is.

“Hangover? Sorry, you have no one to blame but yourself, writes the Daily Mail. – After all, we all know that the severity of the headache the next day primarily depends on how much booze we poured down our throats. But have you ever wondered why you feel so much worse the morning after trying a few Merlots and Malbecs, compared to, say, vodka?”

Researchers say additives found in darker spirits and sulfites in red wine could theoretically make you feel worse. And MailOnline explains why this is happening.

A hangover is an unpleasant feeling, no matter what drink you prefer. But anecdotally, many people report feeling the effects of red wine or darker spirits more than beer the next day.

The theory is that the darker the drink, the worse the hangover. That’s according to Dr Sally Adams, who studies the effects of alcohol at the University of Birmingham. “Different drinks contain different amounts of substances called ‘congeners,’ which are added during the fermentation process to improve the taste, aroma and color of the drink,” she said. “A small amount of evidence suggests that drinks with higher levels of congeners (for example, “dark spirits and red wine) may result in a more severe hangover than lower-containing drinks (e.g., gin, vodka).”

Research shows that vodka and beer contain the least amount of these substances.

For example, according to an article published in Nature in 2009, bourbon contains 37 times more additives than vodka. One 2010 study supported the theory about darker drinks, showing that bourbon may actually cause hangovers more than vodka.

Researchers from Brown University in Massachusetts asked participants to drink decaffeinated cola, vodka or bourbon and then asked them questions about their hangovers. Those who drank bourbon had more severe symptoms than those who drank vodka.

“From a congener perspective, the most likely factor influencing the severity of a hangover is methanol,” says Dr. Adams. “When methanol is metabolized in the body, it breaks down into formaldehyde and formic acid, which are highly toxic and likely cause vomiting and cardiopalmus”.

Another type of compound that can make your hangover worse is histamine, writes the Daily Mail. It is found in cheese, meat, fish and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, as well as red wine. Histamine intolerance is thought to be due to a deficiency of an enzyme called diamine oxidase. It can cause headaches, flushing and even intestinal symptoms in those who are sensitive to it, says Allergy UK. And for some, it worsens a hangover. Histamine has been linked to “adverse hangover symptoms,” but the exact evidence is still shrouded in mystery, Dr. Adams said.

All wines contain sulfites, either naturally or because they are added. They act as a preservative, but according to Dr. Adams, they can also make headaches worse.

She said: “There is no scientific evidence to support their contribution to hangovers. However, it is possible that some people are sensitive to sulfites, which may contribute to hangover symptoms and headaches in particular.”

But alcohol is still to blame for everything. It’s no surprise that the more alcohol you drink, the worse your hangover will be, the Daily Mail points out.

According to the NHS, it takes the average adult about an hour to process one unit of alcohol, which is equal to 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. “The more alcohol you drink, the more likely you are to have a hangover,” says Dr. Adams. “Direct exposure to alcohol or ethanol is most likely the cause of the hangover. The problem is that a hangover is influenced by many factors: what you ate, your genetic predisposition, your age, your gender.”

Does mixing drinks matter? “Beer before wine and you’ll feel great; wine before beer and you’ll feel weird,” it’s an old saying, says the Daily Mail. Along with: “Beer before a strong drink – never been worse. Strong before a beer – you’re safe.”

But research shows that mixing drinks doesn’t make much of a difference. In fact, a hangover is caused solely by the amount of alcohol you drink, notes the Daily Mail. The adage about “beer before wine” was tested by a group of 90 adults aged 19 to 40 in a 2019 University of Cambridge study. Volunteers who were given two and a half pints of beer followed by four large glasses of wine suffered the same hangover as those who drank the drinks the other way around.

While supplement levels can cause headaches, Dr Adams insists that the amount you drink is the main cause of a hangover.

Adams notes: “Ultimately, these different aspects of drinking may make a small contribution to the severity of a hangover, but it is not surprising that the main predictor is the amount of alcohol consumed.”