We have all experienced it—the dreaded morning after the night before where your head is pounding, and your stomach is churning. But is the rumour true that some alcohols give you a significantly worse hangover than others?
All alcohols contain compounds called congeners, and it is this compound that scientists believe is responsible for providing the dreaded hangover.
Congeners are a by-product of the fermentation process, where the yeast converts amino acids into ethanol. The congeners produced in the distillation process are esters, ketones, acids, alcohols and aldehydes, all helping to give the alcohol its individual taste. The higher the number of congeners in a drink, the worse the hungover you feel the next morning. Drinks with high congeners will also have a high amount of methanol. Vodka, for example, has 102mg of methanol per litre, compared to rum which has 3633mg of methanol per litre.
If the alcohol is paler in colour, such as light rum, vodka, gin, and white wine, it will generally have a lower number of congeners, as they are less heavily distilled. Darker alcohols such as dark rum, whisky, and red wine, will have a higher number of congeners due to the longer and heavier distillery processes involved in their production.
Hangovers are commonly thought of being caused by dehydration, which while true, is not the only cause. This is because alcohol interferes with the body’s antidiuretic hormone production, which signals the kidneys to reabsorb fluids. When you consume alcohol, ADH is suppressed, causing the kidneys to excrete more water.
Congeners have a big impact on how severe the hangover is. However, in the majority of cases, people will consume drinks with a variety of congener levels throughout the night, so the hangover is the combined effort of all of those drinks.
So, the most important question is: How can you minimise your hangover?
- Try to drink lighter alcohols which will have a lower number of congeners.
- Don’t drink alcohol on an empty stomach, especially if you are drinking darker, and therefore higher congener alcohols, as a full stomach will slow down the absorption and allow your body to break down more of the congeners.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the night to keep yourself hydrated.
It goes without saying that you should drink responsibly, but now you know the science behind how exactly different alcohol affects your body and what causes your hangovers, helping you to feel fresh the morning after YOLO and attend your all-important Thursday morning lectures.