SIX THINGS THAT MIGHT BE CAUSING YOUR MIDLIFE HANGOVER CRISIS

Pesticides

This is a controversial claim, but anecdotally, biodynamic wines are less likely to cause hangovers. Organic wines, in theory, should also, but no one knows what is added at the winemaking stage. All the great wines of the world farm biodynamic, meaning they shun all man-made chemicals, and there is extreme tweaking at every stage of the process.

Water and electrolytes

Ageing is dehydrating, as is menopause. Double whammy. Low water levels in the body will impede the body’s ability to do a lot of things, including metabolising alcohol. It’s not just about the H2O, it’s the mineral electrolytes too, so just chugging a pint of water before bed may not be enough to stop things like cramping. Try drinking more water with an electrolyte mix in, a pinch of salt or some Epsom salts should do it. It could make a big difference.

Dosage

Are you drinking far too much? Watch out for large glasses of wine and double measures. Your average martini is four units.

Bubbles

Carbonation speeds up alcohol’s absorption into the body and overloads the liver sooner.

Congeners

As a general rule, the darker and more complex a drink, the more different congeners or compounds your body will need to process. A study comparing hangovers in vodka and bourbon drinkers found the brown drink was 11 times more likely to cause a hangover. It goes without saying that combining more congeners than strictly necessary (mixing your drinks) is a fool’s game.

Sulphites

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a natural by-product of in-bottle fermentation so you can never exactly escape it, but you can cut your intake by opting for low to no sulphur wines. White wine generally has more sulphites than red. Wine should have the actual quantity of sulphur dioxide added to the booze – which has been happening with wine for thousands of years – written on the bottle. If your wine merchant can’t tell you about sulphur levels in their wines, get a new wine merchant.