Experts warn about worst drink to avoid for hangovers as New Year's Eve approaches
It’s New Year’s Eve, the one day of the year when it feels more or less mandatory to go out, even though we’re all skint and it’s freezing.
And if you are venturing out for a few drinks, there's one particularly bev you should avoid unless you want to be welcoming 2024 with a killer hangover.
By this point, life experience has probably taught you that some hangovers are worse than others and some are even worse than that; there are certain things we can do to try and limit the effect of our hangovers such as sticking to sensible limits, eating before you hit the bar and remembering to alternate your alcoholic drinks with water.
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However, if you don’t fancy kick starting the new year with your head inside a toilet bowl, then you’d be wise to swerve one popular celebration drink: Prosecco.
For anyone who has ever experienced a Prosecco hangover you might be gently nodding along at this point, and it turns out there is actually some science behind it.
Speaking to Tyla, sommelier and Club Vino founder Marco Castelanelli said: "If you find that you get the worst headache ever after a glass or two of Prosecco, then quite simply, blame it on the bubbles."
He added: "Prosecco and Champagne both contain little pockets of carbon dioxide which change how the alcohol flows through the bloodstream, helping the body to absorb the alcohol faster."
And if you've noticed that the bubbly gets you tipsy far too easily, it's not just the fact that you're downing it that causes you to get drunk.
Castelanelli continued: "Once in the bloodstream, the CO2 competes with oxygen - which is why you might feel a little woozy and rather drunk rather quickly, leading to an exaggerated hangover in the form of a pounding head."
As for how to prevent the killer headache associated with the bubbly drink, drinking a glass of water between each drink is a good form of damage limitation.
Drinking your Prosecco slowly will also help and you should obviously never drink on an empty stomach.
Castelanelli also recommends drinking a large glass of water before you go to bed. Well, that sounds easy enough.
We all have our own techniques for dealing with a hangover, whether it's having a cry in the shower or having a sneaky curer, hair of the dog style - but according to scientists, you should try a very specific food and drink combo.
A 2019 study by a team at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, India said: "A beverage made from a blend of sweet lime, pear, and coconut water could be used to overcome hangover.
"The consumption of this beverage with cheese, cucumber, and tomatoes may further alleviate the hangover symptoms."
There you have it, then.
Topics: Food And Drink, Health
Claire Reid