Who hasn't woken up on a Sunday morning with the urge to tear out their hair and the feeling that little people are doing a roller coaster ride in their belly? After suffering all day long, you keep saying "It's over, I'll never drink another drop of alcohol!"... Next time try to remember this Persian proverb before taking the drink that will be fatal to you: "Life is a continuous drunkenness: pleasure passes, the headache remains".

And have you ever wondered why your body has this physical limitation. One of the answers might be that wine deserves to be tasted. It is only when we appreciate it at its true value that it reveals all its subtleties and all its potential!!!

But that still doesn't explain why your evenings after are sometimes difficult... The Clusters help you to see more clearly (no pun intended).

What is a hangover?

First of all, we need to define what a hangover is. There is obviously nothing scientific about this expression. It comes from the feeling that our mouth feels dry as wood when we drink a little too much alcohol. It is synonymous with the more learned term "veisalgia". Etymologically, this word finds its origin in a Norwegian term which means "discomfort following debauchery".

The hangover is indeed an intoxication resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol that occurs between eight and sixteen hours depending on the person. It is when the blood alcohol level reaches zero that symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, headaches and headache appear.Feeling weak, thirst, dizziness, stomach aches etc. are most noticeable as the hangover occurs when alcohol is eliminated by our body. Simply put, when we consume alcohol, our body transforms the alcohol into ethanal or acetaldehyde which are toxic chemical components. So it is indeed poisoning. So that's why you feel all these unpleasant sensations.

It is also important to know that the congeners, i.e. the substances resulting from fermentation and which are bad for our body, are more likely to be present in poor quality alcohols that have been little distilled. So be careful when you consume alcohol and find out well in advance how it is produced. As in many fields, we always come back to the same conclusion: Quality is better than quantity!

Wine and hangover?

Wine is often considered as one of the alcohols causing the most difficult hangovers to bear. But for what reasons?

It would seem that it is the compounds of the wine that are at the origin of this phenomenon. We often tend to refer to the sulphites contained in wine as the main culprits of our hangovers. However, it is important to know that sulphites are found in other foods such as cereals, fish, dried fruit etc. and until now nobody has ever complained about having a hangover after eating these foods. It would therefore be the high consumption of sulphites and an intolerance to them by some people that would cause headaches. This also explains why natural wines produced without added sulphites have the reputation of not causing all these inconveniences. But again, there is disagreement on the subject. It has not yet been scientifically proven that sulphites are the cause of headaches, only ethanol, i.e. alcohol, is known to have this effect.

Sulphites aren't the only chemical compounds to point the finger the day after a drunken night out. We also note that from one wine to another, depending on the concentration of tannins and histamine, the hangover sensation will be more or less strong. Wines that are very rich in this would indeed be more conducive to an unpleasant awakening.

But beyond the chemical components, it is above all your behaviour that will determine your state of health after a drunken evening. Not eating, not drinking a little water or even accompanying your glass of wine with a cigarette are all attitudes to be avoided if you want to wake up fresh as a roach!!

The remedies against hangover

There is of course no miracle cure for hangovers. If there were, there is no doubt that it would be the best shared secret in History. However, there are a few things you can do to limit the effects of alcohol and avoid a terrible hangover. First of all, as mentioned above, don't forget to eat and drink when you drink. This will make it easier for your body to eliminate the alcohol you've been drinking.

The other solution to avoid hangovers may be radical and may not please everyone, but it is nevertheless the most effective. It consists of not drinking alcohol. Thanks to it, the zero hangover effect is assured. Nevertheless the best solution, according to us, remains to drink in moderation !!!

Camille Ragot (for the bunches)