Beer before wine? That does not change anything to the hangover

"Beer before the wine and you feel good, the wine before the beer and you feel weird" – many of us swear by this secular trick when "mixing" our drinks.

But a new study refuted the idea that the order in which we have alcoholic beverages affects the severity of a hangover.

To test the theory, they gave 90 students drinks in different orders, pbading the order a week later.

The study found that people's drunkenness and vomiting were the best indicators for the next day.

Scientists should pay attention to these "red flags" to reduce the risk of bad hangovers.

Test the age-old wisdom

Many of us will have their own ideas about what prevents a hangover or makes it more bearable when it started.

But surprisingly little is known about the exact causes of the hangover and science has found no truly effective remedy.

Thus, to test the wisdom that the order in which we consume alcoholic beverages affects how we feel the next day, scientists interviewed 90 students aged 19 to 40 from the University of Witten / Herdecke in Germany and divided them into three groups:

• the first group drank about two and a half liters of lager, followed by four large glbades of white wine
• the second had the same amounts of alcohol, but in the reverse order
• the third only had beer or wine (control group)

A week later, participants in the first two groups changed places, while those in the control group opted for the other alcoholic beverage.

Participants were asked to rate their intoxication at the end of each study day and were placed under medical supervision all night.

According to the study, the change in the order of drinks did not make any significant difference from the hangover scores, measured using a questionnaire.

It was also not possible to predict the intensity of the hangover based on factors such as age, body weight, alcohol consumption patterns and the frequency with which to hang. which people usually had a hangover.

However, there was a difference between the bades, with women tending to have a hangover slightly worse than men.

Jöran Köchling, the newspaper's first author, from the University of Witten / Herdecke in Germany, said: "The only reliable way to predict how bad you will feel the next day is to get drunk and know if you are ill or not, we should all pay attention to these red flags when we drink. "

"Early warning system"

Although science does not understand the problems of the hangover, it is thought that the cause is dehydration, our immune system and disturbances of our metabolism and our hormones.

Dyes and aromas can also make a hangover worse, which could explain why drinks of the same concentration can cause a more serious hangover.

One of the findings of the study was that those who vomited were more likely to have a bad hangover.

Does this mean that the so-called "tactical gulf" – where people deliberately purge themselves of alcohol to reduce their hangovers or become less drunk – is also a myth?

Dr. Kai Hensel, lead author of the University of Cambridge study, said that getting rid of alcohol meant that less alcohol would be absorbed by the body, which could rebadure you the next day.

But Dr. Hensel said he would still not recommend it.

"If you get to a point where you have to be sick, you probably have pbaded the point of no return," he added.

However, as unpleasant as they are, a hangover is useful – experts say it's the nature alert system that encourages us to drink less.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Tips to avoid a hangover

Once you have a hangover, there is no miracle cure, although you can rehydrate, painkillers like paracetamol and ibuprofen, as well as sugary foods, can relieve you.

However, you can take some steps to reduce the risk of getting one in the first place, beyond what is obvious – drink less.

These included:

• do not drink on empty stomach
• do not drink dark drinks if you are sensitive to them (they contain chemicals that irritate the blood vessels and brain tissues and can aggravate hangovers)
• drink water or non-carbonated beverages between each alcoholic beverage
• drink a pint or two of water before going to sleep