How bad your morning-after feels mostly depends on how much you drank. But a team at the University of Birmingham, led by Professor Sally Adams, has been looking at another culprit: congeners.
Congeners are chemical compounds formed during fermentation. They give drinks flavor and aroma — and they also contribute to hangover symptoms. The intensity of a hangover can vary depending on the type of drink you had the night before.
As you sit down at the festive table, beware of the sneaky congeners
Hangovers are equally unpleasant, regardless of your drink of choice. Yet many people say they feel worse after red wine than after beer.
Professor Sally Adams, who studies alcohol’s effects on the body, says darker drinks tend to cause worse hangovers.
Different beverages contain different amounts of congeners. Red wine and other dark drinks (like brandy and rum) have higher levels; whiskey, gin, and white wine have fewer; vodka and beer have the least. ‘Drinks with the highest congener content can lead to more severe hangovers,’ Adams says.
Adams notes that a 2009 study in the journal Nature found bourbon contains 37 times more congeners than vodka.
A 2010 study by researchers at Brown University in Massachusetts had volunteers drink caffeine-free cola, vodka, or bourbon. Those who drank bourbon experienced more severe hangover symptoms than those who drank vodka, the Daily Mail reported.
Adams points out that, beyond drink choice, several other factors influence hangovers. Genetics, what you ate with the alcohol, age, and gender all play a role.
Adams says the main cause of a hangover is still the amount of alcohol consumed, though congeners can make headaches and other symptoms worse.
