For millions of Britons, the festive season is a marathon of celebratory drinking, often culminating in a Boxing Day write-off. The old adage 'grape or grain, but never the twain' has long warned revellers against mixing wine and beer to spare their heads the next day. However, new insights from experts and scientific research suggest the real villain behind the throbbing headache and nausea is far more straightforward.
The Mixing Myth: Science Debunks Ancient Wisdom
Research has definitively shown that the order in which you consume different types of alcohol makes little difference to your hangover severity. A 2019 study from Witten/Herdecke University in Germany put the theory to the test with 90 participants aged 19 to 40. The drinkers were split into groups to consume either wine before beer, beer before wine, or stick to one type of drink.
Under medical supervision, they rated their drunkenness and subsequent hangovers. The study concluded that changing the order of drinks made no significant difference to hangover scores, disproving centuries of folk advice. Lead researcher Jöran Köchling stated the only reliable predictors of a bad hangover were how drunk a person felt and whether they were sick.
Adam Msetfi, Operations Director and Drinks Expert at The Cock in Hitchin, agrees. He told the Daily Mail: 'The real killer combination isn't mixing drinks, it's drinking fast and drinking too much. That's why Boxing Day feels less like a Bank Holiday and more like a medical episode.'
Sugar: The Hidden Culprit in Your Glass
Nutritionists point to a far more potent cause of festive suffering: sugar. Sal Hanvey, a nutritionist partnered with DrinkWell, warns that an overload of sugar intensifies common hangover symptoms by exacerbating dehydration, leading to headaches, fatigue, and nausea.
The NHS recommends adults consume no more than 30g of sugar daily. Yet festive tipples are laden with it: a glass of Buck's Fizz contains up to 12g, a serving of Baileys has 9g, and even a glass of red wine holds around 1.5g. DrinkWell's research found the average couple consumes the equivalent of 25,673 calories from alcohol alone over Christmas, before food is factored in.
'When sugar is present, your body needs more water to metabolise it, exacerbating dehydration already caused by alcohol,' explains Hanvey. She highlights that the sugar-alcohol combination disrupts the liver's ability to stabilise blood glucose and can slow the metabolism of acetaldehyde, a toxic by-product of alcohol that contributes to nausea and headaches.
Red Wine and Dark Spirits: A Congener Problem
While white wine is often maligned, experts suggest its darker cousin is a major culprit. Red wine and dark spirits like whisky and rum contain higher levels of substances called congeners, produced during fermentation. Dr Sally Adams from the University of Birmingham notes that drinks with higher congener content may lead to greater hangover severity.
'As much as I love them, big heavy red wines are brutal,' admits Adam Msetfi, advocating for quality over quantity. 'If you drink too much, your body reacts like it's fighting an illness. So avoid rubbish and go for quality.' He also advises limiting sugary mixers, describing a significant part of a hangover as a 'sugar comedown'.
Practical Tips for a Clearer Head
So, what can you do to mitigate the festive fallout? Nutritionist Alishia Farrington recommends being wary of spirits paired with high-sugar mixers like coke or lemonade, calling them a 'perfect storm'. Cocktails and bubbly drinks like Prosecco are absorbed quickly and can be brutal on blood sugars.
Her simple go-to order is vodka with soda water and a slice of lime, which is far easier on blood sugar levels. She also debunks the terrifying myth of Baileys and wine curdling in the stomach, clarifying it's more about irritation from alcohol, sugar, and dairy sitting heavily after a big meal.
Finally, think twice about that creamy nightcap. Ann Garry of the Health Coaches Academy notes that Baileys' combination of alcohol, sugar, fat, and dairy is a lot for the body to process close to bedtime, potentially disrupting sleep and causing reflux. The consensus is clear: pace yourself, choose quality, mind the sugar, and your Boxing Day might just be salvageable.
