Is your favourite drink causing a worse hangover? What to expect from each tipple
IT'S hard to avoid feeling a little worse for wear if you overindulge in booze.
But some drinks will leave you better than others, so it's worth knowing if your favourite can cause a more severe hangover before ordering that glass.
Obviously it also rests very much in the hands of how much you drink, and if you have water as you go.
However things like sugar content and the fermentation process of your tipple can make a huge difference.
Knowing that darker spirits can make your hangover go on for longer, or that sweeter drinks will add on more pain is something your future self will be grateful for.
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Darker spirits
These are more likely to leave you with muscle aches and nausea the following day.
This is because darker drinks have more congeners in them, which are by-products of the fermentation process used to make them.
Rum, whiskey, red wine and brandy are all culprits of this category.
They can make your hangover go on for longer, as your body has to break down the alcohol and the congeners.
And this can make headaches, nausea and muscle aches more painful.
They can also be toxic and interfere with your body's attempts to repair the next day.
Red wine
Red wine is quite well known to leave drinkers with sore heads the next day. But why?
It has natural elements in called tyramine and histamine which can often leave you with a headache the next morning due to blood vessels being restricted.
Some people even say they get headaches or migraines within 15 minutes of having a glass.
Kerry Beeson, Nutritional Therapist at Optibac Probiotics said organic red wine might be a better alternative.
She said: "Alcohol can reduce friendly bacteria levels in our gut but so too can those foods that tend to go hand in hand with alcohol – high sugar, high fat and heavily processed – creating a double whammy assault on the gut and the friendly microbes that live there.
"However, choosing organic red wine which has shown to be beneficial in small quantities."
Mulled wine
This festive tipple is more likely to give make you tired, dizzy and shaky.
That's because while it has less booze in it after being heated, mulled wine has extra sugar on top of the natural sugars which makes your blood sugar spike.
This can cause hyperglycaemia, which is your body responding to too much or too little glucose in the bloodstream.
It can give you nasty symptoms the next day as your body tries to bounce back.
If you want to keep your blood sugar on a more even keel, it's better to go for clear spirits with non-flavoured mixers.
Tequila
Now, this might be the winner.
If you don't go too mad you could wake up hangover free with Tequila.
This is because if you drink good quality versions, the 100 per cent agave drink has a different fermentation process.
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This leaves it with less sugar and congeners, and so you don't feel as bad the next day.
As long as you don't have too many shots and keep hydrated - and of course, always drink in moderation with any alcohol.
