CityNews wine writer RICHARD CALVER ponders the question: why on earth are the effects of returning to normality after drinking far worse than what the body feels under the influence? 

It was morning and I woke up feeling like I had a hangover: dry, aching and a slight headache. 

But it was just the morning after a heavy session at the gym and a couple of glasses of water and a cup of green tea and a hot bath made me feel better. 

I realise that a hangover is just your body reminding you that you’re an idiot just like when you’re mucho macho at the gym. 

But on reflection I pondered: why on earth are the effects of returning to normality after drinking far worse than what the body feels under the influence? 

Why are the aches and pains of the next day similar to the feeling after heavy exercise but can’t be as easily cured? Once the body is back to normal, surely the effects of alcohol should also disappear?

I found a learned article by JC Verster? on this subject entitled “The alcohol hangover – a puzzling phenomenon”. 

Verster gets to the nub of my questions more formally: “The alcohol hangover is an intriguing issue since it is unknown why… symptoms are present after alcohol and its metabolites are eliminated from the body.” Cutting to the chase, Verster shows that the effects alcohol has on the immune system are far more likely than just dehydration to contribute to negative effects associated with alcohol consumption, such as memory loss; his analysis of the relevant research supports the hypothesis that not merely dehydration, but the presence in the body of a “stressor” causes an immune response which results in memory problems. 

The WebMD site also confirmed that the immune system issue is a main reason we feel wretched, although it thoroughly investigates how alcohol consumption does cause dehydration, a factor that can’t be ignored but is not the main culprit. 

Here’s what it says on the immune system issue: “Alcohol causes your immune system to release cytokines, which are proteins that help control inflammation in your body. Those cytokines appear to trigger many hangover symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, nausea, and more.”

Part of the issue of the severity of a hangover is the presence of congeners in alcoholic drinks. Congeners are substances that flavour and colour drinks. They are byproducts in alcoholic beverages resulting from the processes of distilling and, in the instance of wine, fermenting.

They contribute to the taste and smell of wine, liquor and other alcoholic beverages. 

The limited research on congeners shows that there are more congeners in dark liquors such as brandy and bourbon than in clear alcohols such as vodka. So to reduce the effects of a hangover, reduce the consumption of drinks containing higher levels of congeners, like brandy or red wine, with white wine. 

The WebMD site suggested that drinking water and rest are the two main factors in curing a hangover. The list of what your body needs to do in order for you to feel better is quite confronting. Time is needed to:

• Clear the toxins that were produced when your body broke down the alcohol you drank – another factor in why you feel worse after the body has processed the alcohol.
• Rehydrate.
• Heal the irritated tissue in your gut.
• Return your immune system as well as your brain activity to normal.

So, it’s pretty fundamental: the only way to avoid a hangover is to limit how much you drink or to not drink alcohol at all. 

While this investigation was interesting, understanding why you feel so bad only ameliorates curiosity, it doesn’t necessarily bring wisdom. 

“Anybody who has completely given up on the idea of heaven and hell has never been kissed properly or flown Ryanair with a hangover.” –Dylan Moran