Do Natural Wines Reduce Hangovers?
Natural wine is becoming increasingly popular among wine drinkers. We seek sustainability, organic products, and minimal additives in our food, including our wines. But will this help with our hangovers the next day? Below, we explain the extent to which this claim is true.
What is Natural Wine, in Brief?
Natural wine is wine that is largely influenced by nature in the vineyards. No chemicals are sprayed to keep pests away; instead, natural methods are used. Think of a predator for the pest. It’s a cycle that does all the work in the vineyards. Extra trees, animals, and insects. Nature nourishes nature.
Additionally, no chemicals are added in the cellar. Wine is fermented using wild yeasts, it is not filtered, and very little sulfite is added—at most 30 mg. Sulfite is a collective term for substances that contain sulfur. Sulfite helps protect the wine from bacteria and ensures that it remains shelf-stable. Wine naturally contains sulfite, which is produced during the fermentation process. Therefore, sulfite-free wines do not exist. Typically, there are about 150 mg of sulfite in wine, and up to 350 mg can be added per liter, which is significantly more than in natural wine.
Breakdown of Alcohol
To answer the initial question, it’s important to look at how the body processes certain substances: alcohol (ethanol) and sulfite (sulfur). Alcohol is absorbed in the stomach and makes its way to the liver. There, enzymes take over for the breakdown of alcohol. Enzymes are proteins in the body that facilitate chemical reactions. They convert substances into other forms, making it easier for the body to break them down.
Two enzymes are involved in the breakdown of alcohol. The first, ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase), converts alcohol into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is 10-30 times more toxic than alcohol and must be converted by the ADHL (aldehyde dehydrogenase) enzyme into acetate to be broken down by the body. The ADHL enzyme relies on a crucial compound called glutathione (an antioxidant) to convert acetaldehyde into acetate. The antioxidant glutathione is a detoxifier that allows the ADHL enzyme to transform the toxic substance acetaldehyde into acetate. Sulfites are also substances that the body breaks down using glutathione. Since both sulfite and alcohol enter the body, glutathione is double taxed, causing the ADHL enzyme to convert the dangerous substance acetaldehyde more slowly. This is because glutathione is also busy processing sulfites.
Natural Wine and Hangovers
Natural wine offers two advantages over your hangover. Here’s how and why:
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The antioxidant glutathione ensures that the ADHL enzyme converts the dangerous substance acetaldehyde into acetate, allowing the body to break it down. This antioxidant is also needed for the breakdown of sulfite. The more sulfite you ingest, the less glutathione is available to convert the harmful acetaldehyde. When you drink wines with added sulfites, the substance that is more toxic than alcohol lingers longer in your body because glutathione also has to process sulfites. This leads to more headaches and nausea. The less sulfite, the easier and faster the body can break down alcohol.
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Natural wine also enhances the metabolism of the ADHL enzyme, allowing it to convert the toxic acetaldehyde more quickly. Therefore, natural wine ultimately results in lower acetaldehyde levels in the blood because its metabolism is accelerated by the health benefits that natural wine provides. This leads to fewer headaches and less nausea compared to other wines.
Conclusion
Natural wine contains alcohol. When you drink alcohol, toxic substances are produced in the body. These substances are processed much more quickly than those in wines with higher sulfite content. The antioxidant glutathione is essential for converting the harmful substance acetaldehyde produced by alcohol. This antioxidant also helps to process sulfites from your body. Thus, the conversion of acetaldehyde to acetate is slower because glutathione is also working to process sulfites. This means that a toxic substance will linger in your body longer than if you drink wine without added sulfites.
Additionally, natural wine comes with health benefits that enhance the metabolism of the ADHL enzyme. This results in the quicker conversion of the more toxic substance acetaldehyde, reducing the time it spends in your body.
So yes, natural wine can lead to fewer hangovers, especially compared to wines with higher sulfite content. Do your best, and you might even experience hangovers from natural wine!