This one pre-drinking tip will help you stave off the red wine hangover
WINE lovers will be all too familiar with the groggy feeling they get after enjoying one too many tipples.
Red is renowned for leaving drinkers with a horrible headache - but there is one thing you can do to help stave off the dreaded hangover.
According to Dr Seymour Diamond, executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation, drinking two strong cups of coffee before you start on the red wine can limit the unwanted after effects.
He told the that caffeine constricts blood vessels, which lessens wine's vascular effects.
A little bit of honey in coffee can also help, as the fructose in it helps your body to process the alcohol faster.
There are three major culprits within a bottle of red wine that makes the drink prone to landing you with a stinking hangover.
These are tannins, histamines, and sugar - according to .
When alcohol and sugar mixes, the body uses up a lot of its water supply to process this - leaving you dehydrated which is a common trigger of a headache.
It sounds pretty obvious, but drinking water before you go out and throughout the evening also helps.
Not only will it help reduce the dehydrating effect of the wine, it also dilutes the effect of the wine overall.
Histamines are the chemicals released when we experience an allergic reaction, often leading to dry eyes, a runny nose and the dreaded headache.
Tannins are antioxidants and a naturally occurring compound found in the skins, seeds and stems of grapes.
They're the reason you often experience a dry mouth after glugging a glass of wine.
Sadly, some unfortunate people are more prone to headaches after drinking tannin-rich reds like Riojas.
While we're at it, earlier this week we told how scientists reckon a glass of pear juice could cut your morning-after headache after a night on the sauce.
Booze lovers' essentials
Apparently, people who drank 220ml of Asian pear juice before a night on the sauce were much less likely to have a bad hangover than those who didn’t – in fact, it made the testers who had it feel 21 per cent better, after they were tested on 14 hangover points like having a headache and light sensitivity.
It’s good news for those whose Christmas bash is on a work night too – this method especially boosted people’s ability to concentrate the next day.
Also, tucking into a carb-laden or fat-heavy meal before you go out will slow down the rate of alcohol absorption, something you'll be grateful for in the morning.
For more tips on how to avoid a hangover, check out this handy guide to what you should eat and drink.
