We all have a preferred drink of choice when we go out. Whether you’re a wine type of person or prefer an ice-cold Natty Light, chances are good that you choose this drink because of the way it makes you feel. Believe it or not, different drinks may affect how drunk and/or how hungover you get. To figure out the differences between wine drunk vs beer drunk, I’ve laid out the most common ways wine and beer affect you.
How Wine Affects You
There’s always a time for wine, whether you’re sipping on a glass over dinner or celebrating the job you just landed. Wine may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes and even contains polyphenols that decrease inflammation. Wine makes you the sleepy, “feeling yourself” type of drunk, but the hangover can be brutal. People often get killer headaches after drinking wine, especially red wine.
Why? Most people think it has to do with the high level of sulfites in wine, but this is actually not the case. Research suggests that the real culprit is the high level of histamine and tyramine in wine. Our bodies lack the enzyme to break down these chemical substances, which is what makes a wine hangover so brutal.
How Beer Affects You
You’re likely well versed in the negative effects of beer—it makes you gain weight and it’s bad for your liver if you drink too much beer. But if you enjoy beer in moderation, there are actually quite a few health benefits to drinking it. Beer can actually regulate your kidneys and may prevent you from developing kidney stones. It also might boost your creativity and can aid in digestion.
Beer typically makes you feel more bloated than wine does, but it tends to have the same relaxing effects and doesn’t provoke aggression like other spirits tend to do.
Wine Drunk vs Beer Drunk
Figuring out which alcohol gets you drunker quicker all depends on which one enters your bloodstream the fastest. Although close in alcohol content, wine enters the bloodstream faster and will get you more drunk over the same amount of time as beer. In terms of a hangover, there is no clear winner. Both in excess will lead to a rough next morning, but they are equal as far as effects in general.
Although the notion of wine drunk vs beer drunk is commonly accepted as being true (i.e. that wine will make you feel more relaxed than beer will, and so on), researchers are conflicted on whether or not different types of alcohol actually affect you differently. Research has been conducted on a set of alcohol-related beliefs called “expectancies.” This research has found that if you think a certain drink will make you feel relaxed, more confident, etc, it will simply because you expect it to affect you this way. There are also arguments that wine makes you feel more relaxed because you sip it slowly, whereas beer is often drank more quickly.
#SpoonTip: Alcohol’s effects on your body depends on your height, weight, age, and gender. For example, a male who weighs 190 lbs. won’t get drunk as fast as a female who weighs 130 lbs. Likewise, younger people are more likely to feel the positive effects of drinking than someone much older than them.
Drinking Responsibly 101
To avoid the lousy headaches and nausea the next day, alternate your alcoholic drinks with a glass of water and space them out over a long period of time. Downing four drinks in 20 minutes may seem cool, but your body and your brain will thank you the next day if you drink responsibly.
#SpoonTip: Spoon University doesn’t support binge drinking or underage drinking.