Q: Can coffee and tea help with a hangover?—Henry, Minneapolis
A: Hangover is the unpleasant result of drinking too much alcohol in too short a time. Even those who aim to drink in moderation are likely familiar with the symptoms, which can include headache, nausea, upset stomach, tiredness, anxiety and malaise.
Dr. Sergi Ferré, chief of the integrative neurobiology section of the intramural research program at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told Wine Spectator that “the brain mechanisms triggered by alcohol and leading to a hangover are incompletely understood, and include brain inflammatory processes, alterations of neurotransmitter levels and their receptors, mitochondrial dysfunction and more.”
Scientists are still trying to understand what causes hangover—not to mention how to prevent or cure it. It’s clear that acetaldehyde, the primary byproduct of alcohol, plays a major role. Dehydration also contributes to feeling bad after a night of overindulgence. Could drinking coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages make things any better?
Does Caffeine Alleviate Hangover Symptoms?
While it may seem like a cup of coffee or tea could improve alertness and help you feel better after a night out, Dr. Ferré says the idea that drinking caffeine can help when you’re hungover “is a myth.”
Dr. Mary Claire O’Brien, professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, agrees. She told Wine Spectator that she’s “not familiar with any hard scientific evidence on caffeine as a hangover antidote.” She points out that both caffeine and alcohol are diuretics—substances that increase urine production. As a result, “if a person is dehydrated and hungover, drinking beverages with caffeine as a remedy might actually exacerbate their dehydration.”
Dr. O’Brien adds that “caffeine causes nausea in some individuals.” Since nausea is a common symptom of hangover, adding caffeine to the mix could make things even worse.
Can Caffeine Prevent Hangovers?
Even if drinking caffeinated beverages while hungover is unlikely to make things better, could caffeine help prevent a hangover from occurring in the first place?
According to Dr. O’Brien, “drinking caffeine while drinking alcohol is unlikely to prevent a hangover.” She emphasizes that caffeine and alcohol are processed differently by the body. Caffeine is metabolized by first-order kinetics, which means that approximately half the total amount consumed is metabolized in a fixed amount of time, typically around five hours. On the other hand, alcohol is processed via zero-order kinetics, which means a fixed amount of alcohol is metabolized per hour. How quickly a person processes alcohol varies widely and depends on many biological factors.
The result of this metabolic difference is that “when ingested at the same time in significant quantities, the caffeine wears off first,” leaving a person to deal with the negative effects of alcohol without an accompanying caffeine boost. According to Dr. Ferré, “consuming caffeine and alcohol together may cause people to drink more alcohol.” That, in turn, could lead to a worse hangover the next day.
Dr. O’Brien’s words of advice? “As a physician, I would say the best hangover cure is moderation.”
As always, talk to your healthcare provider about incorporating wine—and your caffeinated beverage of choice—into a healthy, hangover-free lifestyle.—Kenny Martin
