Wine is a type of beverage with a complex flavor, often, it would be great if it were a little less toxic. We have been making it for over 8,000 years and we are still debating the best techniques.
But recently, I have seen some claims about natural wine. Advocates claim that it is less toxic, it contains fewer harmful chemicals, and even it will give you less of a headache!
But many of those claims are based on poor science, illogical comparisons, and missing information.
There are valid reasons to drink natural wine - such as supporting smaller wineries, or because a specific winery/vintage tastes good. But misleading claims about sulfites, poor science regarding hangovers, and biological nonsense are not valid reasons.
Inevitability of Hangovers
Some sources, including average stories (which I will not cite, because I like most of the author's stories outside of this claim), say that natural wine is a better choice because it reduces the severity of any hangover that follows.
Claim: Natural wine reduces blood acetaldehyde levels, making hangovers less severe.
Science: Alcohol does not live forever in our bodies. Once it enters our blood, it ends up in our liver, damaging it in the process of elimination. One of the byproducts of alcohol breakdown is acetaldehyde, which is an irritant. Acetaldehyde scars the liver and damages the brain, impairing the ability to form effective memories. (This is why you may not remember much after a night of heavy drinking.)
There are peer-reviewed studies showing that natural wine leads to lower levels of acetaldehyde, but it does so by slowing the absorption of alcohol.
Poor citation: For some reason, some blogs promote this claim and, while they cite sources, those sources do not agree with what they are saying! This blog claims that a study from the University of Rome supports its assertion that natural wine does not cause hangovers, but the cited study only highlights the difference between red wine and white wine, and never even