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Sick after alcohol? Not always the cat’s fault – so you realize, whether your alcohol Allergy suffers

02/10/2020 | Diet & Food

Sick after alcohol – not always the cat’s fault

The head is pounding, the stomach plays and you feel pretty miserable: That was probably a bit too much alcohol the night before. However, it does not need to always keep in mind that you have not actually had too much to drink, if you feel good afterwards: Some people do not tolerate alcoholic beverages regardless of the quantity of the good.

Who suffers, feels the often fast: shortly after the consumption of alcohol, the nose swells, for example, you can feel the palpitations, and the face reddens. Since the suspicion is that you could be allergic to alcohol. “An Allergy to alcohol there is, in fact,” says Professor Dr. Thomas Fuchs of the University of Göttingen and Vice-President of the medical Association of German allergists. “It is, however, extremely rare.”

What feels like an Allergy, is often no

The pure alcohol makes problems, belongs rather to the realm of rarities. “Most of the time you react to the alcohol but to other substances in the drinks,” says the dermatologist. Particularly in suspected histamine and sulfites are. “It is then not a classic Allergy, but an intolerance,” says Fuchs. He speaks, therefore, of a Pseudo-Allergy.

The substances stimulate the immune system, but other systems in the body, so that it comes to a reaction. It will be different than an Allergy, activates anti-bodies. “We are more likely to assume that there are functional deficits in the removal system,” says Fuchs.

Histamine can cause the alcohol problems

The Alcohol metabolism happens in the body to a large extent via the liver. They can be metabolized more than 90 percent of the ingested alcohol. A small part is also excreted via the lungs, the skin and via the kidneys in the urine. However, one does not drink pure alcohol, but a mixture of various substances. In red wine, for example, often contain lots of histamine. The body also makes itself as a messenger substance. Some people have problems with histamine to reduce. Histamine from the outside was added by the food, you can develop symptoms such as a stuffy nose.

One speaks then also of a histamine intolerance. The Affected tolerate a certain amount of histamine-containing food. A certain threshold you get, however, symptoms. These do not only occur, if you drink red wine, but, for example, even after the consumption of old cheese, sausage products and canned fish. “Unfortunately, the cause is not yet known,” says Fox.

Alcohol may amplify allergic reactions

A guess is that there is a malfunction of a particular enzyme (DAO), the histamine breaks down. “However, there are also people in whom the enzyme is lowered, the feeling of no symptoms,” says Fox. Affected can occupy the enzyme. It is available in pharmacies. Of the taking, not everyone benefits but. Meanwhile, histamine-free and histamine-poor wine, is available for some of the better-tolerated.

Some people also react to sulfites, which are antioxidants, for example, in many varieties of white wine and other grape products. Some drinks also contain other substances that can trigger an Allergy, for example, the hops in the beer. “Moreover, alcohol can intensify an allergic response,” says Fuchs. Who can withstand, for example, no nuts, is very likely to respond when alcohol is stronger than usual.

Some varieties may be better tolerated than other

“Anyone who does not believe that he can tolerate alcohol, you should watch carefully,” says the expert. Maybe some varieties are better tolerated than others. Basically, you should leave the alcohol caution: It is a cell poison that harms the body and in the case of acute alcohol poisoning as well as in a long-term consumption can lead to death.

The Federal centre for health education advises men to drink a day is more than 24 grams of pure alcohol. That’s the equivalent of about two glasses of beer or 0.25 liters of wine. For women, lower values apply. On two days in the week you should totally abstain from alcohol.

Again and again, will be discussed also, whether or not the beer is actually healthy. It contains B-vitamins, essential Oils and bitter substances have a positive effect on the metabolism. So beer is said to have, for example, that it is against anorexia to help the heart keep healthy and against exhaustion to help. It is the signs that the alcohol in the beer counteracts these positive effects increase. Therefore, you can’t refer to beer, unfortunately, as healthy – unless you choose an alcohol-free variant.

This article was authored by (Maria Berentzen)