I was in Whole Foods in the sparkling wine section grabbing something for my own New Year’s Eve celebration. The woman besides me says “Can you drink Champagne without getting a heachache?” I said “I love anything sparkling and I’m lucky to not have that happen to me!”
The bubbles in any sparkling wine contain carbon dioxide that helps your stomach digest it faster and get quickly into your bloodstream. It’s also a diurectic, making your blood sugar drop, and potentially cause challenges with sleep. There are also differing levels of sugar with the type of champagne.
I then asked this woman if she wanted help to select her New Year’s Eve beverage.
First of all – I helped her to choose a bottle that was lower in sugar. If you choose Champagne (the real deal), there is residual sugar added to the bottles. This is called dosage, and the sugar is added to balance out the acidity of the wine.
Next – look for levels of sweetness on the label. Bottles can be labelled from levels of sweetness from no added sweetness to very sweet – from Brut Nature, Brut, Extra Sec, Sec, Demi-Sec, and Doux
- Brut Nature – As the name implies, this has no sugar added.
- Extra Brut – Less than 6 grams of sugar per litre
- Brut – Less than 12 grams of sugar per litre. This is a very popular type of champagne as there is just enough sugar to balance out the acidity.
- Extra Sec – (Sec means dry) 12-17 grams of sugar per litre
- Sec – (Dry) 17-32 grams of sugar per litre – about a teaspoon per litre.
- Demi-Sec – 32-50 grams of sugar per litre
- Doux – 50 grams of sugar per litre – about 2 teaspoons
Another tip – Often Champagne is served on an empty stomach. If you can eat something while sipping your bubbly, you’ll feel better, and the bubbles will not rush to your head as much!
Finally – Drink one glass of water for each glass of Champagne that you’ll drink. This will keep you hydrated and help avoid a headache.
Well, after helping this woman, she decided to purchase a giant bottle of Prosecco. Hopefully, she will enjoy it, and be headache free.
Here’s to a Happy and Headache free 2019! Cheers!!
