Is Drinking Cheap Wine Harder On Your Body? Here's What We Know

An ice-cold glass of Chardonnay can make a summer sunset feel downright cinematic. A rich, savory pasta somehow feels incomplete without a bold Chianti by its side. True wine lovers can pick out the fruity notes in a full-bodied red or the buttery finish in a crisp white (and red wine might be a little better for you). But most of us probably couldn't tell a $50 bottle from a $10 one in a blind taste test.

What you might notice, though, is how you feel the next day, especially if you had more than a glass or two. Like any alcohol, wine can dehydrate you, which is one reason you might wake up with a pounding headache. Drink enough of it, and you could be dealing with a full-on hangover. You've probably felt nausea, dizziness, fatigue, or even a spike in blood pressure the next day. And let's face it. When your wine is coming from a box, it's a lot easier to keep refilling your glass. That $20 pour at a restaurant? Not so easy to overdo.

No matter how fancy (or cheap) the bottle, some wines may hit you harder than others thanks to the different compounds and byproducts they contain. In rare cases, certain wines have even tested for levels of arsenic that exceeded the EPA's safety limits for drinking water.

Some inexpensive wines tend to be sweeter, and that extra sugar can deplete B vitamins and contribute to a hangover. Additionally, congeners, which are byproducts of the alcohol fermentation process, can make hangovers worse because your body has to work harder to break them down. Red wine typically contains more congeners than white wine. Some wines also have higher levels of tannins, sulfites, and histamines, which can trigger headaches for some people.

Arsenic, a naturally occurring element in soil, can be found in higher concentrations in areas where pesticides are used. It can show up in many crops, including grapes used for winemaking. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health found that all 65 wine samples from the top four U.S. wine-producing states contained high levels of inorganic arsenic. On average, the wines had 23.3 parts per billion, which is more than twice the EPA's drinking water safety standard of 10 parts per billion. High arsenic levels in the body have been linked to certain cancers, heart disease, weakened immune function, and developmental problems in children. Arsenic can also be found in other foods, such as rice, seafood, and apple juice.

When you drink alcohol, your body metabolizes it into a toxin called acetaldehyde. Although it quickly breaks down into acetate, acetaldehyde can still harm your body. According to a 2010 article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, acetaldehyde can weaken the heart, cause oxidative stress, and increase cancer risk by damaging DNA (read more about other effects of alcohol on your body).

If the amount of arsenic in wine sounds alarming, it may help to put it into perspective. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rice wine can contain up to 1.2 micrograms of arsenic per serving, while beer may have up to 9.4 micrograms. In comparison, some ready-to-eat rice bran cereals can contain as much as 30 micrograms. Rice protein powders, rice cakes, processed muffins, and granola bars can also be relatively high in arsenic. According to Dartmouth College, the occasional glass of wine isn't likely to raise arsenic levels in your body to a toxic level. But if you're drinking several glasses a day, it may be worth paying closer attention to the arsenic content in your other food and beverage choices. (By the way, moderate drinking isn't as healthy as you think.)

As for the other compounds found in wine, it's a good idea to note which types tend to give you more of a headache than others. Naturally, the more wine you drink, the more likely you are to experience a hangover, especially if you're drinking on an empty stomach. Unfortunately, the only guaranteed way to avoid the harmful effects of acetaldehyde is to avoid alcohol entirely.