The painful inspiration for this piece came about a month ago. After indulging in a mere two and a half glasses of wine on a Friday evening—along with plenty of food and water, I might add—I was met with a dreaded hangover come Saturday morning. My eye sockets and cheekbones ached, my head was pounding, and, soon enough, I was experiencing the dreaded, wave-like “I’m definitely going to throw up” sensation. (Thankfully, I did not.) And then it hit me: Maybe my potential for experiencing a hangover all depends on where I am in my menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been tracking this phenomenon long, so I only really had “data” from my last experience—which took place about five days before my last period. So, I decided to pick the brain of women’s health and hormone expert Jolene Brighten, NMD, to see if there was any merit to my theory. (Spoiler: There just might be.) But why exactly does this happen? I personally suspected it had something to do with fluctuating hormone levels. And some articles I came across made similar claims, with experts saying that when estrogen levels are higher and progesterone is lower, more acetaldehyde—a by-product of alcohol metabolism that contributes to hangover symptoms—remains in the body after alcohol consumption. When I asked Brighten, she agreed there may be something to this idea, adding that “the liver has to process estrogen, and it’s possible that in states of estrogen dominance—which is often pronounced the week before your period—the increased burden of alcohol and estrogen together on the liver could cause issues. Excess estrogen gives women headaches, causes water retention and bloating, and can be inflammatory. If you add alcohol to the mix, this can make all of these issues worse.” Additionally, she says, “blood sugar imbalances that accompany the luteal phase may lead to an increase in hangovers and a lower tolerance of alcohol for some women.” Important to note, however, is that research shows1 some women actually have an increased desire to consume alcohol during the luteal phase—which could be due to a number of factors, from hormonal shifts to a desire to manage the psychological symptoms of PMS. This doesn’t mean that these women don’t experience hangovers, though. First, Brighten cautions, “we need to be mindful as women that alcohol has a major impact on our risk of chronic illness and cancer. One serving of alcohol can increase your estrogen levels by about 10%. Plus, alcohol is perceived as a toxin by your body, which means your body will put its efforts into eliminating that, which may be at the expense of your hormones.” All of which is to say, for overall health and hormonal balance, you never really want to overdo it on the booze. But it’s not unreasonable to imbibe from time to time. So if you’re planning a dinner or happy hour with friends that happens to fall on your late luteal phase—and a mocktail just doesn’t sound appealing—make sure you eat enough and stay properly hydrated, says Brighten. You can also consider bringing in some supportive supplements, “like a B-complex vitamin, magnesium, and N-acetyl cysteine to support your body in processing the alcohol.” You can also lighten the overall burden on your liver by eating gut-friendly foods, exercising regularly, reducing your exposure to chemicals, among other lifestyle changes. This doesn’t mean you’ll avoid a hangover, but it may help your liver do its job (which includes processing alcohol) more efficiently. Of course, this decision to drink or not (and how much) also depends on just how severe your hangovers tend to be during this time. If they’re completely debilitating, you may simply want to forgo alcohol during your pre-period week. Personally, I’ll probably be avoiding it completely, or at least pregaming with plenty of good old H20.
