Have you ever wondered why a single glass of wine can leave you with a headache, congestion, fatigue, poor sleep, or a next-day hangover that feels far worse than it used to? In this episode of PCOS Unfiltered, I'm joined by Paul Lagerstedt, co-founder of ALKAA, a patented in-glass sachet designed to reduce certain trace compounds found in alcoholic beverages before you drink them. Paul shares the personal health journey that led him from years of frustrating wine headaches and alcohol sensitivity to developing a product aimed at addressing some of the compounds that may contribute to common alcohol-related symptoms. We dive into the science behind histamines, sulfites, tannins, inflammation, and why some people seem to react more strongly to alcohol than others. We also have an honest conversation about the role alcohol plays in social settings, how alcohol can impact inflammation, sleep, and overall wellness, and why mindful choices around food and drink matter more than rigid rules. Whether you enjoy the occasional glass of wine, struggle with alcohol sensitivity, or simply want to better understand how your body responds to what you consume, this episode offers a thoughtful and balanced perspective. Because healing doesn't come from doing more—it comes from understanding better.
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⚠️ Podcast Disclaimer
This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine.
(0:00) I get kind of super, I'm super passionate about it because there's this, we solve the problem, (0:08) right? And I self, you know, I had to test this on myself for, it was like 18 months, (0:16) right? Of just ordering stuff in and trying it and then waking up, you know. With wine especially, (0:22) I get what's called a cocktail headache, which is within five minutes to three hours. If you (0:28) get a cocktail headache, you're super allergic to, or maybe not allergic, super sensitive, right, (0:34) to wine.So I could tell right away. And then there was this recipe that I had and I tried it and I (0:41) woke up with no headache. Welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered.Before we dive in, I want to share (0:48) a quick note about today's episode. We'll be discussing alcohol, alcohol-related symptoms, (0:53) and a product designed to reduce certain compounds found in alcoholic beverages. If alcohol is a (0:59) sensitive topic for you, please use your discretion while listening.Now, if you've been listening for (1:04) a while, you know I rarely talk about alcohol. In fact, I stopped drinking almost entirely a couple (1:09) of years ago because even a single drink often left me feeling worse, sometimes immediately and (1:15) sometimes for days afterward. But the reality is that many people want to enjoy a glass of wine, (1:20) a cocktail, or a celebratory drink once in a while, without it completely derailing their (1:25) progress or experiencing any of the unwanted side effects.That's why I was intrigued by (1:30) today's guest, Paul Lagerstedt, co-founder of ALKAA, the first patented in-glass sachet designed to
(1:38) reduce trace compounds in alcoholic beverages before you sip. During our conversation, Paul (1:43) shares not only the science behind the product, but also his own personal health journey and the (1:48) experiences that inspired his creation. And yes, I actually put it to the test during this recording (1:54) while enjoying a glass of wine myself.As always, the content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for (2:00) informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the host and (2:05) guests are not intended to serve as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare (2:10) professional before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or treatment plan.The information (2:15) shared is based on personal experience and expert interviews and is not a substitute for (2:20) professional medical guidance. Now let's get going. Here's my conversation with Paul Lagerstedt.(2:34) Hello and welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered. Welcome to Paul. This is going to be a fun one.(2:46) Um, yeah, I'm super excited to get into this. So before we even start like kind of talking about it, (2:54) I want, I'm drinking actually on the podcast and there's a reason. So if you're watching on the (3:01) video, um, and you're noticing, if you're going to notice that I'm taking some sips, there's a (3:07) reason why Paul is here.Um, so he is the founder and creator of Elka. Um, I'm going to drop one of (3:17) these in and then let him kind of get started on where it came from and, and what it is.
(3:25) Sounds good.Let's get this party started, Lindsie. Yep. There we go.(3:31) Set that timer for five minutes and then, then you're, you're good to go. (3:34) Yep. Okay.Yeah. So tell us all the things. Tell us about where it came from.(3:45) Yeah. Let's do origin story. Yeah.Right. I think that's, that's, that's kind of the fun part is (3:49) for decades I was a moderate drinker, always have been, but whenever I drank, I felt awful (3:56) afterwards and beer would hit me different than wine. Wine would hit me different than scotch.(4:03) Scotch would hit me different than a margarita. It was just, it was, uh, I, I called it the, (4:08) the alcohol tax, right? I drink, I'm going to pay for it. Death and taxes.It's just, (4:15) it was just a thing. Um, Sarah and I were moving cross country and we had been drinking some, (4:22) you know, some, some good wine, uh, over the last couple of years. Cause (4:27) well, I'll backtrack just a second.Um, I thought it was cheap alcohol, like growing up. (4:32) We didn't have a lot of money. We were, you know, just, it was a, you know, a modest family.Um, (4:39) I thought it was cheap wine that was giving me these crazy headaches. So I stopped drinking wine (4:43) for years just because it just wasn't worth it. Um, and then we had some friends that (4:47) were in a different income bracket, right? Than us.And they had, they introduced us to (4:52) really good wine and the same thing was happening, right? We'd go over to their house (4:56) and I would, I would start the evening with a couple of ibuprofen, uh, charcoal pills, um, (5:04) aspirin, water, you know, hydrate, maybe even caffeine, like anything to just kind of
(5:11) pregame the headache that I knew that was going to be coming, right? Because they would pour a good (5:16) wine and they would start with some champagne and then some white wine and then red wine. (5:21) So it was a perfect storm of like, my head's going to be killing me. So jump to, we're moving (5:28) to cross country.Um, my wife, Sarah and I and our 18 year old son and our cat and we're, we're (5:36) driving, we stopped for dinner. Um, I think it was, excuse me, in Chicago, it was like a Texas (5:43) roadhouse, just a, you know, just a spot. And I had some wine with dinner and woke up the next (5:52) morning just with that pounding headache.And I was just mad. I actually got mad because I'm like, (5:58) all I had was one glass of wine with food, with water. And, and now I'm, I have to drive all day (6:04) and I, and I just don't feel good.You know, that just kind of that clammy, it's hard to imagine (6:10) that headache when you're sitting here without a headache, but you know, the feeling you wake up (6:14) and you're just like, Oh man. So I turned to Sarah and I was like, I'm going to fix this problem.
(6:21) Like I'm, I'm, this is, this is it.We're, we're fixing it. So that, that kind of dives into my (6:26) background as a diesel mechanic. Um, I just had a mechanical background all my life and things (6:33) would break.You have to figure it out and you have to fix it. So I treated my alcohol intolerance (6:38) just like a truck that was broken, right? I was the truck that was broken. Something's wrong.(6:47) It's not running right. What's going on? So I just started doing a deep dive into, (6:54) and this is before AI, this is just good old fashioned Google, right? Like why, (6:59) why, you know, wine headaches, why, why the headaches and all this stuff came up about it. (7:04) You need to drink more water or you need to not drink red wine and have white wine, (7:09) or you need to eat more food or less food.Um, or you just need to stop drinking altogether. (7:14) Those were those, those were the options, right? And I think if you did a poll on the street, (7:19) be like, why do you get hangovers? People are going to be like, dehydration, dehydration. Well, (7:23) if it was dehydration, we would have solved, like we would have no more hangovers because (7:27) you would just drink water before you'd have alcohol and there'd be right.No more, no more (7:33) headaches. So I found that it wasn't the ethanol that was the problem. It was the byproducts of
(7:42) fermentation.Now that sounds kind of nerdy and kind of scientific, but really it, it, it's a, (7:48) it's a chemical problem. When the yeast eats the sugar and creates the alcohol, there's byproducts (7:54) and those byproducts are histamines and sulfites, tannins, phenethylamine, and acetaldehyde. (8:04) And now I, now I know what those are.Those are like daily, daily words for me, but they're toxic (8:10) byproducts of fermentation. And it only takes a grain of salt of acetaldehyde. That's a toxic (8:19) level for a human.It's insane, right? It takes three bottles of wine as a toxic level for a (8:27) human, right? That's the fatal, like for 150 pound human, you drink three bottles, you know, one after (8:33) you're, you're probably going to kill yourself. It takes a gallon of water, right? You've heard (8:38) people that have died from over, over hydration. So it's, it's that toxic dose of what in the
(8:45) world is in your alcohol that I never, why did I never know that? So that started the process of, (8:53) okay, how do you get rid of, what's a histamine and how do you get rid of it? And then I just (8:57) started ordering products from all over the world, different things, you know, researching, you know, (9:02) what's a histamine? How do you get rid of it? What does it look like? So the ingredients in (9:07) ALKAA, we've got some charcoal, some zeolite, some chitosan, like three really amazing natural (9:18) adsorbent products that act more like a magnet than a sponge, right? And they go in, (9:25) they need that five minutes, right? You need the time and you need, and you need some swirling (9:30) because the, yeah, the wine filters through and then the ingredients in there, they filter it, (9:36) but it's, it's like a chemical filter.It's not a sieve. So it's more of a chemical reaction. (9:42) The zeolites and the charcoal and the chitosan grab onto histamine, sulfites, tannins, (9:47) tyramines.And what that leaves you with, Lindsie, is just a glass of wine or a margarita or some (9:56) scotch with a way less toxin load before you take your first sip. Yeah, I know that was kind of a (10:06) long origin story. But that was, I get kind of super passionate about it because there's this, (10:16) we solve the problem, right? And I self, you know, I had to test this on myself for,
(10:24) it was like 18 months, right? Of just ordering stuff in and trying it and then waking up, (10:30) you know, with wine especially, I get what's called a cocktail headache, which is within (10:35) five minutes to three hours.If you get a cocktail headache, you're super allergic to, (10:41) or maybe not allergic, super sensitive, right, to wine. So I could tell right away. (10:46) And then there was this recipe that I had and I tried it and I woke up with no headache.And (10:52) then we went to dinner one night, Sarah and I, I was like, man, babe, I think, I think I got it. (10:57) Like, I think this is the recipe. And we ordered a bottle of wine just between the two of us and (11:02) we drank the bottle of wine and it was, you know, kind of nerve wracking.Woke up, forgot that we (11:09) even had any wine, zero issues, like just woke up feeling normal. And I just built it for me. (11:19) So Sarah would get a really bad flushing in the face.So she was very self-conscientious about (11:24) going to a wedding and enjoying wine because it looked like she was drinking too much (11:29) because her face was all red, right? I would get really bad headaches. Date nights were ruined (11:35) because of alcohol, right? You're like, you wait for the end of the week and you got date night (11:40) scheduled and you got a babysitter. You have a glass of wine and on the way home, like your
(11:45) head starts to hurt.You get super tired. You're congested. You get home and you're like, I just (11:52) gotta go to bed, you know? So it's just been really fun to have an opportunity to enjoy alcohol (12:02) without the pain.Yeah, yeah. And that's what I was sharing with you even when we talked the (12:09) first time and then before we actually hit record on this. But yeah, I mean, because I've not been (12:15) drinking for like a couple of years now, I had, as I had shared with you, I had a tequila, like (12:23) tequila and soda at a wedding last year.You know, after again, I had not been drinking for a while, (12:30) but you're at a wedding and it was like, you know, let me just try a little something. (12:34) And I got like pretty much an immediate headache and that had not happened before. (12:39) Now, sure, it might've been cheaper tequila, but it definitely had never affected me like that (12:47) before, you know? Yeah.And then, I mean, I was at a wedding this year in April and, you know, (12:52) had a few sips of champagne, but that was it. Because I just, I've kind of given up for that (12:58) reason because I just, I don't feel good. Sometimes it's right away.Sometimes it's
(13:02) the next morning and it's not like I'm partying hard. You know, it's a drink or two, but you know, (13:09) my husband and I like to go to like a winery or something and I'd like to be able to, you know, (13:13) enjoy a glass of wine or so, you know, with him and that experience and like you said, (13:17) kind of the date night, you know, experience sometimes. And yeah, so between when we first (13:25) talked and today I did try a margarita with one of them in it and success, no headache, (13:35) no feeling bad.So now we're moving on to the wine. Oh. (13:41) All right.It's a timer. Timer going? (13:42) There's my timer. (13:44) There you go.Time to have a sip. Cheers. (13:46) Actually, I did 10 minutes.Yeah. (13:47) You did. Okay.10 is good. I like to do 10 as well. It's so funny because alcohol is such a (13:54) part of our life.And when I say that, I mean, if you're in moderation and most people are, (14:00) they're just like, I don't want to give up drinking, but I've, I've pretty much given (14:05) up drinking because I can't, I can't, I need to function the next day. (14:10) Yeah. That's, that's, yeah.That's been my biggest thing, you know, I mean,
(14:14) of course I did it in college, but I would always like kick myself, but you're in college, you know, (14:18) because you'd wake up the next day. I'm like, oh, I got to study and you're in your twenties still. (14:25) And, and yeah, that was my biggest thing.Like also as to why I stopped because I'm like, (14:30) I don't want to waste my day, you know? And I, yeah, there were, uh, last year I was training (14:35) for a half marathon, you know? So I'm like, I really can't because I was running just pretty (14:40) much every other day, at least, you know? So I'm like, I can't wake up the next day feeling awful (14:45) and then try to run and the heat and all that stuff. So, so yeah, it's just like, I guess I'm (14:50) just done drinking. Yeah.And, and, and that is why we're here. Yeah. And with PCOS, especially (15:00) that there's in the research that I've done, um, the histamine is, uh, like histamines and (15:08) inflammation is huge.Now, obviously, um, PCOS isn't something I don't have, but I do have
(15:19) Lyme disease and, and alpha-gal syndrome and Lyme disease, uh, which is fairly new for me to a (15:26) couple of years, um, inflammation, bad and inflammation ruins your life, man. It's insane. (15:36) Yeah.And I mean, I think it's on the basis of probably every disease when you, when you really (15:41) think about it, you know, and a lot of times that's even from stress, right? You know, a lot (15:48) of times stress is playing a role. So we're stressed from our daily lives, our careers, (15:52) our families, all the things going on. We can control, can't control.And then when you add (15:56) in, you know, when you try to just sit down and enjoy a nice glass of wine, it's kind of relaxed (16:01) and enjoy your time with, with your spouse or whatever. And like you said, the by-products (16:08) in there are stressing your body out more. Yeah.And especially at the end of the day, (16:13) because if you had a histamine high food and you had stress on top of it, um, your body's just
(16:21) primed for as soon as you take a sip of alcohol, as soon as it hits your gut, it triggers a (16:27) histamine response, which is inflammation. And I had no idea, but it makes total sense because (16:33) for me, especially I would get really, my shoulders and neck would get achy and I would (16:41) get super, super tired. Like you go out to the bar with the guys on a Friday night, you have a (16:46) beer and I'm just like, Oh my gosh, I feel like I need to take a nap.I'm so tired. Or you're at a (16:52) trade show after the trade show, you go have a beer with the guys and then you're going to go (16:57) out to dinner. So that the whole evening is kind of revolving around entertainment and beer and (17:04) wine.And then somebody orders some Scotch and then you're mixing, right. And then you got to (17:10) pound some ibuprofen before you go to bed. It was just this whole thing that was just part of it.(17:16) Yeah. Yeah. And one thing, you know, as I shared with you too, one of the biggest things is the
(17:23) social settings, right? Because like for me, since I've not been drinking, like I said, (17:29) pretty much for a couple of years or so, you know, and most people know, like most people (17:34) in my inner circle know, but if, if we are out with anybody, if I have either nothing in my hand (17:41) or maybe a bottle of water in my hand, they like think I'm not having a good time.They're like (17:47) wondering what's wrong, you know? And you don't want to say like, Oh, social pressure or anything (17:53) like that, you know? So my trick has become at least just a regular glass with like club soda (17:59) or something and a lime in there. Cause then a lot of people think there's usually some gin and tonic (18:03) or vodka or something. So, you know, it's the thought of, of it kind of, yeah, like helping.(18:14) Yeah.
(18:14) That stuff too, I guess is great. (18:16) It does.It does. It's alcohol, it's a funny, it's a funny, it affects you in so many different (18:29) ways, right? People who don't drink because of past issues or trauma because of alcohol, (18:37) people that have had zero issues with it, but now they hit a certain age and they're like, (18:42) Oh my gosh, one night, it just, that was it. And then I can't drink.And like you said, (18:49) a couple of years, right? This is just not worth it. (18:53) Exactly. Exactly.(18:55) And the social setting is definitely a weird one because if you're not drinking and everybody else (19:00) is, right? Yeah. It's not judgy, but it kind of is, right? (19:06) Yeah. Yeah.And it's like, it's like almost them asking me is making me not have a good time. When (19:12) I'm like completely fine with not drinking and still being around, you know, others that are, (19:18) but then they're like constant concern or asking me if I'm having a good time, almost like kind of (19:24) dampens the mood, you know? (19:25) Does it look like I'm not having a good time? (19:27) Exactly. Like I still have a good time and not drink, you know? Yeah.(19:34) Well, we've learned a lot with this, you know, being in the alcohol industry now, (19:39) is that alcohol is a neurotoxin. And it's loaded with stuff that's bad for you. (19:47) Yeah.Right?
(19:50) But it does make your heart feel happy, especially in moderation. It's just, it makes you feel good. (19:56) And I think that's why, you know, alcohol was created.It's good for the heart to feel happy (20:03) and just to have a good day. And then to be able to drink and not have to pay that alcohol tax, (20:08) I think we're able to enjoy alcohol the way it should be. Like food, right? Food is a gift.(20:16) Alcohol should be a gift too. And I feel with Alka that we've created something that allows (20:22) people to just enjoy the evening and then not pay for it that night, especially sleep, (20:31) right? With the disruptive sleep, lower inflammation, and then just a Sunday morning (20:37) that you can enjoy with the kids or go for a run or go for a bike ride and not have that, (20:44) you know, pushing through that nasty, those hangover symptoms. (20:48) Yeah.Yeah. It shouldn't be additional stress. I mean, even when I was going through, (20:51) you know, and you can probably relate to this too.When I was going through with my initial, (20:57) you know, when I found out I was reacting to gluten and had some autoimmune conditions. And
(21:01) I mean, there came a point where I was like, what can I have anymore? You know, (21:05) I got so frustrated with food, right? You know, so same thing, even when I tell my clients, like, (21:12) we're not tracking calories. You're like, I don't want things to stress them out more.(21:17) I just want them to learn how to, how to eat, you know, whole foods and non-toxic, you know, (21:23) foods, you know, the best we can. And that can be drinking too, because yeah, we don't want to (21:29) stress ourselves out even more by with what's in it. And with, you know, thinking too much about (21:35) what what's the effect, you know, going to be of it and everything else.(21:40) Yeah. Yeah. So your clients, does alcohol come up at all? (21:45) It does.Yeah. So like during my 90 day program, at one point, we do, (21:50) we do discuss it and we do talk about removing it. (21:55) Yeah.But also part of that is, you know, what, what ties do we have to it? You know, (22:00) like kind of doing some of that deeper inner work. If some does somebody really have a deeper tie to
(22:05) it, or is there trauma around, you know, alcohol, or is it just a fact of they want to be able to (22:11) enjoy, you know, a glass of wine here and there. But we do at one point, remove it because (22:18) I want them to actually feel how, how they need to feel without it, you know, without all the excess.(22:26) Plus, by that point, we've also removed other things. (22:30) Yeah. Yeah.It's good. Good to start at the at the easy stuff. And then I think (22:35) caffeine for a lot of people is a big one to remove.And alcohol is another one. Yeah, (22:42) that's a that's a tough one. (22:43) It is.Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't mean it's forever.Like, that's the thing too. (22:47) You know, when I've talked about my program before, we remove stuff, we remove categories (22:52) of food, it's all systematic. But it doesn't mean it's forever.It's just that then you can decide (22:59) at some point, and when Yeah, how often and, you know, how, how you want to bring that stuff back (23:07) and decide how you feel on that. And sometimes that means raising the standard too. So maybe you say, (23:13) okay, I'm only going to drink when I have the alcohol available, you know, or, you know, or (23:18) when it's a it's a higher end, you know, wine or liquor or whatever it might be.And so or I'm only (23:26) going to do it on holidays or whatever it might be instead of Yeah, you know, yeah.
(23:31) I like that. And, and that takes a lot of discipline.Right? But when you're when your (23:37) body does not react well to whether it's alcohol or gluten or anything that has it, you know, (23:43) that triggers that histamine response, it takes a mental mindset to get into that space of I'm not (23:50) going to do it. And even if even if you have immediate reactions, that food can be such a (23:56) trigger. It's so powerful.Right? Yeah, you just especially when you're stressed, because I was (24:03) I'm going to eat when I'm happy. I'm going to eat when I'm stressed. I'm going to eat when I'm sad.(24:08) I'm going to eat right? Yeah. Yeah. And then I started doing you know, more research and then (24:13) being being more mindful.And I think with the drinking, it's the same Sarah and I are talking (24:19) about just mindful drinking. And just you need that, that mindfulness. And it helps to know (24:39) why it's happening.Right? Like with people that have all these issues, and then they find out
(24:45) that PCOS, they're like, Oh, finally, I figured it out. Right? So you take them, then you add the (24:53) mindfulness to it of like, okay, I'm going to cut gluten out, I'm going to cut my sugar, I'm going (24:58) to cut my alcohol, I'm going to cut my caffeine, I'm going to cut my histamine load, then you start (25:03) seeing the benefits of it. Right? Clarity.You can function better, you can handle stress better. (25:12) And then you can start adding stuff in maybe. Exactly.(25:15) Or if you do, and it doesn't work, well, then you've gone without and so you know, (25:22) and you can do it. It's like fasting. Yeah.Right? Like, if you've never fasted, it's a really (25:30) interesting thing to do. Because after the hunger pains go away, you have this mental clarity that (25:36) you're like, Oh, my gosh, this is amazing. Right? Yeah.Yeah. And it doesn't happen overnight, (25:42) you know, for people like that's what I want people to understand too. Because like, for me, (25:46) it was very easy for me, but I've learned, you know, the more I talk to women, the more I work (25:51) with women, it's not that easy.And so it might be a period of time where we can give up stuff (25:56) like that. But then sometimes we go back to it, you know, for whatever reason. And that's why I
(26:01) encourage people to do some of that in our work and in our reflection.To see why, you know, and (26:07) track some patterns like were you stressed that day? You know, did something else happen (26:12) emotionally that set you off that? That's your comfort, you know, right? Even though you know (26:16) how it's gonna make you feel. Yeah. You know, that exactly.And your mind is like, okay, (26:22) you can do this. Like, it's fine. You know, even though you know how it's gonna make you feel.(26:26) Yeah. Yeah. When you can lock into your own feelings and well-being, that's really powerful.(26:33) But you're right, it takes a long time, or it takes something drastic to happen. And then you're (26:38) forced to do it. And then once you're forced to do it, then you start learning really quick, (26:43) what does, what works and what doesn't work.And then for me with the Alka, it was weird because (26:49) you kind of get this imposter syndrome of who am I to figure anything out, right? Diesel mechanic (26:56) for years and then a sales guy in the safety industry. But then you start thinking, you know,
(27:02) we filter our water, right? We filter our air in our house, in our car, every, you know, type of (27:15) juice or drink or anything is filtered. The oil in our cars, there's filters everywhere.(27:22) So why not filter our alcohol? And that helps with the imposter syndrome of like, okay, (27:30) we're just filtering alcohol. And then the more research I've done, alcohol is filtered a lot (27:34) during the process, because if it wasn't, your wine would just be full of contaminants, right? (27:40) And grape skins and seeds and, you know, pieces of oak barrel and like everything's filtered (27:47) civ wise, but there's just a lot of stuff left in there. And it's funny, once you remove (27:52) these toxins, you give your body a fighting chance.Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah.So (28:03) that was a really great conversation with Paul. I'll be sure to link everything in the show notes (28:08) if you'd like to connect with him and learn more about the product. And if you loved this episode, (28:13) make sure to subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it.Because healing doesn't (28:18) come from doing more. It comes from understanding better. I'm sending you so much love and I'll (28:23) see you on the next episode of PCOS Unfiltered.Nourish, heal, thrive.