It can happen even if you drink less than people who don’t get migraine headaches. You’ll often see the wording “contains sulfites” on wine bottles, which means the product contains a sulfur-based preservative to prevent oxidization and retain freshness. Sulfites are naturally-occurring chemical compounds that prevent microbial growth and reproduction, and winemakers often add extra sulfites to the wine to extend its shelf life.

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“Wine headaches and headaches from any alcohol are a common complaint,” says Hélène Bertrand, MD, CM, a Vancouver-based family physician and scientific researcher focused on pain management. If a glass of vino leads to a throbbing noggin, you’re not alone. Here’s why wine gives some people headaches—and what you can do about it. The presence of acetaldehyde in the body is supposed to be short-lived since the enzyme ALDH2 transforms it into acetate, which is less toxic. Grape skins contain histamine, which are compounds involved in immune responses that are released during allergic reactions. If you’re willing to take a chance, look for an inexpensive, lighter red wine.

Tips to Manage Your Migraine Headaches

Red wines usually contain much higher levels of quercetin than white wines, Andrew Waterhouse, PhD, a wine chemist at the University of California, Davis, and an author of the new report, told Verywell. If the high-quercetin wine induces more headaches, we’d know we’re on the right track. If you’ve identified wine as a common headache trigger, your best bet might be to avoid drinking wine. That could mean no more reds, no more whites, or no more wine at all. what is Oxford House When that happens, people can end up accumulating the toxin acetaldehyde in their systems, according to the authors. It may also be helpful to keep a food journal to help narrow the list down of food and drink triggers.

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Acetaldehyde is known to cause many of the nasty hangover symptoms we’re all familiar with, including headaches. Thankfully, our bodies make an enzyme to break down acetaldehyde, too. US researchers say they may have discovered why some people get a headache why does wine cause migraines after just one small glass of red wine, even though they are fine drinking other types of alcohol. “Historically, wine consumption has been linked to adverse effects such as headaches, flushed skin, and nasal congestion. These reactions are commonly ascribed to allergies or sensitivities to components like sulfites, histamines, tannins, and tyramine,” says Donelan. If you think your wine headache is the result of dehydration or excessive drinking, try these alcohol-free wines or non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

Medical accounts of red wine headaches go back to Roman times, but the experience is likely as old as winemaking – something like 10,000 years. Many components of red wine have been accused of causing this misery – sulfites, biogenic amines and tannin are the most popular. Our research suggests the most likely culprit is one you may not have considered. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ As chemists specializing in winemaking, we wanted to try to figure out the source of these headaches.

• Interestingly, quercetin is an antioxidant found in fruits such as grapes and vegetables.
• Sulfites have been a popular scapegoat for all sorts of ailments since it became mandatory in the 1990s to label them on wines in the US.
• I’m one of the millions of Asians who can’t process alcohol and flush or turn red when they drink.
• So, if something unique in red wine could inhibit ALDH, slowing down that second metabolic step, would that lead to higher levels of acetaldehyde and a headache?
• The next step could be to give human subjects two red wines that are low and high in quercetin and ask whether either wine causes a headache.
• Why can red wine cause headaches, even in people that usually don’t have alcohol-related headaches?

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Waterhouse and his team decided to investigate what could be causing RWH after considering what causes another common side effect that some experience when drinking alcohol, known as facial flushing. To decrease the risk of headaches, experts suggest switching to white wine, drinking plenty of water, and avoiding drinking on an empty stomach. Several theories have been put forward to explain red-wine headaches, which can strike within 30 minutes of drinking even small amounts. But if you’re prone to migraine headaches, you’ll need to be careful about how much you drink.