'Red Wine Headache': what triggers the migraine?

Liquor lovers might have noticed that after drinking their favorite Alcoholic Beverage especially red wine seems to experience a headache. If you are one of those, you could already have the “red wine headache” syndrome.

The sulfite myth

It’s an old belief that sulfites are the leading cause of a headache. Unfortunately, it is not, and according to studies, red wine headache or RWH is caused by histamines and tyramine.

Histamines induce dilation in blood and trigger the reddening of the face and inflammatory sensitivity. Tyramine, on the other hand, constricts and dilates the blood vessels as well. Likewise, it raises the blood temperature that stimulates a headache.

Histamines and Tyramine level in wine

The level of measurement of both substances depends on the variety of grapes and the place where it is grown. Just like in Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc where there is a low level of tyramine, it is quite the opposite with Riesling. Tyramine levels found in Bordeaux is relatively lower than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

Histamines and Tyramine as by-products

Both histamines and tyramine are the results of a fermentation process where the Histamine content are more present in the red wine, hence the term “red wine headache” or RWH. As a matter of fact, this substance reaches to 200% compared to what is found in white wine. Most of the people who encounter red wine headache lack an enzyme that would process histamine.

Trend in wine

The winery shifts its attention to produce natural, biodynamic, and organic wine. The industry discovers that the “Generation Y” people or the so-called Millennials consume wine every day. This year’s industry is for them and their selection of the alcoholic beverage. These people usually no longer check the age of the wine.

However, 51 percent of the women favor those that are organic or ecologically preserved.

Certified biodynamic wine contains no artificial chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides. During the process, no enzymes, sugar, or acid should be added. The grapes are grown and harvested with care from the soil to the processing plant.

As for natural liqueur, the grapes are grown the same way. The notion of how the wine makes itself follows the procedure on how grapes are grown both the natural and biodynamic way.

Prevention and cure of Red Wine Headache

For the red wine headache to be avoided or treated, the person should take an 8-oz glass of water for every glass of liqueur. Water will replace the fluids lost since alcohol causes dehydration.

Non-drowsy anti-histamine will also come in handy. Before celebrating with a bottle of the alcoholic drink, better take one of the following: Vitamin B6, Ibuprofen, or Aspirin. Also, do not forget to drink moderately.