Here’s the real reason you get headaches from wine, and there’s good news
If you don’t count microbrewed beer, millennials have seemingly adopted wine as their signature drink. Although it tastes like something made in heaven, wine often causes pretty unwanted reactions from its consumers. But there’s good news. Research may have finally yielded the real reason you get headaches from wine.
Previously, many folks thought that the headache culprits responsible were sulfites. Luckily, Frederick Freitag, an associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, dispelled those rumors. He explained that sulfates can cause allergy and asthma symptoms, but not headaches. And who better to let us know than the guy working at the Diamond Headache Clinic?!
So the real culprit is…
While more research and studies should be conducted to 100% confirm this, experts agree that the reasons you get headaches from wine are histamine and tyramine.
"The headache culprits might be histamine and tyramine, other chemical substances that are naturally present in wine," writes the Wall Street Journal. "Histamine dilates blood vessels and tyramine first constricts then dilates blood vessels."
Boom! It looks like the folks who do not have the proper enzymes in their intestines cannot metabolize histamine. And tyramine can often lead to spiked blood pressure which has been linked to headaches in some people. In addition, those folks who have these qualities are often also sensitive to aged cheese or smoked meats. Guess there’s one way to test out the theory.
So is there anything you can do to prevent headaches from wine?
If you are a wine drinker and want to preemptively stop wine induced headaches, you might be in luck.
Some doctors and researchers say taking antihistamines, ibuprofen or aspirin before you drink is effective in preventing headaches. Also, Vitamin B6 may help your body metabolize histamine.
Because some people may have bad reactions to taking these over the counter drugs, it is important to consult your doctor before trying it out yourself. Otherwise, we wish you all good luck, and may this season’s crop of grapes lead you to headache-free wine.
