What causes red wine headaches? Scientists may have uncorked the mystery

globalnews.ca:

In the midst of clinking glasses and the satisfaction of that first sip of red wine, a subtle menace looms for some — the notorious wine headache.

Despite ongoing speculation about the source of the sudden headache that can follow a single glass of red wine, scientists may have helped uncork the mystery behind this phenomenon.

In a preliminary peer-reviewed study, published Monday inScientific Reports researchers at the University of California looked into why the “red wine headache” happens to people who normally don’t suffer from them when drinking other types of alcohol. They noted that this type of headache differs from the typical “hangover,” which typically manifests five to 12 hours after consuming alcohol.

“Red wine headache does not require excessive amounts of wine as a trigger. In most cases, the headache is induced in 30 minutes to three hours after drinking only one or two glasses of wine,” the authors of the study stated.

While various components of wine, including sulfites, histamine and tannins, have been suggested as potential causes of wine headaches, no specific chemical makeup has been definitively identified as the primary trigger, the researchers said.

In order to find this out, the researchers ran tests on more than a dozen compounds in red wine and zeroed in down to one potential culprit.

It’s called quercetin, an antioxidant that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, including grapes. While it is generally regarded as a healthy antioxidant and is available in supplement form, its interaction with alcohol during metabolism can pose issues, the study said.

“When it gets in your bloodstream, your body converts it to a different form called quercetin glucuronide,” Andrew Waterhouse, co-author