adminLONDON. – US researchers say they may have discovered why some people get a headache after just one small glass of red wine, even though they are fine drinking other types of alcohol.
The University of California team say it is due to a compound in red grapes that can mess with how the body metabolises alcohol.
The compound is an antioxidant or flavanol called quercetin.
Cabernets from the sunny Napa Valley contain high levels of it, they say.
Red grapes make more quercetin when they are exposed to sunshine.
And that meant more expensive red wines, rather than cheap reds, would be worse for headache-prone people, one of the researchers, Prof Andrew Waterhouse, told BBC News.
“The cheap grape varieties are grown on vines with very large canopies and lots of leaves, so they don’t get as much sun,” he said.
“Whereas the high-quality grapes are from smaller crops with fewer leaves.
“The amount of sunshine is carefully managed to improve the quality of the wine.”
Others are sceptical though.
Prof Roger Corder, an expert in experimental therapeutics, at Queen Mary University of London, told BBC News anecdotal evidence suggested cheaper wines were worse for headache, so understanding some of the additives used in making lower-end mass-market red wines might be more informative.
Several theories have been put forward to explain red-wine headaches, which can strike within 30 minutes of drinking even small amounts.
Some have suggested the cause might be sulphites – preservatives to prolong shelf-life and keep wine fresh.
Generally, though, the sulphite content is higher in sweet white wines rather than reds.
And while some people can be allergic to sulphites and should avoid them, there is little evidence they are to blame for headaches.
Another possible culprit is histamine – an ingredient more common in red wine than white or rose.
Histamine can dilate blood vessels in the body, which might trigger headache. But again, absolute proof is lacking. – BBC.
Online Reporter