Red Wine and Headaches

What's the relationship between red wine and headaches? Find out more about the cause of your red wine headache and some tips to prevent them.

There are a number of different substances that can cause red wine headaches. It's also more common for people to experience a wine headache from red wine than from white wine.

Histamines in Red Wine

The first type of red wine headache is caused by biogenic anomies or histamines that are found in red wine. People with a lower than normal level of the enzyme that breaks this substance down in their intestines are at risk of getting a headache.

If this is why you get a wine headache, you can minimize or prevent a headache by taking an antihistamine. This will help breakdown this substance in your body and reduce the connection between red wine and headaches for you. Take the antihistamine about one hour before you drink the red wine.

Tannins in Red Wine

The second type of wine headache is from the tannins in red wine. Tannins are found in grape skins. Since grape skins are used during the production of red wine, it contains tannins which sometimes cause headaches.

If you find this is the culprit for your red wine headaches, then there are a couple of things you can do. The first thing is to drink lighter red wines since they have fewer tannins.

You can also drink fuller bodied red wines that have aged more than 5 years. The aging process softens the tannins in these wines, so they are less likely to cause an issue for you.

Other Causes

Researchers also refer to the true red wine headache. This is the headache that starts within a few minutes of your first sip of red wine. The severity of it is linked to the amount of red wine you consume. This one will peak a couple of hours after you stop drinking red wine. It will not fully subside until about 8 hours after you stop drinking.

The cause of this red wine headache is linked to another chemical found in red wine. The chemical causes your blood vessels to expand enough to cause the headache.

You can minimize or prevent this type of headache by taking acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen. You should take them at least one hour before you begin drinking your red wine.

Standard Hangover

The last link between red wine and headaches is the one that many of us have experienced. It is the hangover. This is just the impact of enjoying a little too much red wine the night before. This can be treated with plenty of water and rest the next day.

Tips to Minimize or Prevent Your Headache

Now that you know some of the main reasons why there is a link between red wine and headaches, it's time to talk about what you do from here. There is no reason for you not to enjoy red wine even if it causes a headache.

The first thing you'll need to do is some testing to figure out exactly what is causing your headache. Start by determining the link between red wine and headaches for you. Does it start right away or does it take a while to kick in, regardless of the amount of red wine you drank? Does it only happen with certain types of red wine such as the fuller bodied red wines?

Once you start to eliminate some of the causes above, do a trial run of prevention methods as mentioned above. If you notice it only happens with certain red wines, then stick to that type of red wine or similar types of red wine. If you don't have allergies to aspirin or acetaminophen, then try that method and see if it works.

Now that you know more about the different links between red wine and headaches, you can really begin to pinpoint why red wine causes your headaches.

Good luck with your experimentation and I hope you soon learn the reason why you get a headache with red wine.

To find out more about resveratrol and red wine, visit the What are the resveratrol benefits? page. You can also learn more about the latest research on red wine and health on the Health Benefits of Drinking Wine page.

How many calories are there in a glass of red wine? Find a red wine calorie chart for some of the most common types of red wine on the How Many Calories in Red Wine? page.