Migraines & Wine

[Kcwhippet]

Welcome to the Wine Board, Syd. I'll give you a partial answer and let some others fill in the gaps. First off, despite some of the sensationalist press on red wine headaches, not enough is known yet by medical professionals to give a 100% accurate answer as to what gives YOU a headache/migraine/rash/itch/flush or whatever. Sulfites could be a problem if you're in the small percentage of steroid dependent asthmatics. Otherwise, that's probably not the case, though it may be contributory. It sounds like you do drink white wine in order to avoid red wine headaches. Well, white wines generally have more sulfites than red wines. The reason is that sulites and tannins both help to prevent wine from rapidly oxidizing and also help prevent microbial action from causing the wine to spoil. Sulfites are present in all wines because they're a natural byproduct of fermentation. You can't make grape wines without sulfites being present. Red wines leach many chemicals from the grape skins as they soak, and among them are tyramines, which are know to to trigger migraines, so that may be one cause. There are also histamines in red wine, which any "hay fever" sufferer knows can cause itching, sneezing, and sometimes headaches. Oh, another tidbit on sulfites. Some people swear that they can drink wines in other countries and not suffer the headaches because only the wines made to export to the USA have all those bad added sulfites. Well, that's just not true, because the only difference between a bottle of wine served in Europe (or elsewhere) and the very same bottle of wine served here is that cute little label the US Government requires. Harrd to say what may trigger your particular headaches, but I suggest you seek out a health care professional near you who has some real knowledge in this area.

[This message has been edited by Kcwhippet (edited 11-26-2005).]