Histamine Update

[Thomas]

I got no answers on the board to my questions about histamines, so I did my own research. Came up with this:

Histamines are ammonia-based substances found in all organic matter--that includes humans; the word organic (scientifically) refers to carbon based matter. Histamines are released by cells in response to injury and in allergic and inflammatory reactions.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 08-10-2002).]

[winer]

So this means that there are histamines in BOTH the human body, and in the wine (absorbed from the skin of the grape). When you drink a red wine containing histames, do they "add to" the histamines already in the human body, or do they interact with those already there?

Another question: If it is the histamines that are the cause of headaches for some people, (like me) is there any way I could tell ahead of time what level of histamines there are in a given red wine? (I'm getting tired of the "trial and error" method.)

[Thomas]

I can't see any other way of knowing than to either test the wine or consume it. The whole thing has to do with the ripeness of the grapes at picking, the length of skin contact during fermentation, and who knows what other factors. The early wines like B Nouveau, and Rose wines should pose less of a problem, but sticking with white wine is likely the best bet--even then, wines like Gewurztraminer, which is a pink grape, and which often goes through a period of skin contact before fermentation completes, might be a problem.

My suspicion is that the human body reacts with its store of histamines as a way of protecting against a perceived invasion, which is why the reaction is strong.

[winer]

Sounds like good advice. Thanks foodie.