Headache after 1 glass of red wine: this is what causes it

It sounds a bit like a sad love story with a tragic ending. You drink that well-deserved glass of red wine, which you’ve been longing for since Monday, and get rewarded with a pounding headache. How?! Well, scientists have recently figured it out. 

They’re also known as Chateau Migraines: headache wines. You may think you get that headache because the wine is bad, but nothing could be further from the truth. Research from the University of California shows that one substance is the antihero in this entire story: the antioxidant quercetin.

Quercetin

Quercetin is not a bad substance at all. In fact, it’s good for us. Anyone who dutifully eats their vegetables and fruit every day even gets some every day. Quercetin only turns into the devil when it comes into contact with alcohol. And, surprisingly enough, alcohol is found in red wine.

Pounding headache

Metro spoke with Andrew Waterhouse, a professor at the University of California. He explains in detail exactly what happens when quercetin and alcohol meet in your bloodstream. Quercetin is suddenly no longer the sweet one of the two. It changes into quercetin glucuronide: the bad version. Quercetin glucuronide causes alcohol to break down much more slowly in our bodies. We produce far more of the toxic substance acetaldehyde, and that, unfortunately, is what gives us that pounding headache.

Baking in the sun

Not all red wines are the same. And that certainly applies when it comes to the amount of quercetin. Quercetin forms when grapes come into contact with sunlight. The more hours grapes spend baking in the sun, the more quercetin is produced. As a result, you may be better off avoiding Cabernets Sauvignons from warm climates. An old Cabernet Sauvignon even more so: it may well be the biggest Chateau Migraine there is. White wine, on the other hand, is probably easier to tolerate. Apparently, it contains an average of 10 times less quercetin than red wine.

Genetically (un)fortunate

Life is unfair. You already have a splitting headache after half a glass, while your friend can casually knock back an entire bottle. How is that possible?! Well, good (wine) genes. The research shows that some people are simply genetically less fortunate in that regard. The enzyme that breaks down the toxic substance in your body may function less effectively for you than it does for your friend. Unfortunately, I can’t make the story any better than it is.

That headache is obviously awful. But did you know that red wine also helps against colds? And that, combined with cheese, it makes you smarter? Maybe you should occasionally add some water to your wine and go for a glass of red. Otherwise, we also have some scientifically sound hangover tips for you.

Also read:

• With this wine, the hangover doesn’t come later
• 9 hangover tips from restaurant chefs
• Is this powder really a miracle cure for a hangover?

Source: De Telegraaf, Metro, VRT, Quest