Red wine headaches: it’s not the sulphites

By Phil Leventhal

© Copyright Phil Leventhal & BKWine

Before I came to France, I almost never drank red wine. It seems that whenever I did, I would get a pounding headache. And these were not the kind that one gets the next day after drinking – those are “hangovers”. These red wine headaches would come on rapidly and powerfully, with migraine-like symptoms.

My wine drinking habits changed a few years ago when I took a trip to Provence. I stopped at a vineyard on a small country road, just to enjoy the beauty of the scene. I couldn’t help myself from wanting to sample what was produced in such a beautiful location. So, I carefully sampled several of their red wines. This time, no headache – I was cured!

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Last fall, while visiting with enologist Peter Schilling of Il Canasciale winery in Tuscany, the headaches returned. “Why?” I complained. “Sulfites,” he said, laughing. “That’ll teach you to not drink bad wine.”

Because I am a scientist – and because I love red wine – this got me interested in the truth about red wine headaches, what sulfites are and how to avoid the problem.

To begin with, it turns out that red wine headaches – RWHs to medical experts – are a common problem. Sufferers can drink as little as half a glass of red wine and be struck with a migraine-like headache within as little as 15 minutes. I was unable to find out from an Internet search or the medical literature how common this problem is. So, I took an informal poll of 25 friends and relatives. I found that 20% suffered at some time from RWHs. In addition, this informal survey also revealed that, like my enologist friend, nearly everyone blames RWHs on sulphites.

So, what are sulfites, anyway? They are form of sulfur (SO in chemical terms) that is naturally found in grapes and is produced during the winemaking process. Therefore, essentially all wines have some sulfites. Sulfites are also produced in our own bodies as a result of metabolism of proteins.

Sulfites are used in winemaking because they kill microbes including yeast, bacteria, and fungi. So, adding sulfites keeps wine from turning into vinegar and undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle. Sulfites also help prevent the wine from damage by oxygen, which, along with secondary fermentation, can ruin the flavor, aroma, and color of the wine. Finally, sulfites are employed to decontaminate winemaking equipment.

Sulfites have been blamed for RWHs because they can cause allergic-like reactions – especially headaches – in roughly 1% of the general population and 5% of asthmatics. For this reason, wines sold in the United States with more than 10 milligrams per liter of sulfites are labeled “Contains Sulfites”. Wines that have less than 1 milligram of sulfites per liter can be labeled “No Sulfites”.

This has created fear of sulfites, but there is overwhelming evidence that sulfites do not cause RWHs. In fact, white wines, dried fruits, and many kinds of processed foods – even pizza, soft drinks, frozen orange juice, raisins, and dried pasta – contain higher levels of sulfites than red wine, and you don’t hear complaints about headaches from these foods. In addition, RWHs seem to be similar to migraine headaches, whereas headaches caused by sulfites are more like congestion or sinus headaches. Finally, medical studies have not found a connection between RWHs and sulphite levels in red wine.

So, if it’s not sulfites, what is causing RWH’s? There is currently no good answer to this question, although it certainly appears to be connected to a substance found only in the skins of red grape. Various theories have been proposed, including involvement of histamines and tannins, substances that are naturally found in the skins of red grapes, but these have been ruled out by a variety of medical studies. Unfortunately, for RWH sufferers, there has been little research in this area in the last 10 years because a lack of funding.

So, what can you do to avoid RWHs? Here are some recommendations:

	Avoid cheap red wines. My informal survey and personal experience strongly suggest that there is a connection between inexpensive red wines and RWHs. So, if you are unsure about the quality of a wine at a party or in a restaurant, order a white wine.
	Take a pain reliever (aspirin or ibuprofen) before going out. There is some medical evidence that RWHs can be prevented by taking a pain reliever before drinking red wine; however, these pain relievers do not seem to help when taken after the onset of a RWH.
	Stick with brands of red wine that you know are safe for you.
	Avoid drinking red wine when you are stressed or when you are in smoky, hot or crowded places. There is some evidence that additional stressors increase the likelihood for RWHs.

Finally, of course, you can avoid red wines altogether. But if you’re like me, you will continue to trade the slight risk of a nasty headache for a rendez-vous with a beautiful glass of red wine.

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