This is the type of wine that gives you the most headaches, according to researchers

The end of the year is particularly conducive to family reunions and festive dinners during which it is customary to toast! But are you one of the people who have headache after drinking one or more glasses of wine? This phenomenon is rather normal according to researchers from the University of California in San Francisco who have proven, via a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, that wine, even in small quantities (one to two glasses) could cause headaches in some people. The reason ? A high rate of quercetin, an antioxidant forming part flavonoidswhich tends to inhibit the activity of the ALDH2 enzyme involved in the breakdown of alcohol. Thus, the alcohol molecules fail to degrade and are transformed into toxic acetaldehyde that builds up in the bodywhich can lead to flushing and headaches. Acetaldehyde is then transformed into acetate through the liver and then eliminated. Researchers go even further and estimate that red wine would be more at risk (compared to white wine, whether sparkling or not) because it contains 10 times more quercetin than white wine. Other factors are also mentioned by scientists such as sulfite or histaminewhich can, in the event of an overdose, cause headaches in sensitive or intolerant people.

And the red wine that gives you the most headaches is…

To arrive at this hypothesis, the researchers evaluated the concentration of quercetin in several wines using an in vitro enzymatic test. Although more studies on human subjects are needed to verify this hypothesis, they were able to show that the level of quercetin seemed 4 to 8 times higher in clusters exposed to the sun than in shaded clusters. This is the case, for example, for the following wines:

• Bordeaux wines (MedocMalbec, Cabernet-Franc…)
• Wines of Provence (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Bandol…)
• Occitanie wines (Côtes du Roussillon, Faugères, etc.)

The typical symptom: “the bar at the level of the forehead”

According to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, there are two types of alcohol-induced headaches:

► An immediate headache which appears between 30 minutes and 3 hours following the ingestion of alcohol (even after drinking one or two glasses of wine) and which disappears completely within 72 hours after stopping ingestion. The typical symptom is “the bar at forehead level” and an hypersensitivity to light.

► A delayed headache (commonly called “hangover”) which develops within 5 to 12 hours after ingestion of alcohol and disappears completely within 72 hours. THE typical symptoms are a feeling that hair is “growing” inside the skull, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and sometimes stomach aches. “Patience and water remain the simplest solutions within everyone’s reach to combat hangovers. En evening, alternate 2 glasses of water (to hydrate yourself well) for 1 glass of alcohol and don’t stay on an empty stomach: eat”, Sophie Hanania, naturopath, advised us in a previous interview.