A glass of Pinot Noir may pair well with a nice piece of salmon, but drinking even a small amount of wine can cause headaches in some people. In a study presented in the journal Scientific Reports, a team from the University of California, Davis and the University of California, San Francisco, reports that they may have found the culprit behind wine headaches. And it ain’t the sulfites. The researchers believe that a flavanol called quercetin, found naturally in red wines, can interfere with the body’s usual metabolism of alcohol, which may bring on a headache. Our bodies convert quercetin, which is abundant in the red grapes used to make wine, into a different form called quercetin glucuronide, and in this form, it blocks the metabolism of alcohol.
The result is an accumulation of acetaldehyde, which is an irritant and inflammatory substance. Levels of quercetin can differ depending on how the grapes are grown and how the wine is made. Why some people are more susceptible than others is still a mystery.
See also: Alcohol and Brain Function
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
