And here’s what you can do about it: That’s why red wine gives you such a bad headache

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First there is celebration, then there is mourning. A drunken evening is usually followed by a rude awakening. Hangover mood! And wine drinkers in particular often complain of headaches. Especially if red wine was consumed.

Is there a reason why red wine in particular goes to your head? Researchers in the US wanted to answer this question and made an astonishing discovery, which they published on Monday in the journal ‘Scientific Reports’.

The breakdown of alcohol is blocked

Quercetin is responsible for the high headache factor in red wine. This is a flavonol, a plant substance found in fruits and vegetables such as grapes, berries, onions and broccoli. Actually nothing bad, except in combination with alcohol. This is because quercetin can interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize alcohol. The result: severe headache.

“When quercetin enters the bloodstream, the body converts it into another form called quercetin glucuronide,” chemist Andrew Waterhouse, co-author of the study and professor emeritus at the University of California, explained in a press release. “In this form it blocks the metabolism of alcohol.”

Quercetin is produced by grapes in response to sunlight. The more sun, the higher the quercetin content. And with it the risk of headaches.

This is what passionate wine drinkers can do

Flavonol is also found in white wine, but red wine contains much more in comparison. However, the headache puzzle has not yet been definitively solved. The study was initially conducted in the laboratory and not tested on humans. This means: In the next step, the researchers want to test their theory in a clinical study with test subjects. Red wines with different levels of quercetin content and their effects will be tested.

If you don’t want to wait so long for the results of the clinical trial to be available, you should try a few wines yourself, recommends cardiologist Jonas Spaak. Although he was not involved in the study himself, he read it carefully. “To minimize headaches, experiment and try wines from different producers and grape varieties,” the doctor told CNN. This could already be taken away from the US research. (ymh)

Source: Blick