4 Tips to Prevent Red Wine Headaches
The pleasures of red wine are many…as are the miseries.
And while that glass of Zinfandel might have been the perfect complement to an utterly spectacular entrée, the splitting headache it’s left you with is a miserable dessert.
If you’ve ever found yourself on the receiving end of a massive migraine following a glass or two of red wine, you’re not alone.
But what causes these miserable headaches?
More importantly, how can you fight them?
Here are 4 tips to prevent red wine headaches that you can put into use TODAY…
(If you’re really in pain, skip ahead to the Migraine Freedom Plan.)
Agua es Vida
Water is life, and if sidestepping a massive red wine headache is an important part of your agenda, drink at least one glass of water with every glass of wine.
Remember—red wine contains alcohol in addition to a number of other chemicals, and alcohol dehydrates the body. When your body is dehydrated, the blood vessels constrict, and that constriction can very easily trigger a headache.
You’re Sweet Enough
When you’re enjoying a glass of red wine, skip the sweets. On its own, a glass of wine will spike your blood-sugar—and that spike will be amplified if your wine is accompanied by an uber-sweet dessert like crème brulee.
In response to that influx of sugar, your body will start producing massive quantities of insulin, and if the body produces too much, the result is a hypoglycemic headache.
Hinder Your Histamine
One of the common culprits of the infamous red wine headache is histamine, a natural chemical produced by the body’s immune system in response to a perceived threat. Histamine—a vasodilator—can cause completely debilitating red wine headaches, particularly in those with a histamine sensitivity.
Try handcuffing your histamine before it has a chance to handcuff your evening by taking a natural, non-drowsy anti-histamine such as quercitin.
The Secret Weapon
If the three aforementioned tips don’t keep your red wine headache at bay, there’s one final thing you can try before swearing off red wine for good.
Activated charcoal.
Activated charcoal helps the body better process the headache causing chemicals—tannins, sulfites, etc.—inside red wine. Try taking activated charcoal prior to enjoying that glass of red wine, and then once again before bed.
Test each of the four tips listed above one at a time, and measure your results.
Did your red wine headaches get better, worse, or stay the same?
Chances are, one of these tips is your cure.
Having said that, if your red wine headaches don’t budge, it might be time to take a broader look at your biology.
And the easiest way to do that is through the Migraine Freedom Plan, where you can examine possible hormone imbalances, vulnerabilities in your immune system, sensitivities in your digestive system, or limitations in your detoxification system.
For example, a toxic metal build-up in the body irritates the GI tract and can interrupt the communication between the liver and the intestines. A Swiss study of people with amalgam fillings found that when these people cleaned up their heavy metals, their sensitivity to red wine went away. So yes, of course, you can just opt out and avoid wine, which I usually do anyway. But if you have a stronger than average reaction, it might be time to question what is going on biochemically.
(Before thinking about the Migraine Freedom Plan be sure to take this 5-question assessment quiz FIRST.)
Erin, what a wealth of information you put in this post!! So timely and informative. You continue to blow my mind with each post. You are a priceless resource and I can’t thank you enough for sharing so much helpful information! I will be sharing this one with all my friends and family who battle the migraine monster!!
Thanks lots!
I did have an incident after having red wine in the airplane on my way to the Dominican Republic and I lost the first two days of my vacation having a huge migraine!
This really helps 🙂
I’ve read that red wine can be beneficial for high blood pressure. I was not aware it will prevent headaches. This is good information!
I’m not really a red wine drinker, mostly because it gives me headaches 🙂 So this is great info!
I am not much of a wine drinker, but I know a lot of people who are! I’ll pass this one to them. Thanks!
I totally agree with you that we must drink water too whenever we have wine or any alcohol to avoid headaches. Though I had no idea that getting sweets can contribute to it as well. Thank you for sharing this.
These are great pieces of advice. I will make sure I skip the sweets next time I have red wine. Hypoglycemic headaches are that annoying. I try to avoid them as much as possible by keeping my blood sugar levels as stable as can be.
I’m not a wine drinker but Thanks for sharing. It will be helpful for others
Activated charcoal really helps. Also, I make sure that I bread with me. It absorbs the alcohol. Quite a trick huh?
I’ve experienced a headache after wine once in a blue moon. But I have to say, water was the trick for me to help get rid of it. The dehydration part is no joke!
I’m a wine drinker but I didn’t know some of these infos. Thanks for writing this. Next time I’ll lessen eating sweets prior to drinking wine.