It's been a long-standing mystery: Why can as little as a single glass of red wine give some people a bad headache? Well, UC Davis researchers believe they've got an answer.
Andrew L. Waterhouse, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus of Enology (Wine Chemist) at UC Davis, tells KNX News' Megan Goldsby, it's a molecule in the skin of red grapes called quercetin.
Dr. Waterhouse and his research partners believe this plant flavonol, found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains, causes inflammation in some people and leads to headaches.
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"There were several ideas on what could be causing red wine headaches, but the problem was that many of those suggestions didn't hold up because, for instance, sulfites were identified by some people as causing headaches, but other foods that contain large amounts of sulfides don't cause headaches. So it seemed that sulfites weren't really responsible," said Waterhouse.
Now that they believe they've found the compound responsible, they will be doing more testing with UCSF to confirm the hypothesis.
If you're someone who gets a headache, even after just one glass of red, there is a workaround. Dr. Waterhouse said White wines are a good alternative, but if you are set on drinking red wine, "Then the one suggestion I can give you is to look for less expensive red wines."
Why is cheaper better in this case? He said, generally, "Less expensive red wines have less quercetin." This is because sunlight activates the molecule in the grape skin, and cheaper wines have grapes grown more densely on the vine.
Nothing is certain until more research is conducted, but it might be worth a shot simply because it could save you some money.
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