Link between red wine and headaches?

Many people report having a headache after drinking red wine, but without having a hangover. The culprit may well have been identified... Focus on quercetin.

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐝 commonly found in 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞, in far greater quantities than in white wine or other alcoholic beverages. It is a molecule with 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, which can also be found in other foods such as apples, citrus fruits, spinach, onions, and berries. Antioxidant molecules are generally beneficial because they neutralize free radicals, thus helping to combat premature aging and various chronic pathologies.

But quercetin might not be beneficial in all cases. The authors of a study published in 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 suggest that quercetin 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐲𝐦𝐞 responsible for acetaldehyde metabolism. It is the 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐞 which may cause headaches in some people. As this hypothesis is currently 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬, it obviously needs to be tested in humans to be confirmed.

Studying the 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐦 responsible for the propensity to develop headaches after consumption of quercetin contained in red wine would also be interesting. Moreover, as the amount of quercetin varies between different wines, indicating the 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧 in each wine could be useful for these people.