Here's a draft of an additional topic for the FAQ. As always, comments
welcomed. [note to cwdjrx: a complete copy of v 0.7 will soon follow]

----------------- Begin C&P -------------------
7. What causes red wine headaches? How can I prevent them?

First of all, if you have noticed that you frequently get headaches
after drinking wine, especially red wine, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. This is a
common enough problem that medical science has graced it with a name
("Red wine headache" syndrome), but unfortunately their knowledge of the
problem doesn't go much farther. It's generally agreed that it is not
an allergic reaction, and sulfites do not cause the problem. However,
there is much debate over what does cause the headaches, and even
whether all red wine headaches are caused in the same way. The suspect
molecules in red wine are the tannins (the bitter, astringent flavors
that some younger red wines have), histamines and prostaqlandins. All
of these are more common in red than in white wines, and alcohol may
also play a role in conjunction with one or more of these suspected causes.

Because histamines and prostaglandins are involved in the inflammatory
response, it has been suggested that taking an aspirin before drinking
red wine may prevent a headache [IMPORTANT WARNING: Tylenol
(acetominophen) has a known bad interaction with alcohol in the liver -
DO NOT take Tylenol before or after drinking alcohol]. It has also been
suggested that drinking black tea before drinking red wine may prevent a
red wine headache. Yet another suggestion is to avoid tannic red wines
by drinking softer reds (Dolcetto or Beaujolais) or aged red wines.
----------------- End C&P ------------------

Mark Lipton

> 7. What causes red wine headaches? How can I prevent them?

In addition to whatever is specific to red wine, drinking any alcoholic
beverage acts to dehydrate a person, and dehydration causes headaches.
Drinking sufficient water will help counteract that, but in some
drinking situations it's easy to overlook.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

in article , Mark Lipton at
wrote on 1/11/07 9:12 PM:

> Here's a draft of an additional topic for the FAQ. As always, comments
> welcomed. [note to cwdjrx: a complete copy of v 0.7 will soon follow]


Very common to the subject of red wine headaches is that US sufferers
frequently say they do NOT get headaches from the same varietals if consumed
in Italy or France. I've recently concluded this may be attributable to a
few things:

1. Most people drinking wine in France or Italy, are drinking more water
with meals and eating more healthy food than they likely do at home.
2. To the extent that headache often has a tension factor, one would think
that a person on leisurely vacation in France or Italy is just not prone to
the same tension they might have at home.
3. Though I too have seen recent literature (UC Davis) shifting blame away
from sulfites, I have spoken with a few Italian winemakers who say they do
NOT add sulfites to stabilize their wines as do most US wineries. To
whatever extent sulfites may be causal, this would add to point #1 above.

..... also re the sulfite issue, I am confused by a couple of winemakers at
100% organic winemakers who have told me they do not add sulfites (criterion
for 100% organic), but also that lab testing of their wines shows no
measurable sulfites at all. Logic leads me to conclude that wines,
unstabilized by additional sulfites, degrade and natural sulfite levels
dissipate. Too bad for the headache sufferers..... these wines tend to
look, taste and smell rather vile.

Comments?

On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:12:17 -0500
Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Here's a draft of an additional topic for the FAQ. As always, comments
> welcomed. [note to cwdjrx: a complete copy of v 0.7 will soon follow]
>
[]

Hi Mark,

Nice article. Note that Tylenol is not a brand in Europe; and the generic is
called paracetemol instead of acetominophen. In France the common brand
is Doliprane, but I'm not sure that's so elsewhere.

In keeping with Jose and Midlife's comments the French government guideline
for partying (yes, it's true), is double the amount of water to wine. Prost or
Proust, as you like.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

The obvious...

if you drink 4 bottles alone and get a headache, consider drinking less :-)


"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
...
> Here's a draft of an additional topic for the FAQ. As always, comments
> welcomed. [note to cwdjrx: a complete copy of v 0.7 will soon follow]
>
> ----------------- Begin C&P -------------------
> 7. What causes red wine headaches? How can I prevent them?
>
> First of all, if you have noticed that you frequently get headaches
> after drinking wine, especially red wine, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. This is a
> common enough problem that medical science has graced it with a name
> ("Red wine headache" syndrome), but unfortunately their knowledge of the
> problem doesn't go much farther. It's generally agreed that it is not
> an allergic reaction, and sulfites do not cause the problem. However,
> there is much debate over what does cause the headaches, and even
> whether all red wine headaches are caused in the same way. The suspect
> molecules in red wine are the tannins (the bitter, astringent flavors
> that some younger red wines have), histamines and prostaqlandins. All
> of these are more common in red than in white wines, and alcohol may
> also play a role in conjunction with one or more of these suspected
> causes.
>
> Because histamines and prostaglandins are involved in the inflammatory
> response, it has been suggested that taking an aspirin before drinking
> red wine may prevent a headache [IMPORTANT WARNING: Tylenol
> (acetominophen) has a known bad interaction with alcohol in the liver -
> DO NOT take Tylenol before or after drinking alcohol]. It has also been
> suggested that drinking black tea before drinking red wine may prevent a
> red wine headache. Yet another suggestion is to avoid tannic red wines
> by drinking softer reds (Dolcetto or Beaujolais) or aged red wines.
> ----------------- End C&P ------------------
>
> Mark Lipton

Emery Davis wrote:

> Nice article. Note that Tylenol is not a brand in Europe; and the generic is
> called paracetemol instead of acetominophen. In France the common brand
> is Doliprane, but I'm not sure that's so elsewhere.
>
> In keeping with Jose and Midlife's comments the French government guideline
> for partying (yes, it's true), is double the amount of water to wine. Prost or
> Proust, as you like.

Good points, Emery! I recall Jean trying to score some Tylenol in Uzès:
we though we were so smart since we called it acetominophen, only to get
blank stares at the Apotheque. Little did we know...

BTW, did you get an email from me earlier this week? If not, could you
drop me an email?

Mark Lipton

On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:07:34 -0500
Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Emery Davis wrote:
>
> > Nice article. Note that Tylenol is not a brand in Europe; and the generic is
> > called paracetemol instead of acetominophen. In France the common brand
> > is Doliprane, but I'm not sure that's so elsewhere.
> >
> > In keeping with Jose and Midlife's comments the French government guideline
> > for partying (yes, it's true), is double the amount of water to wine. Prost or
> > Proust, as you like.
>
> Good points, Emery! I recall Jean trying to score some Tylenol in Uzès:
> we though we were so smart since we called it acetominophen, only to get
> blank stares at the Apotheque. Little did we know...
>

Probably would have done better clutching you head and groaning. Although
they might have given you Doliprane + codeine, (over the counter here), then
watch out!

> BTW, did you get an email from me earlier this week? If not, could you
> drop me an email?
>

Done.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

Emery Davis wrote:

>
> Done.

Back atcha, big guy. Let me know if this one doesn't make it.

Mark Lipton

Midlife wrote:
> in article , Mark Lipton at
> wrote on 1/11/07 9:12 PM:
>
>
>>Here's a draft of an additional topic for the FAQ. As always, comments
>>welcomed. [note to cwdjrx: a complete copy of v 0.7 will soon follow]
>
>
>
> Very common to the subject of red wine headaches is that US sufferers
> frequently say they do NOT get headaches from the same varietals if consumed
> in Italy or France. I've recently concluded this may be attributable to a
> few things:
>
> 1. Most people drinking wine in France or Italy, are drinking more water
> with meals and eating more healthy food than they likely do at home.
> 2. To the extent that headache often has a tension factor, one would think
> that a person on leisurely vacation in France or Italy is just not prone to
> the same tension they might have at home.
> 3. Though I too have seen recent literature (UC Davis) shifting blame away
> from sulfites, I have spoken with a few Italian winemakers who say they do
> NOT add sulfites to stabilize their wines as do most US wineries. To
> whatever extent sulfites may be causal, this would add to point #1 above.

Don't get me wrong: sulfites do cause allergies in a very small
subpopulace. However, the symptoms of sulfite allergies don't match the
experiences of RWH sufferers. They include the standard bag of allergic
symptoms: sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes or, in worse cases,
constriction of the airways. RWH more closely matches migraine
symptoms, and there have been some suggestions that in some instances
drinking red wine might be triggering a migraine, but again there are
numberous examples of people with no history of migraines who
nonetheless regularly get headaches from red wine.

>
> .... also re the sulfite issue, I am confused by a couple of winemakers at
> 100% organic winemakers who have told me they do not add sulfites (criterion
> for 100% organic), but also that lab testing of their wines shows no
> measurable sulfites at all. Logic leads me to conclude that wines,
> unstabilized by additional sulfites, degrade and natural sulfite levels
> dissipate. Too bad for the headache sufferers..... these wines tend to
> look, taste and smell rather vile.

Since sulfites are good antioxidants, any wine that's been exposed to
oxygen will have decreased sulfite levels. For a wine that's totally
unsulfured, it probably doesn't take much exposure, perhaps as little as
it would get during racking. There *are* a number of decent unsulfited
wines made in France, such as Theirry Allemand's "sans soufre" Cornas
and Marcel Lapierre's unsulfured Morgon. They have to be very gingerly
handled, though, since they are bacteriological time bombs.

Mark Lipton

in article , Mark Lipton at
wrote on 1/12/07 9:52 PM:

>> 3. Though I too have seen recent literature (UC Davis) shifting blame away
>> from sulfites, I have spoken with a few Italian winemakers who say they do
>> NOT add sulfites to stabilize their wines as do most US wineries. To
>> whatever extent sulfites may be causal, this would add to point #1 above.
>
> Don't get me wrong: sulfites do cause allergies in a very small
> subpopulace. However, the symptoms of sulfite allergies don't match the
> experiences of RWH sufferers. They include the standard bag of allergic
> symptoms: sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes or, in worse cases,
> constriction of the airways. RWH more closely matches migraine
> symptoms, and there have been some suggestions that in some instances
> drinking red wine might be triggering a migraine, but again there are
> numberous examples of people with no history of migraines who
> nonetheless regularly get headaches from red wine.


Is it your thought that sufites do not cause headache? I am aware that
allergic reactions and headache are generally totally different reactions.
Allergic subjects break out in hives (etc.) and some, apparently, can have
intestinal reactions.

> There *are* a number of decent unsulfited
> wines made in France, such as Theirry Allemand's "sans soufre" Cornas
> and Marcel Lapierre's unsulfured Morgon. They have to be very gingerly
> handled, though, since they are bacteriological time bombs.

I've been looking for possible help for red wine headache sufferers. Do you
(or anyone else) happen to know who imports/distributes these wines in the
US? I do see the Allemand listed at a major SoCal retailer, but finding the
supplier can be a challenge. To whatever extent 100% organic would be a
solution for them, I'd like to help. Also, are there any reasonably good
quality 100% organic wines made in the US? In Southern California there's a
definite preference for California wine..... not that a sufferer should turn
down anything that works for them.

in article , Midlife at wrote
on 1/13/07 5:54 AM:
Do you
> (or anyone else) happen to know who imports/distributes these wines in the
> US? I do see the Allemand listed at a major SoCal retailer, but finding the
> supplier can be a challenge.

Google says: Both are imported by Kermit Lynch. Will call them next week.

According to J. Murray Fefferman, fatty deli meat like corned beef,
pastrami, smoked meat-(Canadian) will give you a headache especially served
with Chrane's Horseradish. Murray is as you know a big Raven's fan. Due to
the fact he hung out with E.A. Poe and got him absinthe and sherry to wean
him off grain alcohol.

He's currently sitting Shiva(honoring the departed and eating sponge cake)
at the Mayflower house.
"Midlife" > wrote in message
...
> in article , Midlife at
wrote
> on 1/13/07 5:54 AM:
> Do you
> > (or anyone else) happen to know who imports/distributes these wines in
the
> > US? I do see the Allemand listed at a major SoCal retailer, but finding
the
> > supplier can be a challenge.
>
> Google says: Both are imported by Kermit Lynch. Will call them next
week.
>