HEALTH

Why red wine gives us such a headache

Winemakers could use the findings to refine their products
Rhys Blakely
Science Correspondent
The Times
Just a couple of glasses of some red wines, often expensive ones, can give you a sore head within half an hour
Just a couple of glasses of some red wines, often expensive ones, can give you a sore head within half an hour
Rhys Blakely
Science Correspondent
The Times

Scientists may finally have solved a centuries-old mystery: why is it that some of us will suffer a splitting headache after drinking only a modest amount of red wine?

The phenomenon appears to have first been recorded by Aurelius Cornelius Celsus, who wrote about medicine in ancient Rome. There was a certain type of sore head, he observed, that seemed to be brought on by wine.

Since then generations of researchers have investigated possible causes of the infamous red-wine headache, a side-effect that can strike after only a glass or two and in as little as 30 minutes. Recognised by the International Headache Association as distinct from a normal hangover, it can affect people who happily have other alcoholic drinks without experiencing the same