Wine bottles, glasses and cheese in restaurant
A General Medical Practitioner at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Alfred Seedah, has identified migraine as one of the most frequent cases reported at the hospital these days.
He said as it stands now, most people do not have sufficient knowledge about this severe condition of headache.
He explained that migraine is a head-pounding ailment that usually affects one side of the head, which could last about four hours to three days in some instances.
Dr Seedah speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show said symptoms of migraine include: severe headache, nausea/vomiting, hallucination and oversensitivity to light.
Dr Alfred Sedah identified ”consumption of cheese, chocolate, intake of wine, as well as stress”, and some genetic factors as triggers of the condition.
iGOGHANA made research on why wine and cheese don’t always go together and came up with the findings below:
Among alcoholic beverages, wine has quite the reputation as a headache trigger, particularly red wine. That first twinge of a headache can occur within a sip or two, or it may show up several hours later. Alcohol can dilate blood vessels in your brain, which can cause a headache. Red wine, in particular, has long been known as a migraine trigger.
But even among those who identify red wine as a trigger, it doesn’t hold true every time. It’s likely that migraine attacks involve several contributing factors. There are many theories, but no clear evidence as to why wine gives some people a headache. Here are some possible theories regarding wine headaches.
Grape skins contain histamine. White wine is made without the grape skin, so it has a lower histamine content than red wine, which is made from the whole grape. A histamine sensitivity could make you more susceptible to a headache.
Keep in mind that some other foods contain more histamine than alcoholic drinks. These include:
- aged cheese
- eggplant, sauerkraut, spinach
- fish
- sausage, salami
Grape skins also contain plant chemicals called tannins, which help give the wine its flavour. Tannins also prompt your body to release serotonin, which may cause headaches in some people. Red wines have more tannins than white wines.
Tannins are found in a variety of foods, including tea, dark chocolate, and some berries and nuts.
Tannins are thought to trigger migraines even in people who take preventive treatments.
Sulfites are sometimes blamed for wine headaches. Sulfites are compounds that help preserve red and white wine. If you’re sensitive to sulfites, you’re more likely to experience breathing problems than headaches, though.
Higher amounts of sulfites can also be found in:
- certain fruits and dried fruits
- chips
- pickles
- raisins
- soy sauce
