Red Wine Headaches: A Eureka Moment?
Wine Blast with Susie and Peter
English - June 14, 2024 05:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBFood Arts wine wine blast wine podcast susie and peter masters of wine food and wine a-z of wine susie barrie peter richards married mws Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Wine brings pleasure. But for some it can also prove painful. Red wine is particularly problematic for a proportion of the population, with just a few mouthfuls bringing on swift and excruciating headaches.
Now scientists think they may finally be on to why. In lab experiments, they've identified a compound in red wine that impedes the breakdown of alcohol by the liver and causes a build-up of toxic acetaldehyde in the bloodstream. Human trials are still needed for confirmation - but these are exciting findings.
In this episode, we discuss these results with the scientists behind them: Professor Andrew Waterhouse and Dr Apramita Devi from the University of California, Davis.
As for the BIG question - which red wines might be safer for sufferers - there's good news. The experts actually recommend cheap rather than pricey red wines. Yes, you read that right: the boffins are endorsing the bargains! We explain why as well as providing some top tips for bargain basement reds - we also touch on the tantalising prospect of how this research may help us understand hangovers too.
A final note: research like this costs money and yet neither governments nor big companies want to fund it (a crying shame). As a result, the team at UC Davis has launched a Crowdfunder. If you'd like to contribute, or find out more, click here: Red Wine Headaches Project
Thanks for tuning in. We love to hear from you so please do get in touch! Send us a voice message via Speakpipe. Or you can find contact info, together with all details from this episode, on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S5 E22 - Red Wine Headaches: A Eureka Moment?
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