Many times people have heard about the heart-healthy and cancer-fighting antioxidants benefits of a glass of red wine. But wine is not for everyone. There are a good, but unrecognised number of people that will develop cold symptoms, headache, stuffy or, runny nose or even rashes after taking a glass of wine. They have an allergy or intolerance (similar to a food allergy, but not life-threatening) to wine.
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes ferment them without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different types of wine.
Wines made from other fruits, such as apples and berries, are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced for example, apple wine or elderberry wine are generally called fruit wine. Others, such as barley wine and rice wine are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer and spirit more than wine, whilst ginger wine is fortified with brandy.
People can be allergic to wine, however, it is not exactly the wine they are allergic to, but one or more of the components in the wine. The components in wine that can cause an allergic reaction are: yeast, sulphites, amines, grapes and phenol.
Sulphites are present in all wines and are formed as a natural product of the fermentation process, and many wine producers add sulphur dioxide in order to help preserve wine. The level of added sulphites varies, and some wines have been marketed with low sulphite content.
Red wine seems to cause the most problems, followed by whisky, then beer and then other wines. The symptoms reported included flushed skin, itching, and a runny nose. Others included diarrhoea, irregular heartbeat, and stomach cramps.
Food allergies and intolerance cause similar symptoms, but their difference lies in origin. A food allergy is an immune system response that takes place when the body mistakes an ingredient as harmful. Specific symptoms, such as hives and tongue swelling, are markers for food allergies. With intolerance, the response comes from the digestive system when it can’t break down the food.
