Is it the sulphur or the histamines?
July 26, 2010
I almost always get a blocked nose when I drink most (but not all ) cheap wines.
It’s something I experience when I drink really cheap, preservative laden fruit juices too - I react instantly - in fact I can smell the stuff in both juice and wine and tell you before I drink it that I’m going to react to it.
So what causes the blocked nose?
I always thought it was the Sulphur in wine and the Sodium Benzonate in the juices - but perhaps not.
A recent tweet from myself led @diproc and @sampugh1 to suggest that the main culprit could in fact be the Histamines found in wine. Interesting.
They pointed me to the following article
Wine and Headaches - Maybe not what you think.
and I found one more that is really worth reading:
This wine is making me feel…Sneezy?
What have I concluded from this research? Nothing really - I still don’t know what cause my reaction.
A usefull tip though: if you think you have an allergy to Sulphur - then go and buy a packet of dried apricots and eat them. If you react after eating them - then you are probably allergic to Sulphur.
If not - then it may be the Histamines.
Failing that - just drink better wine!
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July 26th, 2010 at 10:41 am
I have a friend who recently had to quit drinking wine due to a medical condition. His practitioner warned him about the sulphur in wine aggravating his symptoms. The “Dr” advised that red wine should be avoided at all costs as this contains the most sulphites – dry whites on the other hand are more ok. Not the way I have it, with Sauvignon Blanc being notorious for containing high doses of SO2 , but not liking to drink without my favourite drinking partner, I resorted to feeding him Reyneke Reserve White, because of its organic production etc. etc. My friend is doing fine and his symptoms are in the clear. Is this because Johan doesn’t add sulphur to his wines, or did my story of his organic practices act as a placebo?
Check my take on this at http://bit.ly/azuNmB
July 26th, 2010 at 10:51 am
As a Canadian who has never had an allergy or food sensitivity in my life, my exposure to the much higher levels of sulphites in most South African products (including pre-cut RAW vegetables?!) has caused me to develop an accute sensitivity to them. Wine drinking is no longer a pleasure..
In North America, sulphites are restricted much more, so people are not exposed like they are here…it is the accumulation of the sulphites of food/wine that have caused my problem, and maybe yours too. Repeated exposure and attacks of congestion wear down your immune system, so catching viral infections like bronchitis, sinusitis and colds becomes much easier. People in SA need to be more saavy and vocal about what they accept from food producers - sulphites can seriously harm people, causing asthma and even death.
Stellar Wines in SA produce GREAT sulphite-free wines AND are also a FairTrade organic winery, so you can feel good about where your dollars are going.
July 26th, 2010 at 11:48 am
[...] Is it the sulphur or the histamines? | The Cru thecru.co.za/2010/07/26/is-it-the-sulphur-or-the-histamines/ – view page – cached I almost always get a blocked nose when I drink most (but not all ) cheap wines. It’s something I experience when I drink really cheap, preservative laden Tweets about this link [...]
July 26th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Whoa Di!!
Lets have the evidence that “sulphites can seriously harm people, causing asthma and even death.”
Jeanri-Tine, I read your article when it was first published and disagreed with the statement “If you are sensitive to sulphur, a headache is most likely to be triggered within hours of consumption” as there is no evidence of headaches being caused by sulphur in wine (see article linked to above)
What is very evident though is that sulphites in wine getting blamed for all sorts of maladies has only occurred since the warning appeared on labels.