Red wine to treat migraines?
Red wine to relieve migraine? Red wine is a well-known trigger of migraine headaches (although French tend to disagree). A recent study published in journal Pain found that resveratrol, the active ingredient in red wine which is responsible for its health benefits, has pain relieving properties when given to rats. There have been no reports in the literature or from my own patients that resveratrol causes headaches and judging from this study, it may in fact help.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 am
I have been taking Resveratrol for 9 days and have had a headache since the second day…and they are getting worse. Makes sense- red wine always gives me a headache too. I’m not taking Resveratrol and will see if the headaches stop. Hope So!
July 25th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Hi Marjorie,
I just started taking resveratrol about a week ago due to feeling bad from some other bug that I had thinking it would jump start me, I noticed also that I started having strange temple headaches which is not normal for me. I am going to lay off too for a while to see what happens. good luck!
August 27th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I am taking Resveratrol for 4 days and have headache since the first day .
August 27th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
It looks like resveratrol can cause headaches, but it would be interesting to know if the 3 of you suffer from migraines or if you normally do not get headaches. Also, what brand the 3 of you tried? It is possible that it is not the resveratrol itself, but an inactive ingredient that is responsible for the headache.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:22 am
I too have had headaches since I have been taking reveratrol. I have also started taking however Tumeric Bromelain capsules. I also have been feeling nauseas and had a neck ache.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I took Resveratrol for a few days and got a migraine (I have had migraines all my life, but not much in the past ten years). I stopped the Resveratrol, but have had a migraine for more than 40 days and had to be hospitalized. I rue the day I took that stuff.
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:34 am
With all the health benefits of resveratrol it would be great to be able to take it without negative side effects. I’ve had migraines since age 17 and over the years have found what triggers them for me: chocolate, msg (and all the other things that go with it; autolyzed this, hydrolyzed that, etc…) and red wine. Resveratrol is often found in vitamins along with grape seed extract so I’m wondering if it might be the extract that causes migraines. Any information would be appreciated!
October 7th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Reading from all the comments, looks like it doesn’t help easing migraines. But treatments still differ from person to person. What might be a relief to you might not be to others. Still natural treatments are still the best option for migraines because it does not have side effects. Well there maybe, but not as much as other medications.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I ran across this while doing a search to see if my experience with reservatrol was typical. After waking up with a severe headache for 9 days in a row I suspected that reservatrol must be the cause.
I have experienced migraines for over 20 years but never more than one episode weekly at the very worst, and generally no more than once or twice per month so this was an alarmingly high increase.
It is the only new addition to my diet/supplement intake.
I’ve decided to stop taking it to see if the headaches cease.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Wow, I was happy to find this page while Googling a connection between resveratrol and Migraines.
I’ve had migraines for 22 years and take Topamax to keep them under control. I’ve gone 6-8 months before totally migraine free but now have them every 8-10 days. I believe the frequency began when I started taking the resveratrol (brand, NSI) for the health benefits since red wine is not an option. I’m tossing this bottle of resveratrol out, it’s not worth it!
Thank you everyone, for your in-put!
November 11th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I have had migraines with aura for 25 years. The first occured when I was 38. I get about 12 a year. Sometimes I will get back to back migraines. I have been taking Walgreens Finest Natural Resveratrol, 160 mg twice a day for over three months. I have not had one migraine since starting it! That is why I Googled and found this site. I also have found my sleep cycle is much improved. I hate to rain on everyone else’s response but it sure is working for me.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I have had migraines for about 15 years. they have been increasing in number for the past two years. I had gotten to the point that I was geting a migraine evry 3 to 5 days. I started to take Purity 12’s rain juice suplament 8 weeks ago and in that time I have only had one migraine. That is when I decided to reserch the Igrediants to see what could give me this benifit. I feel that it is the resveratrol that has helped.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:00 am
This is an update from my previous post. It is now January 23 and I am still migraine free. This makes over 5 months without one! The only change has been the Resveratrol twice a day. The thing that is common to the first posts on this topic are that they are from females. Maybe it works for males or Nathan and I are exceptions.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Well, im male, 34 yrs old, taking for the first time Reservatrol and God I can´t stand this migrane!! It has been 3 days now… thanks for this, Ill quit Reservatrol right away…
March 11th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I haven’t had a migraine in 3 years, took Resveratrol for 2 days and got my first migraine in 3 years - coincidence?
March 20th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
I have been on Depakote (anti-seizure) and elavil for 11 years to keep my migraines under control. I had only gotten a few migraines over the past 6 months but since I started the resveratrol I have had 5 headaches in the past 3 weeks and I’ve gotton so sensitive to lights and odors my whole life has been affected. For me the problems far outweigh the benefits.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
I never get headaches but have had 2 days of head-bursting headaches. Coincidently, I have taken Resveratrol both of those days. Tomorrow, I will not take it and see if it makes a difference. I spent $35 for these pills and I was so looking forward to all of the health benefits. But if it appears Resveratrol is causing the headaches, I’m off of it.
July 16th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
I was happy to find this site. I am (at 50) experiencing my first full-on migrane for about a week now. Despite the comments people have posted, I am finding that red wine helps my migrane tremendously. At first I thought it was just disinhibition from alcohol, but then I realized that white wine doesn’t have the same effect. I wonder if more is know about treatment with Resveratrol since this posting?
July 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Following up on my two previous post about migraine and Resveratrol, I am now nearing one year into taking Resveratrol supplements. I have had one migraine, while on a trip to Las Vegas last April, since starting them! Today I also got some unexpected news. My last A1c test was taken just prior to beginning the Resveratrol. At that time my reading was 5.8. Today I received my latest lab results and A1c was 5.4. That is not a minor change! My diet or exercise has not really been altered during the past year. Resveratrol is a great addition to my health!
August 26th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
The question about Resveratrol increasing/decreasing a migraine may be related to prostaglandin production. For example, in Hemicrania Continua, the headache responds to indometacin but not normal migraine relief like triptans. Indometacin inhibits prostaglandin production.