Red Wine and Migraine Headaches

QUESTION: I suffer from migraine headaches on an irregular basis. However,
one little glass of red wine and I am down for the count. What puzzles me
though is that my girlfriend, who also suffers with migraine, can drink
regularly with no ill effects whatsoever. Do you have any explanations for
this puzzle.
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ANSWER: Many migraine sufferers have similar stories to tell, for research
tells us that about 25% of patients with this painful and disabling type of
headache relate the onset of an attack to some specific beverage or food. The
chief culprit is identified as alcohol, but even here there are some notable
differences. Many patients can get by with a drink or two from time to time,
but those who drink red wine are generally the ones with acute onset of
headache, usually within three hours after imbibing. White wine drinkers do
not suffer similarly, nor do those who drink other forms of alcohol, such as
vodka or even beer. We know that red wine contains certain substances not
found in other alcoholic drinks. One such chemical that is frequently thought
to be the cause is tyramine, which has an action in the body similar to
adrenalin. Another group of chemicals found in red wine are the flavonoids,
that produce the color of the wine, and they too can be the cause of your
problem. In general the rule is simple; if a food or drink causes the onset of
a migraine, you should drop it from your diet permanently. It might be
interesting to compare your choices of beverage with your nonsuffering
girlfriend and see if this explanation answers the question in your case.