Allergens in alcohol?

Did you know that beer alone can contain about ten allergens!? For example, one bottle of beer could have wheat, yeast, corn, preservatives, pesticides, histamines, and animal products.

Histamines and Tannins (found in red wines) have been the most likely culprit for over 80% of all migraine causes.

Alcohol has been found to cause allergic reactions that range from a runny nose, headaches, or welts, to an anaphylactic attack.

Tannins are flavenoids, which add a type of bitter flavor in red wines, as well as prevent oxidation in the wine as it ages. Tannins can be found in foods such as grape skins, seeds, and stems. Tannins can also leach into the wine through the oak storage barrel that is used to store the wine. Tannins cause headaches and migraines because it contains serotonin (a pleasure hormone), which causes serotonin levels in our brains to increase- and high serotonin levels are likely culprits of causing headaches.

Histamines are part of a family that is noted for causing migraines. This family, called amines, includes cheese, chocolate and cured meat. Histamine, which is derived from grape skins, is a strong culprit for red wine headaches. Beers (mostly dark beers such as porters) also contain high amounts of histamine.

Also, if you find yourself having allergy symptoms after drinking red wine, your intestines could be lacking diamante oxidase- a chemical that processes histamine.
If you find that you have reactions after drinking a specific type of alcohol, just like with food allergies, its best to remove it from your diet.


Source: http://www.livingwithout.com/