Why red wine gives you a headache

Red wine headache is different from the headache felt during a hangover. It's the headache that occurs minutes only after enjoying a small glass of red wine.
Asian flush, also widely known as Asian glow, is when people of East Asian descent turn red after drinking alcohol. They sometimes also experience a headache, fast heart rate and nausea. But what causes Asian glow? Genetics, basically. Around 36% of Northeast Asians are deficient in one of the enzymes that metabolises alcohol, due to a gene mutation called ALDH2*2. This leads to a buildup of a toxic substance called acetaldehyde, which causes Asian flush and can also cause cancer, especially oesophageal cancer.
But how come people who do have a working enzyme still experience headache minutes only after enjoying a small glass of red wine? Well, a recent study shines light on a new theory as to why that might be and it seems to have some common ground to how Asian flush occurs.
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