Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I used to drink 2/3 glasses of wine a night, so I decided to cut that down since it felt excessive. Now I think I'm realizing that wine causes me several issues.
1. Insomnia
2. I overheat heavily while trying to sleep
3. I start to sneeze like crazy
4. Bit of a heart flutter (even after just glass)

So I'm trying to figure out if I have some sort of allergy or does this happen to anyone else?

flag	asked Dec 27 2011 at 13:48 KB 61●3

I sometimes have a glass of wine before going to bed and I must confess that I sleep as a child :) Not in my case – Nirgal Dec 27 2011 at 14:18

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Sometimes commercial wine has sulphur in it- you may have an allergy to that. I use U-Brew wine and have no issues. – henny Dec 27 2011 at 15:09

This description sounds like you are in love and allergic to their cat. – foreveryoung Sep 19 at 20:31

Jess · Answer 1 · 2011-12-27 14:50:25Z UTC

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Hey! I tend to get warm with wine and I sneeze too! There are actually histamines that are created during fermentation, which is what causes the sneezing. The insomnia could be from the sugar that is created as your body processes the alcohol. I still enjoy a few glasses about one night a week.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 14:50

Jess
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Yeah, this is all about histamine !!! – Isa Palstek Dec 27 2011 at 16:02

+1. I just discovered that my new-found splitting headaches are caused by the histamines. I'm still in mourning. – Karen P. Sep 20 at 0:13

Kyle · Answer 2 · 2011-12-27 15:45:00Z UTC

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I don't know about wine, but when I used to drink any sort of alcohol if I did not get drunk to the point where I needed to pass out I would not sleep all night. Part of the reason why moderation did not work for me, and part of the reason I've quit altogether now. If I go and "just have a couple drinks" I will be up all night tossing and turning and get really mad and stressed as the sun rises about not getting any sleep and feeling like shit the whole next day or two as I try to get back right. And obviously drinking tons has the same&worse feel-bad result.

Just thinking about those times of staying up all night not being able to sleep is making me stressed and depressed haha.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 15:45

Kyle
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I think like you I need to just stop the drinking all together, the lack of sleep even after a glass before bed is pretty untolerable! – KB Dec 27 2011 at 15:55

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Not only do I not miss alcohol, I have absolutely zero desire to consume it and am repulsed by the thought of doing it. Weird considering it used to be such a huge part of my life and lead to so many good times. Don't miss it one bit. Social pressures do get annoying though, and can be difficult to deal with. I feel like a lot of people "judge" me for not drinking and I've definitely lost some closeness with some friends whose common bond with me was drinking. Alcohol also no doubt helps make friends more quickly. It just wasn't worth the trade off for me. Tough decision! – Kyle Dec 27 2011 at 17:18

Just wanted to add that I'm not judging anyone who drinks, it just wasn't for me anymore. Different strokes for different folks eh? – Kyle Dec 27 2011 at 17:19

I understand, a lot of my work socializing is "over drinks" so that will make it harder but I'd rather not feel terrible so its time to just stop drinking. – KB Dec 28 2011 at 21:23

Something that helps me in the social situations: It always feels awkward for me to have nothing in my hand when everyone else is constantly sipping on some sort of drink. Instead of water which just feels like nothing I will have a can of coconut water or two. Sometimes I even get a tall one and put it in a classy brown paper bag. Helps when the friends start playing drinking games... Some people would even get an orange juice and say its a screwdriver. Anything to ease the social tension. In a work situation this could be prudent to not be judged as weird for not drinking. – Kyle Dec 28 2011 at 23:18

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SuZQ · Answer 3 · 2011-12-27 15:46:47Z UTC

W/o all the fancy sciency-talk, alcohol tends to disrupt sleep, even tho it depresses the CNS (ooh that's sciency!). So, it'll help you fall asleep, but can (not always) increase metabolism (overheating) & increase dehydration (esp. if you didnt drink water w/the alcohol, as it evap's fast! - again, overheating). Re: sneezing - sensitivity? seems pretty common if you google it.
Re: palpitations - this too seems to be a pretty common reaction to wine (esp. red wine), kinda like caffeine apparently. Again, I don't have sciency-talk for the last two, but I'm sure others will comment on it... if nothing else, it's common enough to maybe not be super concerned...? :)

Sabrina · Answer 4 · 2012-09-19 20:28:42Z UTC

I also have reactions to red wine, waking up during the night, sweating, and sometimes heart palpitations. Some brands are worse than others. I suspect my gluten allergy contributes to my symptoms and is the reason some wines cause more reactions than others. Potato vodka doesn't bother me but I do love a glass of red wine on the weekends. Taking a good B complex seems to help and taking breaks from the red wine seems to decrease my reaction. I am going to experiment with gluten free wines.SS

Lynn · Answer 5 · 2012-09-19 22:44:32Z UTC

My functional medicine doc told me that when you drink your liver is so occupied processing it, that hormones are disrupted among other things. When asleep you normally get glucose from your liver, so if it's busy your body will up the adrenaline to try to pull it from muscles. I def feel like my heart is beating hard and feel the adrenaline when I drink too much (for me over 2 glasses) and it keeps me up too.

As lovely as alcohol is, it really is a toxin so of course we feel side effects from it. Those that have to drink more to feel them are the lucky ones!

Alvaro · Answer 6 · 2012-09-19 23:14:57Z UTC

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Alcohol, in general, gives me exactly the same effects as it does to you, so much so, I don't drink during weekdays anymore, it's been a big change, I sleep well and i'm losing weight.

answered Sep 19 at 23:14

Alvaro
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Wine, Insomnia and Sleeping

6 Answers