Wine, especially the red variety, has been studied extensively over
many years with impressive findings suggesting it may promote a longer
lifespan, protect against certain cancers, improve mental health, and provide
benefits to the heart.
A brief history of wine
According to Cornell University,
archeologists date grape cultivation and wine making to sometime between 6,000
and 4,000 BC in Mesopotamia and the coastal areas of the Caspian Sea. At that
time only aristocrats, royalty, and members of clergy enjoyed wine while
peasants and commoners drank ale, mead and beer.
Jancis Robertson, in "The
Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition"2, wrote that ancient Egyptian
Papyri and Sumerian tablets dating back to 2200 BC are the oldest documents
that mention wine as a man-made medicine. In ancient Egypt, wine was also
savored mainly by royalty and the upper classes.
When wine making arrived in
ancient Greece, it was enjoyed by the whole spectrum of society, and became a
popular theme in literature, religion, leisure, medicine and mythology.
Hippocrates, often referred to
as the "father of western medicine", promoted wine as part of a
healthy diet. He also claimed that wine was good for disinfecting wounds, as
well as a liquid in which medications could be mixed and taken more easily by
patients. Hippocrates said wine should be used to alleviate pain during
childbirth, for symptoms of diarrhea, and even lethargy.
The ancient Romans took vine
clippings from Greece back to Rome. From there centers of viticulture soon
appeared all over southern Europe, then in Germany and the rest of the
continent.
In the Bible, in his first
epistle to Timothy, Paul the Apostle recommended a little wine every now and
then to help digestion.
Persian Avicenna in the 11th
century AD acknowledged that wine helped digestion, but only recommended it as
a disinfectant while dressing wounds because Islamic laws prohibited the
consumption of alcohol.
During the Middle Ages,
Catholic monks frequently used wine for a wide range of medical treatments.
Wine was so linked to medical
practice that in the first printed book on wine, Arnaldus de Villa Nova (circa.
1235-1311 AD), a physician, wrote at length on wine's benefits for the
treatment of many illnesses and conditions, including sinus problems and
dementia.
One of the reasons wine was so
popular throughout history is because safe drinking water was often scarce.
During the 1892 cholera epidemic in Hamburg, Germany, wine was used to
sterilize water.
The 1800s and early twentieth
century saw a rapid spread of the Temperance movement, admonishing the use of
alcoholic beverages and advising reduced consumption. Medical establishments
began recognizing alcoholism as a disease.
The harms of alcohol have also
been well documented throughout history. In Islam, the Qur'an (Koran) forbade
the consumption of alcohol through several separate verses revealed at
different times. Benjamin Rush3 (1745-1813), a signatory of the United States
Declaration of Independence, said "My observations authorize me to say,
that persons who have been addicted to them (spirits), should abstain from them
suddenly and entirely. 'Taste not, handle not, touch not' should be inscribed
upon every vessel that contains spirits in the house of a man, who wishes to be
cured of habits of intemperance".
What is moderate wine consumption?
"Moderate" wine
consumption is said to be good for the health. However, what is
"moderate" wine consumption? How much wine you can drink in one
sitting before the health benefits turn into dangers depends on many factors,
including the person's size, age, sex, body stature and general state of
health, as well as whether it is being consumed with food or on an empty
stomach.
Women absorb alcohol more
rapidly than men, because of their lower body water content and different levels
of stomach enzymes. Therefore, moderate wine consumption will be a lower amount
for women than for men.
According to "Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2010", published by the US Department of
Agriculture, "If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation
- up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men".
The National Health Service5,
UK, writes "Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol
a day. Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day." One
unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. A 250ml (large) glass of 12% red wine
has about 3 units of alcohol. A 175ml (medium) glass has about two units.
All the health benefits
associated with drinking wine listed below are only applicable to moderate
drinking!
What are the benefits of drinking wine?
1. Reducing risk of depression
A team from several
universities in Spain reported in the journal BMC Medicine that drinking wine
may reduce the risk of depression. The researchers gathered data on 2,683 men
and 2,822 women aged from 55 to 80 years over a seven-year period. The
participants had to complete a food frequency questionnaire every year, which
included details on their alcohol consumption as well as their mental health. The
authors found that men and women who drank two to seven glasses of wine per
week were less likely to be diagnosed with depression. Even after taking into
account lifestyle factors, which could influence their findings, the
significantly lower risk of developing depression still stood.
2. Preventing colon cancer
Scientists from the University
of Leicester, UK, reported at the 2nd International Scientific Conference on
Resveratrol and Health that regular, moderate red wine consumption can reduce
the rate of bowel tumors by approximately 50%.
3. Anti-aging
Researchers from Harvard
Medical School reported that red wine has anti-aging properties. Specifically,
resveratrol was the compound found to have the beneficial effect. The
resveratrol in wine comes from the skins of red grapes. Blueberries,
cranberries and nuts are also sources of resveratrol. Head investigator, David
Sinclair said, "Resveratrol improves the health of mice on a high-fat diet
and increases life span." Their findings, which were published in the
journal Cell Metabolismoffer, was the first compelling proof of the definite
link between the anti-aging properties of resveratrol and the SIRT1 gene.
Wine's anti-aging properties
have been talked about for over one thousand years. Monasteries throughout
Europe were convinced that their monks' longer lifespans, compared to the rest
of the population, was partly due to their moderate, regular consumption of
wine. A study carried out at the University of London found that procyanidins,
compounds commonly found in red wine, keep the blood vessels healthy and are
one of the factors that contribute towards longer life spans enjoyed by the
people in Sardinia and the southwest of France. The researchers also found that
red wine made in the traditional way has much higher levels of procyanidins
than other wines.
4. Protecting your heart
Red wine contains resveratrol,
a powerful antioxidant compound. Resveratrol also protects your heart and
arteries against the effects of saturated fat in your diet, so drinking one or
two glasses of red wine a day can help protect your heart and prevent
cardiovascular disease.
The flavonoids and sapponins in
red wine also help to protect your heart against cardiovascular disease. The
alcohol in red wine, when consumed in moderation, raises your levels of
"good" HDL cholesterol, helps prevent the formation of blood clots
and can help to protect your arteries from the damage caused by "bad"
LDL cholesterol.
5. Preventing dementia
A team from Loyola University
Medical Center found that moderate red wine intake could reduce the risk of
developing dementia. In this study, the researchers gathered and analyzed data
from academic papers on red wine since 1977. The studies, which spanned 19
nations, showed a statistically significantly lower risk of dementia among
regular, moderate red wine drinkers in 14 countries.
The investigators explained
that resveratrol reduces the stickiness of blood platelets, which helps keep
the blood vessels open and flexible. This helps maintain a good blood supply to
the brain. Both white and red wines contain resveratrol, but red wine has much
more. The skin of red grapes has very high levels of resveratrol. During the
manufacturing process of red wine, there is prolonged contact with grape skins.
Lead investigator, Professor Edward
J. Neafsey, said, "We don't recommend that nondrinkers start drinking. But
moderate drinking, if it is truly moderate, can be beneficial." Neafsey
and colleagues wrote in The Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
that moderate red wine drinkers had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia
compared to people, who rarely or never consumed the alcoholic beverage.
6. Protecting from severe sunburn
Wine and grape derivatives can
help reduce the damaging effects of UV (ultraviolet) light, scientists from the
University of Barcelona in Spain reported in The Journal of Agricultural Food
and Chemistry. The authors explained that when UV rays make contact with human
skin, they activate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which oxidize fats, DNA and
other large molecules, which in turn stimulate other enzymes that harm skin
cells. Flavonoids, found in wine and grapes, inhibit the formation of the ROS
in skin cells that are exposed to sunlight.
7. Preventing blinding diseases
Red wine can stop the
out-of-control blood vessel growth in the eye that causes blindness,
researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported
in the American Journal of Pathology. Diabetic retinopathy and age-related
macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness among Americans
aged 50+ years, are caused by an overgrowth of blood vessels (angiogenesis) in
the eye. The researchers explained that resveratrol is the compound in wine
that protects vision. Grapes, blueberries, peanuts and some other plants are
rich in resveratrol.
8. Damage after stroke
Red wine may protect the brain
from stroke damage, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
wrote in the journal Experimental Neurology. Professor Sylvain Doré believes
that resveratrol in red wine raises levels of heme oxygenase, an enzyme known
to protect nerve cells in the brain from damage. When somebody suffers a
stroke, the brain is ready to protect itself because of higher enzyme levels. Doré
added that nobody yet knows, whether it is just the resveratrol that has the
health benefits, or it is the alcohol in the wine, which may be needed to
concentrate the levels of the compound.
9. Improving lung function and preventing lung cancer
Dutch scientists reported on a
study that looked at the effects of resveratrol, red wine, and white wine on
lung function. They found that: 1) Pure resveratrol was good for lung function;
2) White wine was also good for lung function; 3) Red wine made no difference.
A reviewer of the study wrote,
"Resveratrol may well be just the bystander of something else present in
wine. The beneficial effects on lung function are probably related to many
compounds present in wine, and not just resveratrol." According to a
number of scientific studies, moderate wine drinkers appear to enjoy better
lung function, the authors added.
In another study, a team from
Kaiser Permanente wrote in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and
Prevention that red wine consumption may reduce lung cancer risk. Chun Chao,
Ph.D., said, "An antioxidant component in red wine may be protective of
lung cancer, particularly among smokers."
10. Raising levels of omega-3 fatty acids
Wine is better than other
alcoholic drinks in raising levels of omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and red
blood cells, according to the IMMIDIET study involving European researchers
from various countries. The study, published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, examined 1,604 adults from London in England, Abruzzo in
Italy, and Limburg in Belgium. They all underwent a comprehensive medical
examination with a primary care physician (general practitioner) and also
completed an annual food frequency questionnaire, which included details of their
dietary and drinking habits. They found that regular, moderate wine drinkers
had higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are usually derived from
eating fish. We know that omega-3 fatty acids protect against coronary heart
disease.
The scientists found that
drinking wine acts like a trigger, boosting levels of omega-3 fatty acids in
the body.
11. Preventing liver disease
A study carried out at the UC
San Diego School of Medicine concluded that modest wine consumption reduced the
risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half compared to people who never
drank wine. Their finding challenged conventional thinking regarding alcohol
consumption and liver health. The researchers reported in the journal
Hepatology that regular, modest beer or liquor drinkers had more than four times
the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to the wine drinkers.
12. Protecting from prostate Cancer
A study published in the June
2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch reported that male moderate red wine
drinkers were 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as men who
never drank red wine. They defined moderate drinking as an average of four to
seven glasses of red wine per week. Initially, the Seattle researchers looked
at general alcohol consumption and found no link to prostate cancer risk.
However, when they went one-step further and looked at different alcoholic
beverages, they identified a clear association between red wine drinking and
lower prostate cancer risk. Even extremely moderate red wine consumption (one
glass per week) reduced men's risk of prostate cancer by 6%, the authors
informed.
13. Preventing type 2 diabetes
In an animal experiment,
scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that a chemical found
in red wine and the skin of red grapes - resveratrol - improved sensitivity to
insulin. Insulin resistance is the most important critical factor contributing
to type 2 diabetes risk. The researchers reported in the journal Cell
Metabolism that resveratrol also increased levels of the enzyme SIRT1, which
was found to improve insulin sensitivity in mice. Study leader, Qiwei Zhai said
that red wine might have some benefits for insulin sensitivity, but this needs
to be confirmed in further studies.
14. Protecting against neurological disorders
Researchers have found that
resveratrol can help block the formation of amyloid plaques, which are thought
to damage brain cells and contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Another study
found that resveratrol actually aided in the formation of new nerve cells,
which could help prevent neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease.
15. Teeth health
Red wine, even nonalcoholic red
wine, hardens your enamel to prevent tooth decay. Hardened enamel is more
resistant to Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria, which lives on your teeth and
is responsible for tooth decay. The polyphenols in red wine can also prevent
gum disease, and even help to treat it by reducing inflammation in the gums.
16. Protecting from acne
A study published in the
journal Dermatology and Therapy claims a compound derived from red grapes and
found in red wine - resveratrol - may be an effective treatment for acne,
particularly when combined with an already existing medication for the
disorder.
17. Advanced skin care and more benefits through vinotherapy
According to one of the researchers,
polyphenol forms a protective layer on skin and stimulates the renewals of
cells and collagen. Pholyphenol also clears up free radicals, which damage and
age cells. One of the newly popular wine therapies is so called vinotherapy,
when you do not consume the product, but apply it externally as a wine bath. According
to practitioners of vinotherapy, wine when applied externally, can help shift
cellulite, tone our body and reduce wrinkles and fine lines. This is because,
they say, polyphenols extracted from grape seeds are a powerful antioxidant -
our body's defenses against highly reactive molecules that can lead to
premature ageing.
Vinotheray is also being used
in spas in conjunction with ayurvedic therapies to soothe frayed nerves and
relax the stressed tissues as a passive form of exercise. The procedure helps
in the production of anti-bodies, soothes the nervous system, improves
circulation and builds up the immune system.
The Key Word – Moderation
While you learnt how good wine
is for your health, remember that this footnote disclaimer is very important.
By abusing the habit consuming more than moderate or recommended amounts, may
lead to serious negative consequences to your health. Note that
Drinking alcohol can lead to alcohol abuse in
some people. Excessive alcohol consumption is also associated with an increased
risk of cancer, high triglycerides, obesity, liver disease, car accidents, high
blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, physical abuse, irregular heart rhythms,
suicide and swelling of the pancreas.
Sources and Additional Information:
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