You will find below a summary of recent findings on the relationship between moderate wine consumption and health. In addition, you may visit the following informative web sites:
The French Paradox: Alcohol & Health
UC Davis: Wine & Heart Disease
For more information about wine and health, visit the bimonthly "Health and Social Issues Report" by Elizabeth Holmgren, published in The Wine Trader:
"60 Minutes Revisits the French Paradox with more Good News."
"Good News for Wine: the Intersection of Policy and Research."
Papers presented at the 1996 national meeting of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV):
"Why Wine can be Part of a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle" by Elizabeth Holmgren.
"MANY HEALTH OFFICIALS OVERSTATE ALCOHOL'S ROLE IN CANCERS: Researcher Gives Most Details To Date on Wine As Cancer Fighter in Nutrition Lab Project" by Rich Cartiere.
"IT'S THE `OLD' CHOLESTEROL THAT'S KILLING US And Wine Can Inhibit LDL Aging, or Oxidation" by M. L. Hilton.
Experts Debate "Wine In Context" At ASEV Sponsored Symposium By Staff Writers of Wine Business Publications.
Wine Chat with Dr. Curtis Ellison.
You may have heard the term "French Paradox" which refers to the fact that per capita alcohol consumption in the form of wine, and saturated fat intake in France are very high, but levels of coronary heart disease in that nation are relatively low. Researchers have discovered that one reason for the low rate of coronary heart disease is the presence of phenolic compounds such as "resveratrol" in wine, especially red wine. Studies show that resveratrol lowers LDL cholesterol (the so-called "bad") while elevating HDL cholesterol levels (the good cholesterol) which helps to clear arterial walls of harmful deposits (Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experimental Station, Vol. 58, No. 2).
Dr. Arthur Klatsky, chief of the Division of Cardiology at the Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente Medical group monitored 8,000 people for 10 years. The results (published in Alcohol and Mortality: A New, Prospective Kaiser Permanente Study, Annals of Internal Medicine, 117, 1992) showed that people who drink one or two glasses of wine per day live longer and are less likely to die from all causes than either abstainers or heavy drinkers. No one should consume alcohol and operate a motor vehicle or machinery, and people with problematic drinking in their family histories should likewise stay away from alcohol.
Indeed, scientific researchers repeatedly have found that moderate daily wine consumption actually appears to be more beneficial than either zero consumption or over-consumption. A healthy lifestyle also includes regular exercise and a diet which is low in fat and high in fresh fruit, vegetables, and grains. A glass of wine can be both pleasurable and relaxing and has a favorable influence on mood and sociability, some important ingredients of well-being.
The French Paradox & Drinking for Health, Gene Ford, Wine Appreciation Guild, San Francisco 1993
Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined, Editors: David J. Pittman and Helene Raskin White, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, New Brunswick 1991
Health, Lifestyle & Environment, The Social Affairs Unit and the Manhattan Institute, New York 1991
Constructive Drinking, Edited by Mary Douglas, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1987
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