Wine and Health Column
by Carol Blackman
Is wine good for us? Yes! Health experts agree that drinking wine in moderation, and as a part of an overall healthy diet, has been shown to reduce the risk of some serious diseases and improve general well-being.
As a new addition to the WWS National Newsletter, this Wine and Health column will give you updates on research and connections to medical and other health professionals who are focused on various aspects of the wine and health discussion. Some news is reported in the popular media and other news will come directly from experts working on and interpreting scientific studies.
First let’s define “moderation.” Nutrition expert Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CDN, is a TODAYshow.com contributor seen on morning television and writes for the TODAYshow.com Web site. She defines healthy wine drinking as: “Men: No more than two drinks per day. Women: No more than one drink per day. One drink is defined as a 5-ounce glass of red or white wine.”
Bauer writes, “Thanks to its alcohol content and non-alcoholic phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers, and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.” Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21478144/#ixzz0iMh3JEP6.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have two wine makers who happen to be medical doctors and the authors of www.winedoctors.com, “Physicians promoting the understanding of the impact of wine on health by filtering out the science from the MOG.” MOG is wine lingo for Material Other than Grapes.
Mary Jacobson, MD and Lynn Gretkowski, MD are professors at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. They are also involved with research about wine and health and will be advising us, helping to sort out the facts from fiction. They agreed it would be helpful to think about four categories in the wine and health discussion. You will continue to see this space report on wine and health as it relates to: 1) diet and nutrition; 2) physical responses; 3) psychological responses; and 4) interactions with food and drugs.
On www.winedoctors.com , Docs Mary and Lynn have posted an interview with John DeLuca, PhD, the CEO and President of the Wine Institute for 28 years before serving as Executive Vice Chairman of the Wine Institute since 2003. After many years of declaring alcohol consumption a negative, current guidelines include wine in a healthy nutrition profile. Check out:
http://winedoctors.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=61&Itemid=83
Drinking wine is also getting lots of attention in the popular media as a component of a vibrant lifestyle. Barbara Paige, WWS Napa Sonoma Chapter Sommelier, wanted us to include the concept of “lifestyle” in our updates about wine and health. “We know people want to understand about wine and health, but it is not just about drinking this or that wine. Wine is a part of the way we live our day to day lives, and it is part of a total picture that we should think about.”
In a 2001 study, Danish researchers concluded: “Our data demonstrate that wine drinking is a general indicator of optimal social, cognitive, and personality development in Denmark. Similar social, cognitive, and personality factors have also been associated with better health in many populations. Consequently, the association between drinking habits and social and psychological characteristics, in large part, may explain the apparent health benefits of wine.” To see the full report, check out the Archives of Internal Medicine at: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/161/15/1844
Let us hear from you if you come across wine and health information you want to share with WWS members across the country. You can reach Carol Blackman at blackmancarol@hotmail.com .