Health Benefits of Moderate Red Wine Consumption

 The infinite wisdom of wine

Ever since 1991, when the popular TV news program 60 Minutes
aired a segment about the "French Paradox" (the apparent
correlation between red wine consumption and decreased rates of
heart disease in France), Americans have been wild about their
wine, especially the red varieties. And that's a GOOD thing.
I've been preaching the health benefits of not just red wine,
but moderate consumption of all kinds of alcohol way before the
last decade, I can assure you.

But I digress - I'm not here to say, "I told you so… "

I am here to tell you about a specific class of compounds
prevalent in red wine called polyphenols. These chemical
miracle-workers are, in large part, what makes red wine so good
for you. A component of grape skins (which figure much more
prominently in the making of the red varieties of wine than the
whites), polyphenols have been shown in much research to
decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke.

However, in addition to these proven benefits, some of these
powerful antioxidant polyphenols may also feature a
cancer-combative action as well, according to some recent
European research (French actually, how fitting). As part of the
study, scientists isolated the effects of one specific
polyphenol from red wine called acutissimin A - with stunning
results. It seems that acutissimin A actually inhibits the
growth of cancerous cells by blocking the action of an enzyme
that contributes to their development. Sounds quite promising,
doesn't it?

Interestingly enough, acutissimin A is perhaps the only
polyphenol in red wine that doesn't come from grape skins - it's
actually derived from a reaction between a flavonoid in the wine
and a substance called vescalagin that's present in the oak
casks most red wines are stored and aged in.

So to be sure you get all the cancer-fighting benefits of
acutissimin A, you should only buy and drink red wines that have
been aged in oak. An increasing number of them nowadays are
fermented and stored in stainless steel. They're not as good for
you. Any good wine shop should be able to point you in the right
direction.  

But the discovery of cancer-fighting polyphenols like
acutissimin A isn't the only way red wine is making headlines
right now. What some other U.S. and Italian scientists are
attempting in the field of polyphenol research will boggle your
mind. Keep reading…

***********************************************

A glass of wine - in a pill?

No, I'm not kidding. Teetotalers rejoice!

Scientists and researchers in the dietary supplement industry in
both the U.S. and Italy have been in a race to see who can bring
to market a "red wine pill" containing the beneficial
polyphenols and flavonoids in red wine, but without the alcohol
(obviously).

Apparently, this has proved to be a tricky proposition - because
until now, the manufacturing processes supplement makers use
utterly fail to preserve the antioxidant effects of natural
polyphenols. To this, I say: Good! Don't get me wrong, I'm a
huge proponent of dietary supplementation, but enough is
enough.

Drink some wine instead, I say, and you'll get not only the
benefits, but also the immense pleasure and rich taste
experience wine confers!

But leave it to good old American ingenuity to solve this
"problem." Using a new method of sealing these antioxidant
compounds in an airtight, nitrogen-purged, digestible capsule,
at least one American company has succeeded (before their
Italian rivals) in preserving many of the health benefits of red
wine in a pill - but without all that pesky good taste and
mellowing alcohol!

I don't know what this new product will be called, but I'm sure
it'll be everywhere just as soon as it can be patented, packed
up, and put on shelves. I guess I'm all for it - for
non-drinkers or people who just don't like the taste of red
wine…

But I wonder how it will go over in France?