Pleasure, food and moderation keys to good wine

Wine, consumed with pleasure, food, and moderation may be good for you.

However, all individuals should consult with their health care provider as what is good for one person can be poison for another. Having said that, let us continue our perusal of recent medical studies on wine.

For a long time, I collected positive health studies about beverages containing alcohol. Eventually, I had quite the collection.

I decided to stop collecting when a study came out stating that people in nursing homes who drink wine moderately are at lower risk for cataracts.

At that point I said to myself, "Face it, wine is good for everything."

Many European folk remedies include wine either as part of the medicine or as medicine in and of itself. When we first lived in Europe we went to the pharmacy to request a flu medicine. The pharmacist said "What are you doing here? Go buy a bottle of wine!" We have followed this prescription over the years and although I am unwilling to attest to curative effects I can attest to feeling better after a glass or two.

As various studies examined beverages containing alcohol positive reports continued to surface.

One of the largest was a Danish study which examined 100,000 people. Within this large and diverse study group moderate drinkers were at lower risk for heart attack than abstainers and heavy drinkers. This study did not differentiate what type of beverage was consumed.

Two factors brought wine to the fore.

First was the realization that the two populations least at risk for heart attack are the Chinese and people living around the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean diet consists of grains, fruit, fish and wine. Researchers have concluded that wine is an important part of the Mediterranean diet - not the most important part but an important part of the picture.

The second big factor to popularize the idea that wine can have a positive effect on one's health was the 60 Minutes television show. This episode described the so-called "French Paradox." In effect the French population that does not live near the Mediterranean consumes a great deal of fat - rich creamy cheese, pâté marbled with fat, pasta covered with olive oil, fish smothered in cream sauces.

I will stop with that brief list as it is not yet time to dine.

So we have this large population of people that regularly consume unhealthy foods. Yet the French have a significantly lower risk for heart attack than do Americans. There are several factors including all important exercise (the French tend to use public transportation more than we do) but wine is a factor in reducing the risk of heart disease.

Red wine consumption in the U.S. increased dramatically after the airing of this show (as it did when the show was rerun several years later).

The French were not slow to apply their formidable investigatory talents to wine and we now know that wine contains anti-oxidants and anti-carcinogens. I would also suggest that when wine is consumed with food it can aid in digestion.

For awhile, the USDA food pyramid included a bottle of wine off to the side.

For awhile the federal government even allowed a statement on wine labels talking about possible health benefits with moderate consumption.

A number of years ago, when the hoopla about the positive benefits of wine drinking began, a California physician pointed out the following; moderate consumption of wine may be good for your health.

This does not mean that people who do not like wine and do not drink should start drinking. There are other ways to achieve the health benefits of wine which include exercise, grape juice, fresh grapes, and even pills have been created that contain appropriate compounds.

However, if you do like wine then consume it in moderation with food and it is possible that it will help to hold off that heart attack a bit longer.

Please, before lifting that glass to your lips, talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of wine.