Wine & Health

[Sandro_Vlasov]

Georgian wines

Well then! I'll have to search out Georgian wines.

Well, as I know Georgia exports some wines to Canada, USA, but not those I'm talking about. If you want to taste traditional Georgian wine produced in huge georgian amforas, clay vessels called "Kvevri" you should better visit Georgia. I won't insist on it's advantage over european or other wines for taste or aroma, "Tastes differ". The traditional Georgian wines are unique by their antioxidant potential and the production method. For about 7000 years Georgians have been making wine in the "Kvevri". And there is evidence of it; thats why Georgia is considered to be the cradle of winemaking.
Today Georgian winemaking is in bad position beacuse of Russian embargo and other economical reasons, but some wine companies manage to stay over the problems and produce high quality wines. Every year we receive medals at worlds different wine competitions, such as Decanter World Wine Awards, International Wine And Spirit Competition, International Wine Challenge and other.
By the way, The 33rd World Congress of Vine and Wine and the 8th General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (O.I.V.) will take place this year in Tbilisi (Georgia) from 20 to 27 June. So if anybody interrested in Georgia or Georgian wine you can visit us.

 

[dpambianchi]

I guess I'll have to come to Georgia ... any excuse to find/drink good (and healthy) wine!!

 

[Christ]

adding to the reservatrol thread of this discussion...about a month ago i was pouring wines at one of my wine tastings and a lady came up to me and introduced herself as a chemist for Welch's.....she proceeded to tell me that there is more reservatrol in cold climate grapes because ..in part....more reservatrol is produced in vines that face more disease pressure found in colder and more humid/wet climes

(i am adding this in) i didnt say diseased vines..she said vines that face more disease pressure

i thought that was interesting

Yes I agree with Alfulchino. Grapes grown in cold region have more reservatrol than other grapes.

 

[fn_rhea09]

A study just published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal concludes that grape-derived polyphenols (eg. in wine) reduce colorectal cancerous tumor growth by inhibiting angiogenesis and inducing apoptosis.

You're right!

Just like the Red Wine which reduces the risk of heart ailments and this has been proven by numerous studies before.Although wine contains a low dose of alcohol, moderate drinking of wine especially red wine can be beneficial to your health especially if you are 40 years old and above.

In the Philippines, many Filipinos drink red wine to prevent heart problems from being developed. and the popular brand of red wine there is the “Maria Clara Sangria”.

 

[Tom]

Just out From Wine Spectator

Resveratrol Linked to Blindness Prevention
Red-wine compound reduces abnormal blood-vessel growth in the eye
Jacob Gaffney
Posted: July 6, 2010
Past studies have found that resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found abundantly in red wine and grapes, helps reduce inflammation of the arteries. Now, a paper published in the July issue of the American Journal of Pathology, finds the chemical lowers blood-vessel growth in the eye, thereby reducing symptoms associated with the leading causes of blindness.

Researchers at the ophthalmology department at Washington University in St. Louis working with pharmacologists at R.W. Johnson medical school in New Jersey found that resveratrol, when administered in high doses, helps block the formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, in mouse retinas. Angiogenesis in healthy patients is normally balanced, but when vessels grow out of control, the result is symptomatic of several cancers as well as age-related diseases such as diabetic blindness and macular degeneration.

"These disorders encompass the leading causes of all blindness," states the study text, hypothesizing that understanding how to prevent abnormal eye blood-vessel growth is key to developing "novel therapeutic approaches."

The red-wine compound's performance in previous vascular studies made it the perfect candidate for research, said Washington University retina specialist Rajendra Apte, the study’s senior investigator, in a statement. "There were reports on resveratrol’s effects on blood vessels in other parts of the body, but there was no evidence that it had any effects within the eye," he said.

The investigators used a laser to make four incisions on the retinas of mice, thereby stimulating angiogenesis. Some mice received no resveratrol, while two groups received different doses—22.5 milligrams of resveratrol per kilogram of weight or 45 mg/kg. The study authors stress that resveratrol in these amounts is considerably greater than what is found in several bottles of wine.

The scientists found that in the two groups of mice given resveratrol, the abnormal blood vessels began to disappear. The effect was much more marked in the group given the higher dose. After seven days of resveratrol treatment, for example, the volume of abnormal blood vessels was roughly one percent of the amount found in the control group.

The scientists also believe they’ve identified a new pathway in which resveratrol exerts this effect. "We believe the pathway may be involved both in age-related eye disease and in other diseases where angiogenesis plays a destructive role," Apte said, adding that resveratrol may one day be administered orally at high doses as both a preventative and a treatment, most likely in pill form.

 

[alanfalala]

Wine is not good for the Health. But the benefits are also available of the wine like cuts stroke risk, Regular, Moderate Alcohol Consumption Protects Against Atherosclerosis, Women Wine Drinkers Have Fewer Kidney Stones, and so on.

 

[non-grapenut]

Think of the AMOUNT of fruit that goes into making a wine. That, alone, has to be healthy somehow. I always wondered what the true nutrition label would look like on the back of a bottle of wine...hmmm.

 

[Tom]

Now really... Can you drink just ONE (glass)?
Now if it's a glass that can hold 750ml then YES drink 1 glass.

 

[Drez]

adding to the reservatrol thread of this discussion...about a month ago i was pouring wines at one of my wine tastings and a lady came up to me and introduced herself as a chemist for Welch's.....she proceeded to tell me that there is more reservatrol in cold climate grapes because ..in part....more reservatrol is produced in vines that face more disease pressure found in colder and more humid/wet climes

(i am adding this in) i didnt say diseased vines..she said vines that face more disease pressure

i thought that was interesting

I wonder then do cold climate whites (e.g. Vidal = Yummy) have more Reservatrol than typical reds?

 

[dpambianchi]

I wonder then do cold climate whites (e.g. Vidal = Yummy) have more Reservatrol than typical reds?

No. Cold climate does not mean that grapes have to fight fungal attacks. Climates of high humidity are more of a concern since mold can grow easily and quickly, and then the grape's defensive mechanism kicks in to fight fungal attacks and increase resveratrol production in the process. And this all varies with grape varieties.

 

[Drez]

No. Cold climate does not mean that grapes have to fight fungal attacks. Climates of high humidity are more of a concern since mold can grow easily and quickly, and then the grape's defensive mechanism kicks in to fight fungal attacks and increase resveratrol production in the process. And this all varies with grape varieties.

Alas Vidal Blanc is as I understand it quite resistant to mildew and despite the cold weather in these parts we do suffer from a fair bit of humidity...

 

[dpambianchi]

Alas Vidal Blanc is as I understand it quite resistant to mildew and despite the cold weather in these parts we do suffer from a fair bit of humidity...

That's right. Vidal is thick-skinned.

 

[Daisy]

Anything in limit not harmful for us.The consumption of wine within a certain limit can give you benefits.The immune system is stronger if you can drink a glass of wine in a alternate day and It prevents you from stomach cancer and also from food poisoning.

Red Wine is infact prescribed by Doctors in certain cases.Heart problem is alleviated by drinking moderate amount of Red wine.

 

[PPBart]

I’ve always been a relatively healthy guy, but if I’d known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself(!)

I do have some chronic medical issues, and occasionally have to visit a doctor. While making such a visit recently, I discovered something that really irritated me. My doctor stepped out for a moment for some important interruption (probably his broker calling) and left my record jacket open on the desk. I was sitting right there next to him, and naturally just browsed over the notes he’d written. I was surprised to see the notation “history of alcoholism” so when the doctor returned I questioned him about it. He replied that I had stated to him that I consumed alcohol regularly, an average of about two drinks a day. That is true, I enjoy a glass or two of wine most evenings with and after dinner, and I truthfully reported that in the health questionnaire I completed for this doctor. The doctor went on to state that in his opinion people always under-reported consumption by at least a factor of two, so he assumed I had done that as well.

I asked if there was any medical indication in any of my test results, lab work, etc that would support such a conclusion – he admitted there was not. I asked him if he was aware of the info published about health benefits of alcohol, or the guidelines published by the various organizations that essentially said two drinks a day was OK for men – he admitted that he was. I then asked him what his definition of alcoholism was – he said in his opinion anyone who regularly consumed alcohol in any quantity was an alcoholic.

This is another example of erroneous information being inserted in our individual official records -- no different from inaccurate credit reporting, etc. -- about which I'm unsure what we could do. I don't expect that it will have any real adverse effect on me -- don't intend to apply for any more life or health insurance policies and my home is paid off and I don't intend to be applying for a loan to buy another one -- but that notation could impact others in potentially serious ways!

 

[dpambianchi]

I’ve always been a relatively healthy guy, but if I’d known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself(!)

I do have some chronic medical issues, and occasionally have to visit a doctor. While making such a visit recently, I discovered something that really irritated me. My doctor stepped out for a moment for some important interruption (probably his broker calling) and left my record jacket open on the desk. I was sitting right there next to him, and naturally just browsed over the notes he’d written. I was surprised to see the notation “history of alcoholism” so when the doctor returned I questioned him about it. He replied that I had stated to him that I consumed alcohol regularly, an average of about two drinks a day. That is true, I enjoy a glass or two of wine most evenings with and after dinner, and I truthfully reported that in the health questionnaire I completed for this doctor. The doctor went on to state that in his opinion people always under-reported consumption by at least a factor of two, so he assumed I had done that as well.

I asked if there was any medical indication in any of my test results, lab work, etc that would support such a conclusion – he admitted there was not. I asked him if he was aware of the info published about health benefits of alcohol, or the guidelines published by the various organizations that essentially said two drinks a day was OK for men – he admitted that he was. I then asked him what his definition of alcoholism was – he said in his opinion anyone who regularly consumed alcohol in any quantity was an alcoholic.

This is another example of erroneous information being inserted in our individual official records -- no different from inaccurate credit reporting, etc. -- about which I'm unsure what we could do. I don't expect that it will have any real adverse effect on me -- don't intend to apply for any more life or health insurance policies and my home is paid off and I don't intend to be applying for a loan to buy another one -- but that notation could impact others in potentially serious ways!

I suggest you find another doctor. He is obviously not up to date on the latest research about the health benefits of moderate wine consumption.

 

[Drez]

I would agree that your GP is wrong to report that as "Alcoholism" as any such definition would require it to be impacting your life in some negative way, to slap any sort of label on it with out any follow up is pure lazy. [Self reported answer *2 = x, if answer X > 2/day = alcoholism] is a silly formula without taking the time to probe further.

To his credit though, psychology research has shown that people persistently under-report socially undesirable activities, smoking and drinking tend to be the text book examples. I think the problem isn't the fact that he assumed you may under report drinking habits or that drinking in excess can be harmful to your health, those items are fact. The issue here is the conclusions he jumped to.

 

[PPBart]

I would agree that your GP is wrong to report that as "Alcoholism" as any such definition would require it to be impacting your life in some negative way, to slap any sort of label on it with out any follow up is pure lazy. [Self reported answer *2 = x, if answer X > 2/day = alcoholism] is a silly formula without taking the time to probe further.

To his credit though, psychology research has shown that people persistently under-report socially undesirable activities, smoking and drinking tend to be the text book examples. I think the problem isn't the fact that he assumed you may under report drinking habits or that drinking in excess can be harmful to your health, those items are fact. The issue here is the conclusions he jumped to.

I stated in my original post that I was not particularly worried about any negative impact for me. However, I've since begun to wonder about about that... When I took advantage of an early retirement offer in 2006, I decided to get a term life insurance policy to replace what my previous employer had provided. It was surprisingly difficult (actually, impossible) to find a policy at what I considered reasonable cost for a 56-yr old male non-smoker in good health. Now I wonder if some such notation somewhere in my medical records was a factor(!)

And I wonder how common that attitude and action are among medics...

 

[Minnesotamaker]

...........This is another example of erroneous information being inserted in our individual official records -- no different from inaccurate credit reporting, etc. -- about which I'm unsure what we could do. I don't expect that it will have any real adverse effect on me -- don't intend to apply for any more life or health insurance policies and my home is paid off and I don't intend to be applying for a loan to buy another one -- but that notation could impact others in potentially serious ways!......

You'll be fine until as a society we come to the conclusion that we can't afford health care in it's current form. Should rationing come about, you could be deemed an "undesirable". It's happened before... and they say that history repeats itself.

I would ask that the record be corrected. You could come in for an emergency and the physician on duty could come to a wrong conclusion by following where that assumption leads. People suffering from insulin shock can appear drunk and some have died when they were thrown into the "drunk tank" to sleep it off.

 

[George_A]

No. Cold climate does not mean that grapes have to fight fungal attacks. Climates of high humidity are more of a concern since mold can grow easily and quickly, and then the grape's defensive mechanism kicks in to fight fungal attacks and increase resveratrol production in the process. And this all varies with grape varieties.

Certain traditional wine-making areas in Sardinia and the Republic of Georgia are areas noted for their high number of centenarians and researchers have established that the wines have a higher polyphenol content than most. The reason seems to be that the vineyards are at higher altitudes, possibly affecting the levels of UV light the grapes are exposed to. Australian wines for example, from grapes grown at low altitudes, are not as high in polyphenol content.

Not everyone wants to drink wine, however, luckily there are other sources of these compounds that one can drink; green tea, pomegranates, honey and cocoa are good alternatives. The chocolate manufacturing process tends to destroy polyphenols so chocolate only contains about 5% of the original amounts. Fresh cranberry juice is as good as red wine but the juice sold in shops has lower levels than fresh cranberry juice. Pomegranate juice is probably the best source.

As a guide to equivalence two glasses (250ml) of red wine should have as much as 10 cups of green tea, six cups of cocoa, four glasses of cranberry juice or one glass of pomegranate juice.

 

[Wade E]

Great info George, thanks for sharing.