Health Effects of Wine

Marvin S. Hausman MD

October 19, 2007

As a physician I was intrigued by the fact that one of the first persons to recognize the nutritive properties of wine was the physician Hippocrates around the year 450 B.C. Hippocrates recommended specific wines to treat wounds, purge fevers, as diuretics, or for use as nutritional supplements. This famous early physician also coined the phrase "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

The subject matter of wine and health, or more so food and health is quite vast. The craft of medicine is only just beginning to open the doors to this most important aspect of life initially touched on by Hippocrates. It is my intent per invite from the Editors to further address aspects of this topic in subsequent publications. I will start with an overview of the topic and present clarifying definitions.

For a long time in history wine was considered to be a safer drink then water because the acids and alcohols in wine killed off pathogens that threatened humans. To quote Hippocrates, "It is better to be full of drink than full of food." Around 1410 a French doctor published the earliest known book about wine.

The French Paradox

On Sunday night, November 17, 1991, 60 Minutes aired a program on wine and coined the term "The French Paradox." This term was used to describe the fact that the people living in Southwestern France eat increased amounts of artery-clogging saturated fats, exercise little, and smoke Gauloise cigarettes, and have a very low heart attack rate. This happening was attributed to their moderate and daily consumption of red wine. Sales of red wine in the United States in 1992 surged almost 40%.

Once again in the United States we are rediscovering the value of wine in our society. Politics as usual has knack to interfere in medical freedom. A whole generation of physicians in the U.S. obtained their medical training during the era called "Prohibition." Believe it or not during this period, in our democratic society, medical texts were purged of any references to alcohol or wine. This political occurrence within this generation of medical educators led to a continuation of medical ignorance on the potential health benefits of wine in their medical students.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of wine are mainly based on the presence of antioxidants called Poly-Phenolic Flavonoids; the best known one being Resveratrol. These compounds are found in higher concentrations in the skin of the grape and are produced in response to pathogens that attack the grapes. What are polyphenols and antioxidants and how do grapes get their nutritive value?

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are chemicals that reduce the rate of particular oxidation reactions and are important in the context of biology. All living organisms maintain a reducing environment inside their cells and these cells have to maintain a system of antioxidants to prevent chemical damage to the cells' components by oxidation. Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements used for health purposes.

Oxidative Stress and Disease

All forms of life for well-being maintain a reducing environment within their cells. A reducing environment is established by having an excess of electrons on various chemicals within the cell. This balanced healthy cellular environment is preserved by enzymes that maintain the reduced state through a constant input of metabolic energy. Disturbances in this delicate balance by free radical production can damage all components of the cell, including proteins, lipids and DNA. In humans, oxidative stress is involved in many diseases such as bowel inflammation (Crohn's disease), Parkinson's disease, arthritis, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, even depression, and may also be involved in aging.

Polyphenols

Group of chemical substances such as tannins, lignins and flavonoids. Research indicates that polyphenols have antioxidant properties with potential health benefits. Biological effects include protection against cardiovascular diseases, stimulation of blood flow and increased insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is important because of the role of insulin in regulation of blood sugar in people with normal metabolism and especially in diabetics. In a diabetic person an increase in insulin sensitivity could potentially allow a reduction in use of medication to control the person's blood sugar levels.

Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol called a phytoalexin, a class of compounds produced as part of a plant's defense system against disease. Resveratrol is produced within the skin of the grape in response to stress, injury, infection, or ultraviolet radiation.

Wine and Nutrition

The grape plant produces resveratrol in response to foreign invasion/stress; however, most of the other nutrients and antioxidants associated with wine must be obtained/absorbed from the environment around the plant. A major player in this surrounding environment is the mushroom which supplies to the grape plant many nutrients and enzymes. The grape plant draws upon this relationship with the mushroom to acquire nutrients from the soil that are beneficial to human health. Consuming mushrooms, as with drinking wine, is one way for the human body to take in important nutrients that they may be lacking and are important in normal cellular function.

"Mushrooms provide a good example of how this process works"

Mushrooms are millenniums old and are an essential part of a sustainable world. They are involved in the decaying and recycling of matter into the nutrients that animals and plants feed on. Similar to humans they have an immune system to protect themselves against diseases. When mushrooms digest matter or food with their enzymes, they deactivate pathogens and toxins, before they absorb the digested matter into their cells. They release special antioxidants and other disease-fighting chemicals inside the cell walls where the food is absorbed. It is believed that this enzymatic/metabolic practice of mushrooms provides many of the nutrients that are also invaluable for the human immune system and for normal cellular function

What does all this mean to us?

Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from oxidative damage caused by molecules called free radicals. Free radicals are not "Political Activists" but are highly reactive compounds normally produced by the body at it uses oxygen. Significant increases in these free radicals can overwhelm the body's natural enzyme-mediated antioxidant defense system with resultant disease. These diseases include, but are not limited to, immune dysfunction, cataracts, macular degeneration, stroke, heart attacks, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Of note is that humans and animals are constantly bombarded in daily living by agents and situations that cause oxidative stress such as pollutants, smoking, noise, radiation, emotional stress, increased athletic training and chronic inflammatory disease.

It is important to understand that to receive the full anti-oxidant benefits of wine, a person must drink in moderation. Overindulgence will certainly outweigh any prolonged benefits wine can have on the human body. In moderation, red wine has shown to be very effective in the long-term health of individuals.