Food & Wine When I was around 8 years old, my dad started letting me sip some wine...
(Don't worry, it was always at the dinner table and never a lot.)
I loved the German whites with surprising scents of flowers and sugared candies. I could even taste things like apples and peaches. And I was often struck by the smells and taste of strawberries and the whiffs of baking spices in the pretty Portuguese rosés...
During my college years, I introduced folks to different wines. (I made sure to get paid to do it by teaching classes on wine, so I could drink it for free!)
Eventually, I channeled this passion into owning my full-fledged winery in California, Eifrig Cellars. We grow our own grapes and bottle our own wine. But my business interests aren't the main reason I'm so offended by the nonsense about wine that's dominating the headlines lately.
My subscribers know I'm attached to wine for its health benefits, not just because I enjoy it.
I know some of you might be rattled by recent warnings in the news to avoid alcohol. Friends, family members, even my former editor-in-chief have been asking me the same question...
Doc, is it OK to drink?
The short answer is that I'm not giving up my daily glass of wine.
Now, let me make one thing clear...
Overconsumption of alcohol is hazardous. It can damage your liver and brain, raise your risk of cancer and cardiovascular problems, and lead to alcohol dependence.
What I am here to defend is responsible drinking. I'm talking about sipping one alcoholic drink a day, or sometimes two.
In the U.S., one alcoholic beverage is defined as...
- 12 ounces of a 5% alcohol-by-volume ("ABV") beer, or 8 ounces of a 7% ABV beer
- 5 ounces of a 12% ABV wine
- 5 ounces of liquor around 40% ABV
The government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest a daily maximum of two drinks for men and one drink for women.
According to the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, drinking alcohol falls under the unsavory category of "Group 1 carcinogens." That means substances with strong evidence of causing cancer in humans.
Cigarettes, asbestos, and plutonium are in the same group. So that's not esteemed company.
Well... bacon is a Group 1 carcinogen, too.
The secret is that all these are dose dependent.
It all boils down to moderation while doing your best to maintain other healthy habits.
I'm still going to meditate every morning and go for my daily afternoon walks. I'm still going to enjoy a few pieces of crispy bacon on the weekend. And I'll keep drinking wine regularly.
As for a bit of good news for me and other wine drinkers... published in Nutrients last year was a systematic review of more than 90 randomized controlled trials on studies involving red wine during the past 23 years.
Well, the results didn't surprise me much... But if you've been shaken by the antidrinking headlines, you'll likely be relieved.
Researchers concluded that both short- and long-term red-wine drinking still showed "positive effects" on health, namely on...
- Inflammation and immune function.
- Thrombosis, where you get dangerous blood clots.
- Lipid profile, like lowering levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol (a marker of oxidative stress), while increasing levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.
- Gut microbiota, which, as we know, includes the majority of our bodies' immune cells.
As for the best choice of wine for your health, that'd be reds...
That's because red wine is chock-full of naturally occurring antioxidants like resveratrol, anthocyanins (which give this vino its red-purplish color), tannins (which lend a bitterness and/or mouth-puckering astringency), catechins, quercetin, and more. And studies have shown these antioxidants help lower blood pressure, combat inflammation, protect against cognitive decline, and improve blood cholesterol and sugar.
A recent systematic review published in the June issue of Medicine found red wine decreased levels of markers of inflammation in the blood and ones related to heart disease among healthy folks (but not folks with existing cardiovascular disease) significantly more than white wine.
With all that said, if you have the slightest inkling that your drinking may be causing problems in your life, I strongly encourage you to pay attention to that feeling and do the work necessary to remedy those worries. If it's more than two glasses of wine, cut back immediately.
Moderation is the goal here, and we understand that it's a lot harder for some people to maintain that than it is for others.
Sure, I'd love for all of you to drink my wine (Eifrig Cellars)... But I'm not telling you to go out and start guzzling the stuff. I just want to explain that should you wish to indulge, wine would be your best bet for the extra antioxidants. And despite what the media has been crowing about lately, that one glass (or two) won't kill you if you incorporate it into a healthy lifestyle.
In the September issue of Retirement Millionaire, I took on the fear-mongering headlines, like... "Even light drinking is harmful to older adults, study warns: 'From the first drop'"... "Older Adults Do Not Benefit From Moderate Drinking, Large Study Finds"... "Virtually any amount increased the risk for cancer, and there were no heart benefits"...
These headlines were splashed across the news – referring to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open. And it has everyone up in arms.
But, as I explained to subscribers, it's a perfect illustration of why you shouldn't readily take things you see in the headlines at face value. Read my September issue of Retirement Millionaire to get the lowdown on libations. For a trial subscription to my flagship newsletter, click here.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Why pandas are so charmingly weird.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
October 10, 2024