The wine and other alcoholic beverages have been delivered to the honor because of their medicinal properties. The wine, or more exactly it contains alcohol, has a protective effect against heart disease.
The population of wine consumers are better protected than others. This protective effect was more marked in the elderly or people with metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity + diabetes + hypertension). Keeping in mind that alcohol consumption has remained moderate.
The protective effects of wine
Alcohol is primarily responsible for this protective effect, and as beer and spirits are also beneficial. However, wine is a product rich in various components, in addition to alcohol, and each year we discover new molecules benefactors in wine, particularly red wine. This indeed has a positive role in lipid metabolism, has anti-oxidant, vasodilator, decreases platelet aggregation and inflammation are the main factors of atherosclerosis. Those responsible for these effects are flavonoids that are also found in chocolate, tea and pepper, polyphenols (in particular procyanidins that are found mostly in the wines of south-west), resveratrol , quercetin and many other components being identified. The revestratol is a natural antibiotic that is found mainly in grape Tannat and Merlot, and lesser amounts in the Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The real or supposed virtues of wine have little impact on French consumers are witnessing an annual decline in consumption, which was 43 liters per capita per year in 2007, an consumption three times lower than in 1960.
This disaffection for wine (but not distilled spirits, which, however, are up) accompanied by a debate on the supposed benefits of wine consumption or abstinence. For oncologists, alcohol has more disadvantages than advantages, and its consumption, the first glass, increases the risk of cancer disease. Whenever possible alcohol in all its forms, must be avoided.
This position is not unanimously, including the world of medicine, where alcohol, in small quantities daily (equivalent to 2 glasses of wine) has incomparable virtues to the cardiovascular system and metabolism due to its anti-oxidant qualities. Wine consumption also protect against the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Different effects depending on context
The effects of wine would be different depending on the food environment: a diet rich in omega-6 as Powered through the current increase production more carcinogenic free radicals that diets rich in omega-3. Similarly, among women, a diet rich in vitamin B12 (green vegetables) protect against the potential effects of wine on the risk of breast cancer. The association between smoking + alcohol is particularly harmful for cancers of the throat and esophagus, while the wine itself does not increase the risk. Finally there are many cases where one might think that the wine has a protective role against cancer, as in the case of prostate cancer.
The ideal is to consume wine in small quantities with meals, especially during a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables and omega-3.
