Christmas always results in people over indulging in alcohol and food. But now the New Year has passed and it seems that everyone is starting a new regime to get back into shape. Before you put away the wine until next Christmas and start drinking warm lemon water. Here at the Vino Club today we are going to look at some recent research about health benefits of traditionally made wines, health problems that can occur from drinking wine and give some recommendations on how to enjoy drinking wine without compromising your health.
UK researchers have recently discovered chemicals called procyanidins in red wine, the research suggests that procyanidins are responsible for red wine's well-documented heart-protecting effect when consumed in moderate amounts. They found traditionally made wines from Nuoro province in Sardinia and the Gers region of the Midi-Pyrenees in south-west France have on average between two and four times the level of procyanidin than wines from any other part in the world. The researchers believe the way that wines are made is the key. In traditional wine making, grapes have a three to four week fermentation period. Modern-style wines are only fermented for a week, resulting in little or no procyanidin.
Although wine has many health benefits, excess drinking raises the danger of cancers and liver disease. In moderate amounts, detoxifying small amounts of alcohol is a walk in the park for your liver. Once you exceed 4 glasses of wine per day, however, the liver goes into overdrive in order to clean out your system. The kidneys are another set of organs that help in the process. The problem arises when a continual binge occurs over alcohol for a long period of time. In this case, your liver and kidneys start to become tired and will eventually fail.
One in four English adults drinks too much, research by a government watchdog has found. Some 10 million people are consuming alcohol at hazardous levels, with stronger drinks and larger glasses especially among wine drinkers contributing to the drinking epidemic. Middle-class wine drinkers are most at risk, with seven million exceeding. The research concluded that GPs ought to be tripling the number of patients they advise on how to cut down drinking.
The NHS recommends some basic guidelines to follow in order to enjoy wine at levels that will benefit your health. Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day.
For more information on what's good and what's not when it comes to wine and your health, check out our section on Health Recommendations.