Since 1970 over 400 health studies worldwide have described and verified the amazing health benefits of red wine.
There are individual health advantages such as a 50% reduced risk of heart disease, a 50% reduced risk of blood clot related stroke, a 58% reduced risk of type two diabetes, a 56% reduced risk of lung cancer, 42%-70% reduced risk of dementia, 59% reduced risk of kidney stones, a 32% reduced chance of developing cataracts and more, all related to people that consume moderate amounts of wine on a daily basis, but the researchers doing the studies found a general tonic effect on the entire spectrum of human health concerns.
In 1996 doctors with the Harvard School for Public Health concluded that drinking wine was one of the best ways to reduce the risk of heart attacks, achieve lower general mortality rates and improve the basic health condition. These same health benefits are seen in all age groups from young adult (early 20's) to seniors over 70 years of age. It is said that a rising tide lifts all ships and red wine consumption is the rising tide that improves health advantages for the entire human system.
The value to the system of regular, moderate wine consumption was shown in the Framingham Heart Study of 1970 but did not become public knowledge, thanks to the puritanical zeal of the National Institute of Health, who suppressed the information for a decade until the 1980 Honolulu Heart study again proved that wine drinking on a regular basis reduced the risk of coronary heart disease by 50% compared to teetotalers. This important public health information was still kept within the inner circles of the medical professions frustrated prohibitionists and out of the hands of the public until November of 1991 when the program "60 Minutes" did a show on the French Paradox.
The diet of the people of France being made up of fatty, cholesterol laden foods similar to that of the population of the United States, it made sense that the heart disease rates would be similar in both countries. Curiously the rate of heart disease in America was six times higher than that of France and the reason was their passion for wine.
After that the lid was off and dozens of studies were followed by hundreds more, all verifying and expanding on the overall health advantages to be gained by consuming two or three glasses of wine (6 ounces each) with meals low in meat and animal fat and high in fresh fruit and vegetables, lots of pasta and wine (the Mediterranean diet).
The amount of wine and its consumption with food seems to be the key to maximizing the health benefits attained. A six ounce glass of wine a day is the absolute minimum for gaining the minimum advantage while 12-18 ounces (2-3 glasses) more than doubles the benefit. Anything more than that on a daily basis and you get diminishing returns. That works out to a glass of wine with lunch and two with dinner to achieve outstanding advantages to your health. Paracelsus the famous German physician wrote in the 1500's, "Whether wine is a nourishment, a medicine or poison is a matter of dosage.".
Interactive chemistry seems to fortify the individual effects of wines component parts. In a number of studies ethyl alcohol was shown to be an active agent in rendering positive results for specific health concerns but when this was combined with the various chemical constituents of wine the health advantages improved exponentially. Polyphenols such as gallic and tannic acids, flavinoids and reservetol are just a few of the many beneficial components of dry red wines.
These compounds individually are shown to have positive affect such as reducing inflammation, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and anti-oxidant effects that prevent cell damage from free radicals. But when working in combination the results are synergistic. To quote the researchers of the 12 year Copenhagen Heart Study, "Our finding, that only wine drinking clearly reduces both the risk of dying from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and the risk of dying from other causes suggest that other, more broadly acting factors in wine may be present.".
Some people, for what ever reason, want to gain the tremendous benefits of wine without actually drinking it. To date, this is not possible and as a group of doctors explain in the British medical journal "The Lancet", "If wine is ever found to contain a constituent that is protective against cardiovascular disease, then we consider it almost a sacrilege that this constituent be isolated. The medicine is already in a highly palatable form.".
Women seem to gain particular advantage from regular wine consumption as shown by the massive, Harvard School of Public Health research, "Nurses Health Study" that over 80,000 women participated in over a 14 year period in the 1990's. With ages ranging from 25-80 years and the large number of individuals involved, it allowed a comprehensive catalog of the benefits women derived from drinking two glasses (6 ounces each) of wine per day, consumed with food.
One aspect of the Nurses Health Study tested 17 beverages (including water, milk, coffee, tea, fruit juices and wine) and found that wine reduced the risk of developing kidney stones by 59% compared to all other beverages tested. Along with the well established 50% reduced risk of heart disease the study found that women 25-42 years old had a 58% reduced risk of getting type 2 diabetes when they drank 2-3 glasses of wine per day compared to abstainers. In women 70-80 years, that consumed a moderate amount of wine (2-3 glasses) every day, they were deemed to be two years younger in terms of cognitive function than their non-drinking counterparts.
To quote the Harvard authors of the NHS, "For women as a group, light to moderate alcohol consumption offers significant survival advantages."
Low levels of alcohol in the bloodstream triggers the release of acetylcholine which has a positive affect on learning and memory. In men and women 55 years and older, moderate regular consumption of wine gave a 42% reduced risk of developing any type of dementia and a 70% less chance of developing vascular dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. There is also some protection for Alzheimer prone people with the gene variant Apo E4. These findings were published in "The Lancet", the British medical journal in early 2002.
In 2001 the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that adults of the average age of 74 years, that consumed two glasses of wine per day have a risk factor of heart failure that is 47% lower than abstainers regardless of age, race, blood pressure, history of diabetes, smoking and other factors.
Wine is a tonic, its powers are preventive rather than curative. The maximum health advantage is to be derived by regular daily consumption of two to three glasses (6 ounces each) with food. The wine with the highest levels of beneficial ingredients are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Petit Syrah with Merlot and Zinfandel close seconds.