Effects of Red Wine

Moderate consumption of red wine may decrease the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. The pigments found in grapes, such as anthocyanins and tannins, may protect against viruses and inhibit the formation of dental plaque. 

Gin Neutral spirits plus orangepeel and juniper berries No 

Distillation Alcohol Content (Percent by Volume) Calories3 (per 100 cc) 

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R. Rodrigo and G. Rivera, Renal damage mediated by oxidative stress a hypothesis of protective effects of red wine. Free Rad. Biol. Med. 33, 409—422 (2002). 

Recently, the possible synergistic interaction between flavonoids has been thoroughly discussed in connection with the cardioprotective effect of red wine and purple grape juice. 

Resveratrol has a long history. It was initially isolated from the roots of white hellebore in 1940. No one paid much attention. In 1963, it was isolated from a plant used for centuries in traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine. Again, this did not attract much attention. The story got a lot hotter in 1992 when the presence of resveratrol in red wine was suggested to be associated with the cardioprotective effects of red wine. 

Estruch, R., Sacanella, E., Badia, E., Antunez, E., Nicolas, J.M., Fernandez-Sola, J., Rotilio, D., De Gaetano, G., Rubin, E., and Urbano-Marquez, A., Different effects of red wine and gin consumption on inflammatory biomarkers of atherosclerosis a prospective randomized crossover trial effects of wine on inflammatory markers, Atherosclerosis, 175, 117, 2004. 

Gin, H., Rigalleau, V., Caubet, O., Masquelier, J., and Aubertin, J., Effects of red wine, tannic acid, or ethanol on glucose tolerance in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients and on starch digestibility in vitro. Metabolism, 48, 1179, 1999. 

In a prospective study of 3454 men and women (age 55 years and older), a significant inverse association between the intake of catechin-rich tea and radiographically quantified aortic atherosclerosis was found [200], Similarly, inverse association between the consumption of red wine and CHD mortality (French paradox) have been suggested [201]. This beneficial effect of red wine may be due to the antioxidant ability of the wine phenolics to inhibit the oxidation of LDL to an atherogenic form [202],... 

Furthermore, polyphenolics present in wine, of which flavonoids are important components, have been suggested to be responsible of the so called French paradox, that is, the unexpectedly low rate of mortality from coronary heart disease in French population despite an unfavourable exposure to known cardiovascular risk factors such as high saturated fat consumption [19-21]. Epidemiological studies in USA [22] and Denmark [23] reported that moderate red wine drinkers had a lower risk of coronary artery disease than participants with no alcoholic beverage preference. However, controversial results about the antioxidant capacity of human serum after red wine consumption have been reported [24-27]. It is therefore uncertain whether wine constituents other than alcohol add to the cardioprotective effects of red wine. 

Wu YL, Ohsaga A, Oshiro T, Iinuma K, Kondo Y, Ebihara S, Sasaki H, Maruyama Y. 2005. Suppressive effects of red wine polyphenols on voltage-gated ion channels in dorsal root ganglionic neuronal cells. Tohoku J Exp Med 206 141-150. 

Wallerath T, Li H, Godtel-Ambrust U, Schwarz PM, Forstermann U. 2005. A blend of polyphenolic compounds explains the stimulatory effect of red wine on human endothelial NO synthase. Nitric Oxide 12 97-104. 

Pomegranates contain polyphenols that are potent antioxidants with three times the antioxidant effect of red wine or green tea. The effect of these chemicals may provide protection against heart disease and cancer (see Chapter 31). The juice of wild pomegranates yields citric acid and sodium citrate for pharmaceutical purposes. Pomegranate juice is used for treating dyspepsia and is considered beneficial in leprosy. 

Another fashionable molecule is resveratrole, which may be responsible for the beneficial effects of red wine in preventing heart disease. It is a quite different organic compound with two benzene rings and you can read about it in Chapter 51. 

Now, there are many evidences, which support the cardioprotective effects of red wine. These cardioprotective properties of wine might have... 

Baron-Menguy, C., Boequet, A., Guihot, A. L., Chappard, D., Amiot, M. J., Andriantsitohaina, R., Loufrani, L., Henrion, D. (2007). Effects of red wine polyphenols on postischemic neovascularization model in rats low doses are proangiogenic, high doses anti-angiogenic. FASEB J., 75,3511-3521. 

Whitehead, T. P., Robinson, D., Allaway, S., Syms, J., Hale, A. (1995). Effect of red wine ingestion on the antioxidant capacity of serum. Clin. Chem., 41, 32-35. 

V3. Vinson, J. A., and Hontz, B. A., Phenol antioxidant index Comparative antioxidant effectiveness of red wines. J. Agric. Food Chem. 43, 401-403 (1995). 

Lanas A, Serrano P, Bajador E, Fuentes J, Guardia J, Sainz R. Effect of red wine and low dose aspirin on the risk or t per gastrointestinal bleeding. A case-control study. Gastroenterology (2000)118(Suppl. 2)A251. 

Antioxidant and prooxidant effects of red wine and its fractions on Cu(Il) induced LDL oxidation evaluated by absorbance and Chemiluminescence measurements. Free radical research. 39,2,175-183. 

Ranaldi, G., Mancini, E., Ferruzza, S., Sambuy, Y. Perozzi, G. (2007) Effects of red wine on ochratoxin A toxicity in intestinal Caco-2/TC7 cells. Toxicol. In Vitro 21, 204-210. Rasonyi, T. (1995) Mechanistic Investigations In ochratoxin A induced nephrotoxicity and their relevance for the sex specific renal tumor Induction in rats. Zurich, Switzerland, University of Zurich (Dissertation ETH No. 11343). 

So what causes this unique effect of red wine Part of the story is the high trace element content in comparison with beer or spirits, but this is not all. White wine and red wine are very similar as far as the main components are concerned. Red wine, however, contains about 20 times more of polyphenol derivatives than white wine. Alcohohc beverages are pro-oxidants, which means that they increase the intensity of oxidation processes. Alcohol itself is responsible for this effect. Red wine, however, is an antioxidant (—>3.31) thanks to its polyphenol content. Antioxidants were very intensely researched in the 1980s and 1990s, which also contributed to the increasing interest in red wine. The presence of polyphenols is required for this effect, but this is still not the whole story. 

The beneficial effects of red wine are by no means a eonsequenee of a single substance. Different polyphenols and the interaction between them are responsible for the effect together, which is much greater than when only a few isolated substances are used. Some main compounds have been identified in the studies, and fra 5-resveratrol seems to be a rather unique one. 

In recent years, wine consumption was also linked to the development of tumors— but not in a positive way this time. Overconsumption of alcohol was proved to increase the risk of cancer in multiple studies. This is thought to be the consequence of the pro-oxidant and DNA damaging effects of alcohol consumption. But moderate drinking is not quite innocent, either it was shown to increase the risk of breast cancer (irrespectively of the source of alcohol, i.e. red wine included), especially among women with low body mass indexes. These results call for caution although the antioxidant effect of red wine is beyond doubt, it still cannot be recommended as a preventive tool against cancer. 

There have been more positive conclusions, too. Another hnman test showed that drinking red wine, or alcohol-fiee red wine and alcohol together lowered DNA damage cansedby other factors, but alcohol alone did not have such activity. Again, this is not evidence of the anticancer effect of red wine or its polyphenols, but useful additional information. 

Yet all this does not answer the original question on red wine consumptioa Is it recommended after all, or does the aleohol eontent ruin the whole thing By this point, the reader may have learned not to expeet a yes-or-no answer. As written in the previous paragraphs, moderate red wine eonsumption seems to have beneficial cardiovascular effects, but some additional studies show the same for other alcoholic drinks as well. The mechanisms behind the effects of red wine are partially known, it seems better than other alcoholic drinks, yet randomized, double blind studies of the highest clinical quality are still missing. A report published by WHO in 2003 mentions a general cardiovascular benefit of moderate alcohol consumption without singling out red wine as the most likely reason. Even so, this report does not recommend this practice because of the known risks. 

Trau -resveratrol is added to several dietary supplements with the assumption that it will have the beneficial effects of red wine. This assumption has not yet been tested scientifically. Grape and wine are very complicated mixtures of chemicals, so other compounds, thus far unknown, may also be highly significant. Individual differences in human life styles may add a large amount of deviation to any observations. Resveratrol is sensitive to oxidation in capsules, its aetual amount may be much lower than the label says. In such a concentrate, resveratrol is not protected from oxidation by other components present in red wine. 

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