Generality
Red wine is an alcoholic drink typical of the Mediterranean area, obtained by fermentation of the must of black grapes.
The production process, called red vinification, involves maceration of the grape skins together with the juice obtained from their pressing (initially yellowish in color); this allows the dilution of various molecules from the skins to the juice, including natural dyes called anthocyanins. In fact, the grapes that have dark pulp and which, as soon as they are squeezed, give rise to an already red juice are very rare.
The color of the wine produced thanks to the red vinification can vary from intense purple, for young wines, to burgundy with orange nuances, for aged wines.
Red wine is famous for its organoleptic properties (extremely variable depending on the type) and for its nutritional characteristics.
Containing ethyl alcohol, red wine cannot be considered a real "healthy" drink; on the other hand, thanks to the presence of phenolic antioxidants, it shows some health benefits.
Benefits
Generally, when it comes to the benefits of consuming red wine, the first molecule that comes to mind is resveratrol (on which there are dozens and dozens of approved scientific studies). To this non-flavonoid phenol metabolic properties of antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning properties are attributed.
Under certain conditions, a glass of red wine a day could reduce the incidence of clot-related stroke by up to 50%. Probably, it is thanks to resveratrol and other polyphenols that the so-called "French Paradox" manifests itself: in the '80s of the last century, some epidemiological studies showed that - despite the abundance of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol in the diet - in France, the incidence of hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular diseases was lower than in other dietetically comparable countries. On this apparent paradox it was speculated that the consumption of red wine could protect against heart disease; today such evidence has been strongly questioned
Resveratrol also appears to protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease-related cognitive decline.
Recently, analyzing the composition of red wine, scientists from the "University of California at Davis" have discovered another group of molecules capable of fighting excess cholesterol in the blood. These are saponins, or foaming substances soluble in alcohol and able to bind cholesterol in the intestine (including that in bile salts) reducing its absorption.
A research by the "Oregon States College of Agricultural Studies" has instead observed the reaction of guinea pigs to a nutritional diet rich in fat, with and without red wine extracts. All mice exhibited the same metabolic consequences typical of overweight sedentary humans, but those fed red wine extract revealed less fat accumulation in the liver and lower blood sugar levels. The molecule responsible for this reaction would be the "ellagic acid (also present in many vegetables and fruits, such as pomegranate), which is a phenolic antioxidant capable of hindering the accumulation of fat in cells and opposing the development of new adipocytes.
As if that weren't enough, red wine is also rich in quercetin. This flavonoid (tetraoxiflavonol) represents a metabolic inhibitor of some enzymes involved in the inflammatory response. The antioxidant functions of quercetin are to restore tocopherols (vitamin E), detoxify cells from superoxide and decrease nitric oxide secretion during inflammation. Furthermore, according to the "American Cancer Society", this flavonoid acts as a powerful anticancer , especially in the colon.
Red wine is rich in so-called tannins, also known as proanthocyanidins; these phenolic compounds, responsible for the red pigment, are very famous for their potential beneficial action at the cardiovascular level (similar to that of the various molecules mentioned above).
Excess
It is clear that the combination of the aforesaid molecules represents an extremely effective nutraceutical complex. However, as anticipated, being an alcoholic, red wine cannot be considered a real healthy drink. In fact, ethyl alcohol (which is a harmful molecule for the organism) is a chemical element with a nerve action and subject to drug addiction for man.
Among the undesirable effects of alcohol we mention:
- Psychotropic action, which means that it alters the normal function of the brain
- Irritation and inflammation of the muscles of the digestive tract (from the pharynx to the rectum)
- Increased chances of stomach acid, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux, Barrett's esophagus, intestinal disorders and cancers
- Reduction of intestinal absorption, partly direct action, partly linked to mucosal irritation followed by diarrhea
- Vitamin B1 deficiency and increased likelihood of Wernicke's encephalopathy
- Increased triglyceridemia
- Tendency to dehydration due to increased renal filtration
- Tendency to fatty liver disease, with the possibility of evolution into cirrhosis (associated with liver failure) and then into tumor forms
- Toxic action towards other tissues and organs, such as the kidneys
- Reduction of blood sugar, due to strong insulin stimulation
- Tendency to increase fat mass, especially localized in the abdominal area (since alcohol cannot be used as an energy source, it is converted into fatty acids and deposited in the adipose tissue in the form of triglycerides)
- Unwanted interactions with various drug therapies
- Contraindications for the fetus
- Complications of sleep.
Furthermore, some phenolic substances in wine (such as tannins) exert a mild chelating function on certain nutrients (for example on iron); the same is true for saponins which, on the one hand reduce the absorption of cholesterol, on the other also hinder the absorption of various lipid nutrients.
How Much Red Wine?
The acceptable ration of alcohol fluctuates between 30 and 40g per day for healthy adults, while for the elderly it drops to 25-30g; growing subjects should avoid it, as well as people who in some way could be damaged by the intake (stomach diseases, obese people, etc.).
Red wine contains about 10-11g of ethyl alcohol per 100g, which is why the relative portions are 2 or at most 3 glasses of 125ml l "one.
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