Headline-grabbers and neo prohibitionist groups are trying to dub wine drinking as worse than smoking. An ocean of scientific studies of different shape, size and origin are thrown at your face with a claim that drinking would soon become socially unacceptable.

The belief that alcohol was a potential cure for health problems has been documented in several books and articles in the past. This doctrine was largely abandoned by the medical profession in the 20th century for their commercial prosperity. The ‘60 Minutes’ Report on “The French Paradox” in 1991 rekindled the benefits of wine. There have been several studies since, suggesting lower incidents of heart disease with moderate consumption of red wine.

Sales of red wine grew by nearly 40 per cent in 1992, after the Study came out. Subsequently, the research studies and the funding also grew in direct proportion with the growth in wine sales. The Mediterranean diet took precedence because of its ability to improve the health of anyone who drank red wine with it in moderation.

US Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans prescribed every 5 years is soon to be announced. It is universally known that it offers a big bonanza to the medical and pharmaceutical industry. For instance the BP was earlier considered out of range if it was over 140/90, you were not a diabetes patient if your HbA1c was 8. The total cholesterol was fine if it was 240. Gradually the benchmark was made tighter and today if you are not 120/80, with HbA1c more than 6, or Cholesterol not less than 160, you are not healthy and need to consult a doctor who will put you on expensive medication for the rest of your life. And what better way for a neo-prohibitionist to instill the fear of Cancer in you. You get the point?

Contradictory Evidence

While the Surgeon General concedes that moderate alcohol consumption may offer health benefits in relation to cardiovascular disease, this evidence is not reviewed and other potential benefits of alcohol are ignored. There has been a U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and heart disease. Moderate drinkers are known to have better cardiovascular health than teetotalers. Some studies did discover a risk of 10% if you  drink one glass of wine daily and it shoots up.

One may argue that this is enough of a risk –it shoots up to 30% with 3 glasses a day. But as Dr. Curtis Ellison of Boston, who I met at a medical conference a couple of times in the early 2000s, and who has been one of the protagonists of the French Paradox, told delWine that the breast cancer risk for women could be neutralized if they took folates regularly.

In any case, today the vegetables and fruits and the junk food we eat with seed oils and preservatives, the water we drink and the highly polluted air we breathe have manifold chances of cancer with no positives like better heart health, means that if you look at the big picture, wine is positively an elixir.

It is also a known fact that wealthier and better educated people drink wine, eat better and have a longer life too. Drinking wine in moderation is a lifestyle and they are overall healthier.  This fact is ignored by researchers possibly because they are motivated to prevent the ravages of problem drinking. Thus there are flaws in thinking in both the camps.

Laura’s Theme

Laura Catena, a Stanford-educated medical doctor who is both a physician and fourth-generation vintner and currently the Managing Director of the premier Catena Zapata winery in Argentina, strikes a balance between the wine and a physician. She is critical of the factually incorrect messages based on half-baked and non-conclusive articles in the Press. In fact, to combat misinformation, she has launched ‘In Defense of Wine’, an online resource promoting evidence-based information about moderate alcohol consumption’s health effects. Based on her medical background and extensive review of scientific literature, she says:

Nuanced Health Effects: While heavy drinking has explicit harmful effects, moderate alcohol consumption has been proven with potential benefits like reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and diabetes. Studies have shown cardio-protective effects of moderate drinkers, thanks to increased HDL cholesterol and reduced clot formation.

Flaws in Recent Studies: Many high-profile studies cited in anti-alcohol articles cherry pick the data to suit their ant-alcohol bias. For instance, a Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs dismisses benefits of moderate drinking but relies on cherry-picked data and omits key studies. Methodological issues, including misrepresented references and failure to account for drinking patterns have been major drawbacks.

Alcohol and Cancer: Laura acknowledges the link between heavy alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk but says the risks for moderate drinkers are often overstated. For example, moderate drinking may increase breast cancer risk slightly but one can also lower risks of some other cancers. A balanced assessment should also consider other major cancer risk factors, such as obesity and smoking. 

WHO Message: She is critical of the blanket statement of the World Health Organization that no level of alcohol is safe, suggesting it dismisses nuanced data in favor of prohibitionist ideology. She calls for more balanced public health messaging that allows individuals to make informed decisions in consultation with healthcare providers. Wine was considered a healthy elixir that could also be prescribed by the doctors as medicine. From ancient Greece, where Hippocrates prescribed it as medicine, to 19th-century Europe, where wine was touted as a cure-all, its medicinal role was after-all widely accepted. Today, however, wine’s health implications are scrutinized through the lens of modern science.

Moderation remains a recurring theme. While some studies highlight the potential benefits of moderate wine consumption, excessive alcohol use is linked to significant health risks, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. One must balance the historical reverence for wine with the realities of current scientific research.

Moderate consumption, particularly as part of the Mediterranean diet, remains a key area of interest. This diet emphasizes whole, nutrient-rich foods paired with small amounts of wine consumed during meals. This can be used to position wine as part of a balanced lifestyle.

To summarize, balancing Tradition, Science, and Trends should be your practical Guide to Wine and Health.

Subhash Arora

There are several Studies which have been detailed in several Articles written in www.indianwineacademy.com regarding wine and health. We encourage you to Search the Site to read some of them- editor