Red Wine In Moderation May Protect Gut Health

[Julieanne]

Ana Sandoiu
August 29 2019


New research suggests that drinking red wine in moderation improves the bacterial diversity in our guts and may protect our overall health.

Many scientific studies have looked into the alleged benefits of red wine consumption.
From the popular notion that a little bit of red wine is good for the heart, to the less known theory that compounds in red wine may benefit depression or oral health, drinking red wine in moderation seems to have a lot of hidden therapeutic potential.


Read more: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...20Daily%20News

[Islander]

Hmmm. Mostly I drink my homemade wine. Dandelion and apple are white; raspberry, blackberry, elderberry, plum are red. I forget what color rhubarb is, but it doesn't matter because I'll not brew that one again!
When I host a modest dinner party I serve store-bought wine because I don't feel my humble home brewed product suffices. It's pretty basic: red wine with lamb and beef, white wine with pork and poultry. Am I right? If I get lucky, guests bring wine and I'm off the hook for making poor choices!

[Mr. Wizard]

You're right about the wine/food combos. I like white wine with seafood too. One basic, very smooth, impressive wine that goes with almost everything is a Merlot. It's lighter in color than most red wines, but it's very pleasant tasting and meshes with the flavor of almost any food. On topic: From a health perspective, I don't know that any other wine begins to compare to a deeply dark red wine, like a cabernet. I drink it for the resveratrol.

[Maurya]

Actually there is more resveratrol in merlot or pinot noir than in cabernet.

[Islander]

And pinot noir is one of my favorites.

[Mr. Wizard]

Actually there is more resveratrol in merlot or pinot noir than in cabernet.

Thank you, Maurya. You just made my day!! I can ditch the cabernet for more merlot, which I enjoy more than cabernet anyway. Woot, woot.

[Rastysa]

This is great news, because I love to drink a glass of wine in the evening.

[grulla]

This is great news, because I love to drink a glass of wine in the evening.

And not just red wine for the resveratol, but DRY red wine, in order to avoid too much sugars/carbs. NOSTROVIA!

[Mr. Wizard]

Indiviidual winemakers determine how dry the wine is. Cabernet can be both dry and sweet, depending on the maker. Generally speaking, though, cabernet and pinot noir tend to be much drier than zinfandel and port.

[Islander]

Since I make my own, I can't tell you how sweet or dry it is (well I could, but I don't test). OTOH, since I only indulge once or twice a week, I don't give it much thought.

[Mr. Wizard]

I'm with you....I don't pay much attention to how sweet or dry. I do, however, care about the pesticide residue and fluoride in wine. Grapes show up on the Environmental Working Group's list of "dirty dozen" every year because they are heavily sprayed with chemicals. Grapes used for wine are sprayed with two fluoride-based pesticides called cryolite and sulfuryl fluoride. The only way to avoid the fluoride and chemicals in wine is to drink wine made from organic grapes. The only organic wines I'm aware of are the ones made by Bonterra. Never had it but will experiment one day.
Read more about fluoride and pesticides in wine here: https://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/f-pesticides/

[grulla]

"Mr. Wiz", arsenic in wine is yet another concern, and "Islander" found this related link over 4 years ago which may need some updating??? https://patch.com/georgia/cumming/wh...nous-arsenic-0

[Mr. Wizard]

Thanks, grulla. I checked and it appears the collective efforts of the California Wine Industry succeeded in getting the case thrown out of court a year later. California wines were also identified as having high levels of the pesticide cryolite, which I discuss above.

[Islander]

Mostly I drink my own wine, which is made entirely from organic fruits and berries I grow or forage: rhubarb, raspberry, blackberry, peach, plum, dandelion, elderberry and my favorite, apple-maple.