Health research suggests “wine is good for you” – again!

I confess to being a little cynical about the various health scares and advice when it comes to food and wine! Unless there is clear and substantial medical evidence (as there has been with cigarettes) then I tend to take the view that most things are OK in moderation. For some time there has been a body of medical opinion that wine in moderation can be good for you – e.g. reducing blood pressure risks.  The Wine Diet by Roger Corder in his book “The Red Wine Diet” suggested that red wines from two small regions, one in South West France, the other the island of Sardinia, have the the highest concentrations of a chemical that underlies the wine’s benefits for cardiovascular health – see.RED wine is good for you!

It all sounds reassuring, but like most people I rationalise and dismiss the reported outcome of research which I do not want to be true. However, the latest nonsense suggests that (for men, at least) the more wine we drink, the greater the benefits for reducing the risks of heart disease.  Somehow I suspect that this prescription is more likely to kill you from liver or kidney failure well before you can enjoy the benefits of lower heart disease risk!

Like many, I probably drink a bit more wine than I should (or will admit to when I see the GP), but I know that there is more enjoyment to be had from sipping better wine than gulping down more of something mediocre. Of course, the picture is complicated by increasing alcohol levels in many wines compared to 10-15 years ago, with the result of enhancing the effect of the wine (i.e. alcohol) at the expense of subtlety and flavour.  Quality before Quantity!