THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF MODERATE WINE CONSUMPTION

The health benefit of a moderate wine consumption is an idea that has been passed on by word of mouth for some years now. Recently, medical publications have published articles and studies supporting this concept.

In the media, informative programs include interviews of doctors and experts in the nutrition field who recommend moderate wine drinking. But the normal consumer may ask these questions: What is “moderate wine consumption”? Or how much wine can be consumed without over passing the limits? We can define “moderate consumption” as the quantity of wine that can be consumed daily with benefits for our health and without being harmful.

Depending on our own personal physical characteristics such as weight, height, age, health record, etc., according to clinical and analytical studies, it has been established that what each individual may consume is proportionate to the volume of ml. multiplied by the alcoholic content divided by one thousand. Expressed mathematically, it would be:

Unit = (Volume in ml. x alcoholic content) / 1,000

Since 1990, a number of studies have stated that people who consume moderate quantities of wine show less cardiovascular diseases. In general terms the results suggest a decrease of between 30-40% in the risk of suffering heart-related diseases.

The reasons for this decrease in cardiovascular diseases can be explained in three ways:

1. An increase in HDL Cholesterol (“Good Cholesterol”): These high-density lipoproteins actively participate in the purifying of excess cholesterol in the body.
2. A decrease in LDL Cholesterol (“Bad Cholesterol”): The risk of heart diseases increases with the high concentration of LDL because when cholesterol is transported in this form, it is easily attached to the cardiovascular vessels walls which, in turn, favour the appearance of arteriosclerosis injuries.
3. A decrease in coagulation and plaque aggregation mechanisms.