Drinking to your health?

In France, a common expression when toasting loved ones is: À votre santé! Translated, this means: To your health! And it turns out that research is revealing that moderate drinking may improve our well being. In fact, people who drink alcoholic beverages moderately have a much lower risk of heart attacks and strokes than those who abstain or abuse it. 


Studies that focus on alcohol consumption and health show that it doesn’t matter what type of beverage contains the alcohol. It appears alcohol itself provides the majority of the cardio-protection by favourably influencing our blood cholesterol -- which prevents plaque from clogging our arteries -- and providing an anti-coagulant effect that reduces the likelihood of blood clots.


Wine, particularly red wine, may provide additional benefits because of polyphenolic compounds that are concentrated in grape skins. While both red and white wines contain phenolic compounds, they’re more abundant in reds since these wines are made with the skins.

 “So far over 200 polyphenolic compounds have been identified in red wine and many act as antioxidants,” says Iain Philip, the senior wine instructor at the Art Institute of Vancouver and part-owner of Barbariain Wine Consulting.

 “One compound getting most of the attention is resveratrol, which appears to have a positive effect on cardiovascular health. But researchers aren’t clear whether it’s the individual components in wine that provide the health benefits or if it’s how all the different compounds work together.”


But do these studies looking at wine and health take into consideration other factors that improve our physical well being? Wine drinkers are usually from higher social-economic classes and have access to good medical care, not to mention healthier lifestyle choices. Drinking wine won’t impart the same benefits if we aren’t eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking and exercising regularly.


The key to deriving the positive health effects of wine and other alcoholic beverages is not over-imbibing. Excessive drinking increases our risk of coronary heart disease. 


In Canada, moderate drinking is defined as 1 to 2 standard drinks daily with a maximum weekly total of 9 and14 drinks for women and men, respectively. A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer at 5 per cent alcohol by volume (abv), 1.5 ounces of spirits at 40 per cent abv, or 5 ounces of wine at 12 per cent abv. A wine that’s higher than 12 per cent abv will provide more than a standard drink in each glass.


Our drinking pattern matters as much as the volume we consume. If we drink, we should have a little on a regular basis and not save up our weekly total for the weekend.


If you don’t drink alcohol now, don’t start because of possible heart health benefits.   For a variety of reasons, some of us shouldn’t go near the stuff. But if you do like a beer or glass of wine, relax and enjoy yourself being mindful not to over-indulge.  


published in The Beacon, February 1, 2012