I've heard much about the health benefits of wine. Are these same benefits
not present or less present in grape juice or raw grapes?

Thank you for your email.

Grapes and grape juice contain important constituents that are also present in wine- namely antioxidants ( resveratrol and quertecin and trace elements such as boron, iron and vitamin complexes that are important to our health. In relation to our biggest killer in the western world - namely heart disease - it is the alcohol itself which is important in wine - or in any alcoholic beverage. PLease read the summary below by Professor R Curtis Ellison of Harvard Medical school - it is an effective summary:

Scientists have identified many mechanisms by which alcoholic beverages reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The most-studied effect is on the levels of blood cholesterol. Any type of alcoholic beverage lowers the LDL-cholesterol (the "bad cholesterol") slightly; but even more importantly, markedly increases the levels of HDL-cholesterol, the "good cholesterol."

Moderate drinkers are also less likely to form clots within the arteries to the heart (leading to a myocardial infarction), to the brain (leading to stroke), and to other organs. Part of the protection against blood clots relates to the effects of alcohol and wine on decreasing the "stickiness" of blood platelets (a function similar to aspirin); platelets tend to aggregate and lead to clots within arteries and enhance the development of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. The decrease in clotting is related both to alcohol and to non-alcoholic substances present in certain beverages, especially red wine and dark beers. Many of the effects on clotting are transient effects, and the beneficial effects may last only for 24-36 hours after someone has consumed alcohol. Much of the protection against heart disease of the French may relate to their pattern of consuming wine with meals every day. Drinking only on the weekend, especially "binge drinking," is an unhealthy way to drink.

The scientific literature is increasingly demonstrating that alcohol and/or red wine have numerous other effects that relate to the development of atherosclerosis or heart disease. Some of these effects are due to antioxidants, particularly high in red wine, that decrease the oxidation of the harmful LDL-cholesterol; oxidation makes LDL more likely to be incorporated into the vessel wall and lead to atherosclerosis. Further, alcohol and wine are now known to have favorable effects directly on the lining of blood vessels, the vascular endothelium, which is intimately involved in the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease. While heavy drinkers tend to be more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure), itself an important risk factor for coronary disease, it is now known that light-to-moderate drinkers have no increase in the risk of hypertension, and may actually have a small reduction in blood pressure. Other potentially important effects of alcoholic beverages are improvements in glucose metabolism: moderate drinkers are less likely to develop diabetes, and diabetics who drink moderately are less likely to have a heart attack. Another factor in the protection from alcohol and wine relates to their inhibition of inflammation, which is now realized to be an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis.

Beneficial Effects of Moderate Drinking on Non-vascular Diseases

Diabetes is a major health problem in the United States, and around the world, primarily because of increasing obesity. As stated above, several studies have demonstrated that moderate drinkers are less likely to develop diabetes. Another common disease associated with aging is osteoporosis, which frequently leads to hip fractures in the elderly. In many studies, moderate drinking increases bone mineral density, and reduces the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture.

Other diseases shown to occur less frequently in moderate drinkers than in abstainers include gall bladder disease and kidney stones. But the most exciting recent scientific findings are that moderate drinkers have lower rates than abstainers of Alzheimers Disease and dementia. Studies in the Framingham Study, and from France, Holland, Australia, and elsewhere, have documented that moderate drinkers tend to perform better on tests of memory and cognitive functioning, and are less likely to develop dementia. The mechanisms for such protection are not known, but may relate to prevention of atherosclerosis in the blood vessels supplying the brain. So instead of alcohol increasing the risk of becoming demented, the risk is apparently reduced in people who consume alcohol moderately.

I hope this answers your query - do email back if you have further questions.



Yours sincerely,



Helena Conibear

Editorial Director