HERBSPHERE
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‘A jug of Wine … Not all Beer and ….or a Polite Sherry?’ Bend the elbow with moderation is the cry! Well, in the UK anyway. Wine drinking may be on the wane since students plumped for bringing a bottle of wine to ‘bottle parties’ in the 1960s and white wine and soda or spritzers may be falling a little flat since the 80s and 90s. However, the ‘weight-Fate’ has so gripped the USA that one company in Lousiville, Kentucky, is bent on squeezing the carbohydrates out of its newest wines. What will the wineries of Down-under, the French and other wine producing countries say to that! The company concerned is intent on introducing low-carb wines in the States, where carb-light products are fast becoming fundamental to ‘the battle with the bulge’ and where the Atkins diet and similar eating programmes are popular. Beer is getting the same treatment by other companies too. The idea is to remove as much sugar as possible from the grapes during fermentation. Let us hope they are not throwing any babies out with the bathwater, as wine has many health benefits as does beer. Many in the UK think of wine and France synonymously, the Mediterranean diet and good health and sunshine. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has been found to contain polifenoles in their skin, which reduce the production of a protein called ‘endotelina-1’, which is responsible for the narrowing of blood vessels that in turn can lead to diminishing of the flow of oxygen to the heart.1 A Japanese study on this grape also found that moderate consumption may protect against the wear and tear of the brain and that habitual drinkers of wine have a much lower index of mental illness. The peptides suppressed the degradation levels of the bioactive peptides vasopressin, which are involved in memory and neural communication.1&2 However, the latest kid on the block for ‘moderate drinking’ for good health is Sherry. Where the ‘health stakes’ are involved the black bull of Spain has recently entered the arena and lowered his horns ready to charge at the health band-wagon.
From the dark, dense, fruity wines of La Rioja, the smallest region of mainland Spain and one of the most important wine growing areas of Europe, to the vast panoply of eight provinces of Andalucia the wine-producing region of south-western Spain, the grape is king. Jerez de la Frontera is capital of the Sherry world. Sherry production stretches between the Guadalqivir and Guadalete rivers and is a symbol of ‘alegria’ meaning, good company, and ‘agreeability’ with a un pico of the gypsy in its spirit. Is it little wonder then that the latest sherry research comes from Seville. The University of Seville reported that antioxidant polyphenols found in red wine and known to increase HDL levels and curtail oxidation of cholesterol, which would otherwise promote heart disease, are also present in sherry.3 Take your pick – remembering to follow moderate consumption - the beneficial physiological effect was found in all four of the major sherry types, fragrant full-bodied Oloroso; Manzanilla, a very dry pale sherry; crisp, fresh and bone-day Fino and pale medium dry Amontillado. 3 In the study, all wines were produced from the same ‘palamino’ grape and irrespective of differences in alcohol content, results suggest that the grape’s compounds were responsible for the good effects, not alcohol. The grape is definitely ahead of beer or spirits in health benefits according to an overview study on wine, health and mortality in 2003. “The results of various prospective population studies show that intake of beer and sprits from abstention to light to moderate daily intake did not influence mortality, while wine seems to have a beneficial effect on all causes of mortality.” In fact, the risk of mortality is 20-30% lower than in abstainers for those who drink wine in moderation. 4 Here’s to longevity! But, keep in mind Madeira is a ‘fortified’ wine, which means it has spirits added to it, so virtuous ladies stick to the sherry!
Have some madeira, M'dear Extracted from ‘Have some Madeira, M’dear’ by Swan & Flanders. COMMENT: There is a potential problem with this heart-warming research, which may or may not apply to Sherry or to the same degree.
“Researchers at Northwestern University Medical School have found a chemical in red wine believed to help reduce risk for heart disease is a form of oestrogen. The substance, resveratrol, is highly concentrated in the skin of grapes and is abundant in red wine.” Apart from protecting the grape itself against fungal infections, resveratrol has been shown to have many potential benefits, including it being an antioxidant, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic. Because the chemical has a similar molecular structure to that of diethylstilbestrol, which is a synthetic oestrogen, it led the University colleagues Barry D. Gehm and Larry Jameson MD to investigate whether this natural phyto-oestrogen (plant oestrogen) might have similar properties to the major human oestrogen ‘estradiol’. “The researchers found that resveratrol could replace estradiol in supporting the proliferation of certain breast cancer cells that require oestrogen for growth.” The problem is complex because oestrogen is known to provide some protection against heart disease, and red wine likewise. They both increase ‘good’ cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and this effect may be mediated by resveratrol. However, such tests carried out on cells in laboratories do not always interface with the human being. It remains to be seen if the body absorbs enough resveratrol from wine to make the findings of concern. Indeed, previously some researchers found that resveratrol would be beneficial with which to supplement the diet, because of it has anti-carcinogenic and anti-arteriosclerotic properties. This latest research suggests that might have undesirable side effects. The upside for the pharmaceutical industry could be that if the observation that resveratrol produces greater expression of some oestrogen-regulated genes than estradiol; it may lead to the development of new oestrogenic drugs. Selective oestrogens currently used in treatment of breast cancer include Tamoxifen and in postmenopausal osteoporosis Raloxifene. References: 1 ‘Recent discovered benefits of red wine health www.wine-online-reviews.com/red-wine-health.html 2 ‘Prolyl endopeptidase inhibitory peptides in wine.’ Yanai T, et al , Mercian Corporation, Wine & Spirits Research Institute, Japan. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2003 Feb;67(2):380-2 3 Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture March 2004 Vol. 84 online. - Ref: ”Natural Products”, May 2004, Issue No.115. 4 ‘Overview of edpidemiological studies on wine, health and mortality’ Ruf JC. Oenology – Wine, Nutrition and Health-Methods of Analysis Unit, International Vine and Wine Office, Paris, France. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 2003;29(5-6):173-9. 5 Main News Source: Article ‘Red wine’s health Benefits May Be Due In Part to ‘Oestrogen’ In Grape Skin – Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago. Barry D Gehm, research asst. Proffessor of Medicine, J Larry Jameson MD, C. F. Kettering Professor of Medicine and Chief o Endocrinology Northwestern Uv. Medical School; Joanne M McAndrews and Pei-Yu Chien. www.sceincedaily.com
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