Health effects of wine
[17] A 2018 systematic analysis found that "The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0·0–0·8) standard drinks per week".
[18] On the other hand, a 2020 USDA systematic review found that "low average consumption was associated with lower risk of mortality compared with never drinking status".
[23] The risk of infection from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with gastritis and peptic ulcers, appears to be lower with moderate alcohol consumption.
[29] In 2008, researchers from Kingston University in London discovered red wine[30] to contain high levels of toxic metals relative to other beverages in the sample.
[31] Risk assessment was calculated using "target hazard quotients" (THQ), a method of quantifying health concerns associated with lifetime exposure to chemical pollutants.
[34][35] In a news bulletin following the widespread reporting of the findings, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) were also concerned that "the way the researchers added together hazards from different metals to produce a final score for individual wines may not be particularly meaningful".
[35] Commentators in the US questioned the relevance of seafood-based THQ assessments to agricultural produce, with the TTB, responsible for testing imports for metal ion contamination, have not detected an increased risk.
[34] Whereas the NHS also described calls for improved wine labeling as an "extreme response" to research which provided "few solid answers", they acknowledged the authors call for further research to investigate wine production, including the influence that grape variety, soil type, geographical region, insecticides, containment vessels and seasonal variations may have on metal ion uptake.
[35] Although red wine contains many chemicals under basic research for their potential health benefits, resveratrol has been particularly well studied and evaluated by regulatory authorities, such as the European Food Safety Authority and US Food and Drug Administration which identified it and other such phenolic compounds as not sufficiently understood to confirm their role as physiological antioxidants.
[37][45] Although anthocyanins are under basic and early-stage clinical research for a variety of disease conditions, there exists no sufficient evidence that they have any beneficial effect in the human body.
[37] The US FDA has issued warning letters, e.g.,[46] to emphasize that anthocyanins are not a defined nutrient, cannot be assigned a dietary content level and are not regulated as a drug to treat any human disease.
The Greek physician Hippocrates considered wine a part of a healthy diet, and advocated its use as a disinfectant for wounds, as well as a medium in which to mix other drugs for consumption by the patient.
While treating gladiators in Asia Minor, the Roman physician Galen would use wine as a disinfectant for all types of wounds, and even soaked exposed bowels before returning them to the body.
In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul the Apostle recommended that his young colleague drink a little wine every now and then for the benefit of his stomach and digestion.
The Temperance movement began to gain steam by touting the ills of alcoholism, which was eventually defined by the medical establishment as a disease.
Studies of the long- and Short-term effects of alcohol consumption caused many in the medical community to reconsider the role of wine in medicine and diet.
In response, the United States government issued a mandate requiring producers to include an emetic additive that would induce vomiting above the consumption of a certain dosage level.
[12] Throughout the mid to early 20th century, health advocates pointed to the risk of alcohol consumption and the role it played in a variety of ailments such as blood disorders, high blood pressure, cancer, infertility, liver damage, muscle atrophy, psoriasis, skin infections, strokes, and long-term brain damage.
[13]: 341–2 The hypothesis of the French paradox assumes a low prevalence of heart disease due to the consumption of red wine despite a diet high in saturated fat.
[49] Although epidemiological studies indicate red wine consumption may support the French paradox, there is insufficient clinical evidence to confirm it, as of 2017.
