Raise A Toast With Wine For Its Myriad Health When Taken With Food

In addition to water (80 to 85% of the volume), the drink provides the body with energy in the form of sugars such as glucose and fructose

Wine is a beverage from the alcoholic fermentation of ripe and fresh grapes or fresh grape juice. A biochemical definition would be: drink from the alcoholic fermentation of grape juice sugars by yeast. Wine has always been linked in some way to the history of man, either because it is a beverage with its own flavour and personality or because of the benefits it brings to health.

Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans, besides Hindus, used wine as medicine for the body and soul. Historical records show that the medicinal use of wine by man has been a practice made for over 2000 years.

In general, the benefits of wine include prevention of heart and circulatory diseases; consuming along with meal is most beneficial for diabetics; favourable in the fight against obesity; provides greater longevity and quality of life; creates barriers to the development of dementia; meal, accompanied by wine, results in a better digestion and anti-infective effect.

It has myriad benefits for women including that it is excellent for the skin; can prevent blindness; have anti-inflammatory action; can alleviate lung diseases; besides being a very pleasant drink.

As one of the oldest beverages, wine has always been related to the history of man and presents benefits to human health. Although there have been reports of wine consumption for more than 7,000 years, the benefits of wine were only highlighted in 1992, when the French Paradox was published . What arouses scientific attention is related to the eating habits adopted by the French, who, despite having high levels of sedentary lifestyle, smoking, high consumption of saturated fats and higher cholesterol levels, when compared with other industrialized countries, have a lower incidence of diseases coronary diseases, a fact attributed to the high consumption of wine. Data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the mortality rates due to cardiovascular diseases in France are smaller when compared to other countries, which is why the name of the French Paradox has appeared.

In this context it is possible to associate wine consumption with health benefits associated with healthy eating and quality of life, but this only happens if it is consumed in a certain quantity.

The medicinal use of wine was widely employed by the Greeks. Hippocrates (460-370 BC) reported on the therapeutic properties of wine, a beverage used as a dietary supplement in cachexia, diuretic, purgative, antipyretic, antiseptic, in plasters and also against depression during convalescence. The main constituents of wine salts are mineral anions, sulfate, phosphate, chloride and sulfite and organic, tartrate, malate and lactate.

The richness of the elements that make it a true liquid food of incomparable virtues is that it should be taken moderately and together with meals for absorption of the nutrients that are contained in food.

The most abundant sources of resveratrol are the grapes Vitis vinifera, V. labrusca, V. muscadine which are normally employed in the manufacture of wine. Resveratrol is found in vines, roots, seeds and stalks, but the highest concentration is in the film of grapes containing 50 to 100 æg/g.

Its antioxidant capacity is related to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Resveratrol can inhibit the initiation, promotion and progression of tumours, reduction of cell death by oxidative stress, inhibition of oxidation of low density human lipoprotein (LDL), inhibition of platelet aggregation, impairment of anti-inflammatory activity [22] and reduced effects of some neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The phenolic compounds present in products derived from grapes, Vitis vinifera L., such as grape juice and wines, especially red wine, have antioxidant activity that combats free radicals. Studies aimed at evaluating antioxidant activity and quantifying phenolic compounds, have proven that red wine had higher phenolic compounds contents and better antioxidant activity. For Europeans, wine is considered a food supplement, as it contains carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, from the grape. In addition to water (80 to 85% of the volume), the drink provides the body with energy in the form of sugars such as glucose and fructose. Minerals include potassium, copper, zinc, fluorine, magnesium, aluminum, iodine, boron and silicon which, even in small quantities, are indispensable for the body to perform well all its functions.

A series of studies prove the benefits of regular and moderate consumption of red wine to human health, mainly relating to its phenolic composition. Since ancient times, wine has been closely linked to the evolution of medicine, and the consumption of red wine is now recognized as beneficial to health by medicine.