Wine and health: the false myths to dispel

In a society often conditioned by addictions and well clinging to absolute certainties, wine represents a true mystery.

Celebrated in western myths and religions for more than 7000 years and symbol of the Egyptian civilization itself, today it is considered by many to be an aphrodisiac drink in turn and, on the contrary, the absolute poison . Who is right? Let’s try to understand between these two excesses where the truth is, premising that “in medio stat virtus”, or that drinking a glass of good wine in moderation cannot do much harm if not in the presence of particular pathologies.

When drinking wine is good for your health

According to several studies, drinking a glass of wine with meals is healthy and helps you keep fit. This is because wine intervenes in a series of very important vital functions , such as stimulating the heart rate and helping the metabolism.

Merit of resveratrol , present above all in the skin of grapes, which has the ability to fight viruses, bacteria and fungi, improve protection from ultraviolet rays and help the body to rebalance the water supply. And not only that, because resveratrol has proven capable of preventing pressure fluctuations, defending blood vessels from injuries and containing blood cholesterol levels.

If all this were not enough, it should be emphasized that the benefits of wine reach the brain, since some studies show that it is also capable of improving cognitive functions, counteracting free radicals thanks to its antioxidant properties. Obviously, to have beneficial effects, it is essential to drink a quality wine made with correct and controlled winemaking techniques, as is the case when buying quality wines such as the Recioto della Valpolicella online on Tannico , which represents a real Venetian excellence.

The wines, in fact, are not all the same and the organoleptic properties can also vary a lot from one bottle to another, because they are determined by many variables that added together make a huge difference. In general, then, red wine contains a greater amount than the white flavonoids , of substances with antioxidant properties.

When drinking wine is harmful

However, it must be said that drinking too much wine not only does not help but also risks being harmful. It is the result of a study carried out on the British and published in BMC Public Health . According to this research, in fact, drinking a bottle of wine a week can facilitate, in a male subject, the development of cancer cells as much as smoking five cigarettes, always within a week.

For women, however, the percentage doubles, so that about 750 ml of a bottle of wine, drunk over seven days, would correspond to about ten cigarettes smoked. Translated into percentages, one bottle of wine per week would increase the risk of contracting a carcinogenic disease by 1%, while for women it would be 1.4%.

According to the researchers, these conclusions serve to make it clear that wine is basically as dangerous as cigarettes . In fact, point 6 of the European Code against Cancer of the IARC calls for avoiding the consumption of alcohol or drastically limiting its consumption .

In short, even in light of this English research, it is always better not to ever exceed the quantity corresponding to a glass of wine per day, choosing it among those of excellent quality.