The Good and Bad of Wine Consumption for Human Health

By arya

It is a controversial topic which frequents in many discussions as to whether wine consumption is good or bad for health. Many boasts of the various benefits of consuming wine in a moderate amount to help gain glowing skin and heart health benefits; where people are saying it is fully injurious to health. There are many who believe that fine glass of wine each day could be made an essential element of a healthy and nourishing diet, whereas some others say it is an overrated hype.

Some studies have already shown that consumption of wine in moderate amounts may reduce the risks of many diseases including stroke and cancer. However, there is only a thin line between the concepts of reasonable and extreme intake.

Let’s have a detailed overview of the effect of wine in health.

Making of red wine


Red wine is prepared by crushing whole grapes and fermenting it. There are various types of red wines, varying in taste, color, and consistency. The most common varieties are Shiraz, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sassicaia Pinot noir. Alcohol content in standard red wine is between 12% to 15%. Consuming red wine in minimal to moderate amount is shown to have some health benefits, which is primarily accounting to the presence of antioxidants in it. Alcoholic content in wine may also be contributing to some of its benefit in moderate wine drinkers.

French Paradox


Another very common terms associated with red wine consumption is the “French paradox.” It refers to the observations that the French tend to have a low heart disease rate even with the consumption of a lot of cholesterol and saturated fat. Some experts also believe that red wine has the nutritional agent defending the French population from the harmful effects of these nutrients. Studies have also shown that saturated fat and dietary cholesterol don’t cause heart disease while consumed in moderate amounts.

So, even though the actual reason behind better health of the French is in question, they tend to drink a glass of wine at their dinner table, which may be helping. They also eat a lot more whole foods compared to other parts of life and their lifestyle and is also healthier.

Considering Sassicaia wine


Sassicaia is one of the most popular premium wine varieties in the world. It is largely because of the energy and vision of the manufacturers and retailers. The name Sassicaia means a place of many stones, which features gravelly. Sassicaia’s vintage was first released in 1968 to universal acclaim. Sassicaia is now considered as one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon wine options in the world, which also has made history by being the first of its kind single wine granted with DOC. The varieties of Sassicaia now features the cedary elegance with extraordinary power.

Some vintage and modern variants of Sassicaia as available online are:

  • 1994 Sassicaia
  • 2000 Sassicaia
  • 1995 Sassicaia
  • 1996 Sassicaia
  • 1997 Sassicaia
  • 1998 Sassicaia
  • 1990 Sassicaia
  • 1992 Sassicaia
  • 2004 Sassicaia
  • 2003 Sassicaia
  • 2005 Sassicaia
  • 2006 Sassicaia
  • 2012 Sassicaia etc.

Other components in red wine


Red wine also is known to have a high consistency of antioxidants like resveratrol. Grapes are naturally rich in antioxidants including resveratrol, epicatechin, catechin, and proanthocyanidins, etc. Antioxidants have many health benefits including fighting cancer cells. Proanthocyanidins tend to reduce oxidative damages to the human body. Grape skin is rich in Resveratrol which is also produced by some other plants as a natural response to injury or damage.

The antioxidant properties of wine may also be linked with a lot of health benefits as reducing inflammation, avoiding blood clotting, and also reducing the risk of congestive heart failure, stroke, and cancer. Resveratrol also helps to make the test animals have a longer span in many of the studies conducted. However, the content of resveratrol in red wine is pretty low. One may have too many consumer bottles to reach the amount which is used to show impact in animal studies. This is not at all recommended; however, which will end up in far adverse results than benefits.

Reducing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and early death


As we know, very few amounts of red wine are linked to health benefits. People who consume approximately 5 oz or 150 mL of red wine is found to have nearly 32% lower risk when compared to the non-drinkers. However, on the other hand, higher intake of wine also tends to increase the risk of heart disease dramatically as seen in many patients.

It is also noted that drinking small amounts of wine reduced the heart disease risk by retaining the good cholesterol called HDL and help reduce the oxidative damage caused by the bad or LDL cholesterol by nearly 50%. Some definitive studies also showed that the populations which are at a higher risk of heart disease like the elderly and female might benefit higher to the other groups with moderate wine consumption.

It is also found that consuming one to two glasses of red wine per day three to four times a week reduces the risk of stroke in men of middle age. Another study had also shown that consumption of two to three glasses of red wine per day might help control the blood pressure. Some studies have also shown that the moderate drinkers of light wine have a lower early morbidity risk from heart failure compared to the non-drinkers or alcohol consumers.

Some other quick benefits of wine also include by not limited to:

  • Reducing cancer risk: Moderate consumption is effective in reducing the risks of colon cancer, basal cell carcinoma, prostate and ovary cancers, etc.
  • Reducing dementia: Intake of one to three glasses of wine each day has a benefit of reducing the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Reducing depression: Studies showed some definitive evidence that those who drink a minimal amount of wine are less likely to feel depressed, especially at middle age and above.
  • Reducing insulin resistance: Consuming 2 glasses of wine per day may decrease insulin resistance in diabetic patients.

Considering all the above facts, we can conclude that consuming minimal to moderate amounts of wine has some significant health benefits on humans. However, there are many negative aspects of it also to be considered before you jump into it, and it is essential to consult your primary care physician also before adding wine into your routine for health benefits.