Take heart, red wine still best for coronary health

The Straits Times ^ | 2/21/04 | Andy Ho

[mylife]

Take heart, red wine still best for coronary health

By Andy Ho

SCIENCE MONITOR

HOW much red wine is good for the heart?

The French people have a low incidence of heart disease despite a relatively high fat diet. Scientists speculate that this might have something to do with their habit of quaffing lots of red wine. In fact, by the early 1990s, a chemical found in wine called resveratrol had been identified as possibly the molecule doing the trick.

To date, a lot of animal experiments indicate that resveratrol combats 'bad' cholesterol which damages the heart. Specifically, it quenches free radicals, those particularly reactive atoms that can start chain reactions which lead to cell damage.

When bad cholesterol is acted upon by free radicals, it leads to hardening and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis). Resveratrol helps scavenge the free radicals and terminates the chain reactions before atherosclerosis worsens.

The most abundant natural source of resveratrol in the Western world is the fruit of the vine, though it is also found in plant species like lilies, mulberries and peanuts. It occurs in the vines, roots, seeds and stalks of the grape plant but is most concentrated in grape skin (not flesh).

Red wine has more of the molecule - almost 10 times more. This has to do with how long grape skins are present during fermentation. Red wine is fermented with grape skins left on for much longer while for white wine, the skins are removed early in the process.

It also depends on where the grape is grown because resveratrol belongs to a class of compounds that plants produce to fight stresses such as cold weather, fungal attacks and lack of nutrients. Since fungi thrive in colder, wetter climes, grapes grown in such localities have more of the magic molecule.

Thus resveratrol appears most in red wines produced in cooler areas with more disease problems, like Burgundy and New York, rather than warmer, drier climates like Australia or California. In a recent Cornell University study of 111 United States and foreign red wines of 1995 vintages, those from the northern state of New York had the highest resveratrol concentration.

Does this mean that health is as close as the nearest bottle of red wine? Not necessarily.

Besides heavy drinkers having higher rates of nerve disease as well as brain, oesophageal, liver and breast cancers, there is no guarantee your red wine has enough of the molecule.

First, as mentioned above, resveratrol content varies widely depending on where the grapes are grown, so those from harsher northern climates do better. However, because insecticides and fungicides are almost invariably used, the plants are not stressed by disease very much. This means they produce little of the molecule anyway. What you really need is organic red wine produced without the use of fungicides or any other chemical.

Secondly, once a bottle is uncorked, even if it is an organic Burgundy, oxygen in the air begins to break down the resveratrol so that any wine kept overnight will have little of it left. You may drink it all each time you uncork a bottle but this could be a slippery slide into alcoholism.

What's an imbiber to do?

As luck would have it, there is a more stable and concentrated source in an Oriental plant called hu zhang or false bamboo, a member of the buckwheat family that goes by the scientific name of Polygonum cuspidatum. Its roots far exceed grape skin in resveratrol content.

Predictably, the nutritional supplement industry has already been marketing lots of resveratrol pills, putatively hu zhang root extracts. These are made mainly in China and the US but it is technically very difficult to standardise concentrations of the active molecule.

Moreover, its breakdown on exposure to oxygen during extraction and storage in ordinary containers that are not vacuum-sealed makes the product shelf-life questionable. Remember, nutritional supplements are not considered drugs, so they are unregulated. This means you may not be getting the 100 per cent resveratrol the label promises.

But if you don't mind genetically-modified (GM) food, there will soon be a resveratrol-enriched lettuce in local stores. Associate Professor Chia Tet Fatt of the National Institute of Education has inserted into the red leaf lettuce the very gene from grapes that makes resveratrol. Since it is leafy, this lettuce makes many times more of the molecule than grapes do.

However, for the health-conscious who do not trust both GM food and the supplement industry, imbibing organic red wine occasionally may be the best bet for now.

[mylife]

I'll raise a glass to that!

[Xenalyte]

Mmmmm, Beaujolais . . .

[mylife]

ping

An update of what has been known.

[mylife]

nice choice

[The Coopster]

And I don't have to worry about supporting the French, as Italian wines make French wines takes like oak and dirt......

Mmmmm.....Valpolicella.....

[Blue Highway]

< still boycotting French wine

[The Coopster]

It's ok....see my post #5.

[johniegrad]

Actually, Valpolicella is considered one of their weaker wines. Try a barolo or a amarone.

[johniegrad]

Oh, by the way, agree totally with you about boycotting French wines.

[Tribune7]

ping

[andy58-in-nh]

...once a bottle is uncorked, even if it is an organic Burgundy, oxygen in the air begins to break down the resveratrol so that any wine kept overnight will have little of it left.

The answer to that problem is to never allow a bottle to sit unfinished for an extended period of time. Cheers!

[mylife]

I drink california wines

[mylife]

The answer to that problem is to never allow a bottle to sit unfinished for an extended period of time. Cheers!

which is common sense of course, unless you were attempting to make vinegar.

[mountaineer]

still boycotting French wine

Me too. Nothing but California, Italian, Australian and Spanish wines for the past year in this household!

[johniegrad]

Tons of good selections from that list of countries.

[The Coopster]

Amarones are the tops, but I'd hate to spring one on the unsuspecting. Valpolicellas are smooth (read:weak) enough not to scare the uninitiated.

I can't recall if I've had a Barolo or not. It sounds familiar, but after a hundred bottles or so, it all gets a little fuzzy.....

All credit to Buca di Beppo for turning me on to them.....

I used to moonlight there, and we'd "sample" the daily special wines before each shift, over dinner together. What a concept! Usually the result of the taste test was that we'd chip in and by the remaining bottles of special wine, and take it to someone's place for some more "sampling".

Like languages, I refer to it as the immersion method.....

[VadeRetro]

I was just wondering whether to pop something open tonight. California Merlot! I guess a little resveratrol will have to be better than none.

[johniegrad]

Barolos are a northwest Italian wine. Full bodied not quite as many tannins as the Amarones but delicious with a lot of grape flavor. I agree with you about the "bigger" wines. Another problem with the barolos and amarones are that, if they are not aged enough, they will tear your tonsils out with the tannins. That's enough to discourage new Italian wine drinkers.

[Feiny]

I drank an entire bottle of amarone last night....all by myself.

[VadeRetro]

Pretty lady like you? You must have wanted to be alone. Or maybe you just didn't want to share the bottle.

[mylife]

I drank an entire bottle of amarone last night....all by myself.

I imagine that gave you a rather healthy glow.

[New Horizon]

Mmmmm, Beaujolais...

Mmmmm, Night Train...

[mylife]

from your homepage....LOL!! Wh00p!!

[mylife]

Oh Im sure a merlot has all the good ingredients, savingion too

[VadeRetro]

Tastes alright. This one's fruity but dry. Some tanin. Pretty good all in all.

[The Coopster]

You are so right about the tannins.

Aren't amarones made with valpolicella grapes?

[Chris Talk]

Taylor's LAKE COUNTRY RED, wino winner and still champion for heart health.

[monkey]

It seems the oxygen problem could be solved by using a vacuum pump, available at wine stores for under 10 bucks. Of course, never letting the wine breath will affect the taste.

[johniegrad]

Yes, amarones are made with valpolicella. However, the grapes are put out on drying racks and turned to raisins first. That accounts for the intense flavor of the wine. It is truly a unique wine in my experience in terms of the intensity of the flavors. I've never had a wine that tastes quite like an amarone.

[mylife]

It seems the oxygen problem could be solved by using a vacuum pump, available at wine stores for under 10 bucks. Of course, never letting the wine breath will affect the taste.

I prefer the ancient method of "open it,drink it"

[mylife]

Yes, amarones are made with valpolicella. However, the grapes are put out on drying racks and turned to raisins first.

Is it like an unfortified sherry?

[mylife]

Merlot is dry...best to have with some juicy ribeye.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Two consumables which have been promoted time and again by credible sources as heart-healthy are 1) red wine, and 2) deepwater/coldwater fish. Don't blindly accept the old "white wine with fish, red wine with red meat" cliché. Sure, with lighter fish such as flounder or sole, white's usually better. But with a firmer-fleshed, darker, and/or oilier fish (swordfish, fresh tuna, salmon), particularly if prepared with garlic (also heart-healthy), peppers, and/or tomatoes, red wine is the way to go.

Believe me, I'm no chef or experienced food critic. But try some grilled salmon (a little rare in the middle if that doesn't turn you off) with a little olive oil and garlic, with a Pinot Noir. Good for your heart; OK for Atkinites; OK for low-fat proponants; and (what's really important) it tastes damn good. You can thank me later.

[mylife]

nothing wrong with red wine and trout or salmon in my opinion! Mmmmmmmm

[johniegrad]

I'm not familiar enough with sherry to answer your question. Buy a bottle and try for yourself. I would suggest not buying anything younger than a 1996 or 1997 for the reasons listed above.

[mylife]

By the way I'll eat salmon raw

[balrog666]

I drank an entire bottle of amarone last night....all by myself.

Baaaaaaabe!

Too bad I'm already taken!

[VadeRetro]

James Bond to SPECTRE assassin Red Grant (Robert Shaw), who earlier joined him at dinner but now has a gun on him:

"Red wine with fish! Well, that should have told me something!"

[VadeRetro]

Merlot is dry...best to have with some juicy ribeye.

Wimp!

[VadeRetro]

By the way I'll eat salmon raw

Best with wasabi, soy sauce, and Saporro beer.

[mylife]

Best with wasabi, soy sauce, and Saporro beer.

Asahi thanks

[southernnorthcarolina]

Agree. Though I like red wine with fish under some circumstances, a cold beer seems to me the best with sushi.

[VadeRetro]

Though I like red wine with fish under some circumstances, a cold beer seems to me the best with sushi.

A happy discovery of late was a really nice sushi bar near me. And do they know how to serve the beer cold!

[Fifth Business]

...French wines takes like oak and dirt......

The dirt's the best part. Except we French wine lovers call it terroir just to be fancy.

[southernnorthcarolina]

I dunno what you're "supposed" to drink with sushi. Hot tea, I suppose, at lunch on a workday. As far as "adult beverages" are concerned, I've seen fellow sushi-bar patrons drink white wine, sake (never cultivated a taste for that), and mostly my choice, a cold beer (A Japanese brand or otherwise).

I did note, however, on a recent visit to a sushi bar in Charlotte, four Japanese customers (two men, two women, all 30-something I'd guess). With their sushi, they drank single malt Scotch, neat. Go figure.

[Xenalyte]

All credit to Buca di Beppo for turning me on to them.....

I love that place! We have some here in Houston, but I'd never been to one until Xena's Guy's family took us at Christmas.

[VadeRetro]

With their sushi, they drank single malt Scotch, neat.

Not a Japanese tradition, safe to say. I suspect it doesn't matter what you're eating when you're drinking whiskey neat.

[mylife]

While I was in Japan I went to a sushi house for the first time...I knew nothing of the stuff and tryed to soak the rice in soy fearing what I was about to eat.(I was the only anglo in the place).

A man watching me corrected me and gave me a courteous lesson on how to consume the delicacy.

Turns out he was the owner.

He proceeded to purchase every possible delicacy for me and seemed to truely enjoy my enjoyment of this new found food.

Eventually he got to raw octopus...I tried it...it was like a hunk of fishy rubber...I literally placed my chin in my hand and used my arm to help me chew it(while smiling).

When I had gotten it down he asked "You like Raw octopus?"

I did not wish to offend as he had been such a gracious host so I replied "yes", to which he replied :

" You first American I see who like raw octopus!! Another Round!!"

Doh! ;^)

[Temple Owl]

Here's a glass of chianti to the good health of Pat Toomey.

[VadeRetro]

Well, I like raw octopus. (It does take some chewing.)

There are some fish roe sushi items that I try to avoid, though. Some menus I've seen flag them as "challenging."