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Can red wine make you live longer?

DJ Spiess — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:04:08 +0000

We’ve all read the health benefits from drinking red wine. One joke that commonly gets tossed around for any ailment is, “You have x? Red wine cures that!” Distinguishing between myth and science can be very difficult. Everyone has heard that red wine might let you live longer, but did you hear the dosage required? Studies show alcohol is great for the heart, but not so good for the colon. And do sulfites really give you a headache, or did you drink too much the night before? Hopefully this article will help you clear up the myths from the facts.

Sulfites/headaches and red wine

Everyone knows that red wine causes headaches. It’s because of the higher amounts of sulfites in red wine… or is it?

Many sweet white wines contain more sulfites than red wines, but do not cause headaches. Dried fruits contain sulfites, but no one has claimed “dried fruit headaches”. The science shows that sulfites can cause allergic reactions, but only asthmatics get headaches from sulfites. If it isn’t the sulfite, then why are so many people getting headaches?

Red wine contains sulfites, but sulfites do not give you headaches

One hypothesis is histamines. Histamines are up to 200% higher in red wines than white wines. People who are allergic to the histamines, are also deficient in certain enzymes. Some scientists believe that the combination of the allergy and the enzyme deficiency cause the headaches. However, in a very small study (16 people), conducted by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Feb 2001), they reported no correlation between high or low histamine wines and headaches.

Others have pointed to the tannins as the source for headaches. Scientists have shown that tannins can release high levels of serotonins, a neurotransmitter that could cause the headaches. Some migraine sufferers have high levels of serotonins. However, tea, soy, and chocolate all contains similar amounts of tannins.

There is no known answer why red wine causes headaches. More research is required, but since sulfites are not known to cause headaches unless you are asthmatic, sulfites are not the culprit. It is known that too much wine the night before will likely give you a headache the next day, but that problem is a hangover with a very simple solution. Don’t drink so much next time! A simple, but potentially painful, experiment for the other red wine headaches that you can perform is to keep a notebook of all the wines that you try. Note which ones give you headaches, and avoid those.

Red wine and longevity

Maybe you have heard about the French Paradox? Many reports noticed that just 83 out of 100,000 Frenchmen die from heart disease compared with 230 in the US despite a significantly higher amount of fat in their diet. Why is that? Well the source is thought to be the red wine. Frenchmen consume far more red wine than American men. Many thought that it was related to the anti-oxidants found in red wine. The studies seemed to single out a flavonoid called resveratrol (trans-3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene) as the most likely substance for the health benefits.

The whole world was buzzing in 2006 when Nature released an article (Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet. Nature. 2006 Nov 16;444(7117):337-42.) that demonstrated a clear relationship between resveratrol and health benefits. The study showed that mice given high amounts of resveratrol lived long lives despite high calorie diets. Everyone in the world read the study as “drinking red wine equals immortality”.

Unfortunately the mice were not drinking red wine in their water bottle. Rafael de Cabo of the National Institute on Aging states: “We have not given the mice red wine—we gave them a purified compound. We’re trying to address resveratrol itself. We don’t know what will happen if the compound is mixed in an alcoholic beverage, which has many other compounds.” The mice were given very concentrated amounts of resveratrol, 24 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. To match this amount in wine, a person would need to drink 750 to 1,500 bottles of red wine a day. Drinking large amounts of alcohol is always bad for your body, but 10 bottles a day would destroy you quicker than Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. There is no chance a person could drink that much wine.

Many supplement makers are selling resveratrol in a pill form. They claim it contains the same amount found in 5-10 glasses of red wine, however these supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. These have been on the market long before the landmark study came out. The problem with the supplement is 95% of the resveratrol is destroyed by our digestive system before it enters circulation. Even if it could make it to the bloodstream, 5-10 glasses is far short of the 750 bottles required.

There is hope though. There are no studies that can prove a cause-and-effect relationship between alcohol and longevity. Such a study may not be possible. However, there might be some benefit to long term moderate consumption. There are no published studies showing the benefits, but we “still have Paris”. The French Paradox does still stand, even as anecdotal evidence.

Red Wine Helps the Body

Are there any other benefits to drinking? Researchers Klatsky and Friedman conducted a study in Northern California that followed 128,934 adults from 1978-1990 and found that people who had one or two alcoholic drinks per day had a 32% lower risk of dying from Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) than nondrinkers. The reason is that one drink a day for women, or two drinks for men raise the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol.

Red grapes contain resveratrol, but will it help you live longer?

Red wine is assumed to be even better with its contribution of antioxidants. Oxidizing is “rusting”. Your heart, veins, kidneys, etc are all exposed to oxygen and oxidation. Antioxidants preserve your internal “plumbing” by preventing “rusting”. Red wine is full of antioxidants, which help your internal systems.

Red wine can even be good for the brain. A study of 1,709 older people in Copenhagen found that “occasional” red wine drinkers were 50 per cent less likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer’s. “It could mean that substances in wine reduce the occurrence of dementia,” concluded Dr Thomas Truelsen in The Quarterly Review of Alcohol Research.

Again it sounds like red wine is the cure for everything! Everyone should start drinking large amounts of red wine. The reality is that these numbers are based on the one or two drink rule. One serving of wine is defined as 5 ounces. Any more than the two drink limit, and your health benefits from the alcohol diminish.

Excessive alcohol consumption has many downsides beyond the next day hangover. Larger amounts of alcohol are shown to cause raised blood pressure, potential damage to the heart, liver, kidneys and brain. Overconsumption of alcohol can also cause impotence and infertility. Large amounts of alcohol will also cause you to gain weight from the higher caloric intake (although some studies have shown small amounts may actually have the reverse effect). A common myth about wine is that it will not give you a “beer gut”. One glass of wine has about 130 calories. One 12 ounce beer has about 150 calories. Sweeter wines or higher alcoholic beverages contain even more calories. Ounce to ounce, wine has far more calories than beer. Larger amounts of wine mean more calories, and a “wine gut”. Like resveratrol, check the dosage before you assume the health benefits.

Alcohol and Cancer

And now for some really bad news. Despite all the ‘possible’ health benefits from alcohol, scientists demonstrated a model for how alcohol stimulates tumor growth in the January 15, 2005 issue of Cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective demonstrated links between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of cancer in the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. If you smoke, the risks are even higher. The International Journal of Cancer linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of colon cancer. The study even suggested that one drink a day could put you at risk.

So does red wine make you live longer?

When you hear a study claiming immortality, check the fine print and look at it with a skeptical eye. So do you stop drinking? Well you should always moderate your alcohol consumption, but the jury is still out. Happier people tend to live longer, and what makes you happier than a very good glass of wine? Raise a glass, toast “to our health”, and hope for the best. After all, isn’t healthy just a slower way of dying?

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Does sulfite cause red wine headaches?

DJ Spiess — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 04:20:36 +0000

Warning: Contains Sulfites

Every now and then someone tells me they don’t like red wine and prefer white wine because the sulfites in red wine gives them a headache – commonly known as the Red Wine Headache (RWH). The label “WARNING: Contains Sulfites” seems to justify their claim. The question is do the sulfites in red wine really cause headaches?

Good luck at finding wine with no sulfites. It's a natural by-product, so all wine has it.

Sulfites are used as a natural preservative in wine. The reason it is called a “natural” preservative is because sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. More sulfite is often added by the winery as potassium metabisulfite. This added preservative allows the wine to age over many years; otherwise it would quickly turn to vinegar. Organic wines have this aging problem.

All red wine contains sulfites, even the ones labeled “no sulfite added”. So do all white wines – white wines have much more sulfite on average. All wines contain 40-80 mg/liter of sulfites on average. Organic wines contain less, but they still have sulfite in them. You cannot make wine without making sulfites. It does not matter which country the wine originates from. The US and Australia list sulfite warnings on their labels, but the Europeans are not required to do so. European wines still contain the same amount of sulfites.

Sulfites are also used in dried fruit; no one claims that they got a headache from a bag of dried apricots. Pancake syrup typically contains more sulfite than red wine. The human body also produces sulfites through normal biochemical processes, about 1000 mg per day.

Some studies have shown that some people can have strong reactions to sulfites. Slightly less than 1% of the population lacks an enzyme to break down the sulfites. In comparison, peanut allergies affect about 4% of the population.

Research doesn’t support RWH/Sulfite link

For these people the inability to break down sulfites can be a life threatening problem – much more serious than a headache. Symptoms typically include restricted breathing to varying degrees, especially in asthmatics prescribed steroids. Skin rashes, itching or nausea are rarer symptoms, but headaches are not typically a symptom of sulfite reactions. Despite the seriousness of some reactions, the FDA has reported only 19 sulfite related deaths since 1990. None of these deaths were related to red wine.

Researchers in Australia studied a group of people who were very sensitive to sulfites. The researchers gave these people a drink that contained 300 mg/liter of sulfites, much higher than the amount typically in red wine. Only 4 test subjects out of 24 showed an asthmatic response. None of the subjects responded adversely to drinks with 100 mg/liter. This study published in Thorax (2001 Oct; 56 (10):763-9), showed that “only a small number of wine sensitive asthmatic patients responded to a single dose challenge with sulfited wine under laboratory conditions. This may suggest that the role of sulphites [sic] and / or wine in triggering asthmatic responses has been overestimated.”

Even white wine has sulfites

Do we know what causes RWH?

This still does not answer the question about RWH. The fact is no current peer reviewed medical research links sulfites to headaches. This does not mean that red wine does not cause headaches for some people. There is research that shows that red wine does cause headaches for some, the culprit however is not the sulfites.

Most recent medical studies believe that prostaglandins, hormone-like substances, may be responsible for the production of some types of pain and inflammation and could be the culprit in RWH. Herbert Kaufman, M.D. and Dwight Starr, M.D. from Mt. Zion Hospital and Medical Center showed a significant decrease in headaches in subjects prone to RWH and given prostaglandin inhibitors.

If you are still in doubt, try eating a bag of dried orange apricots. These are heavily sulfited. If you don’t experience the very rare headache, or the much more common respiratory problems, you are not sensitive to sulfites. The best advice is to keep a journal of red wines that you try. Note which wines give you a headache, and which wines that have no effect. In the future, drink the red wines that do not give you a headache.

One last note, the headache you get from several wines the night before is called a hangover. Those can be avoided by not drinking as much!