9 September
2013 Last updated at 01:13 GMT
In recent years, red wine has received some pretty good press. When we
think of a healthy form of alcohol, red wine tends to be the top choice.
But why - and does it deserve all the attention?
Scientists agree that there is something in red wine that, when drunk
in moderation, can help to protect the heart, reduce 'bad' cholesterol and
prevent blood clots. But there is little agreement of what is causing those
beneficial effects. Recently, Uruguayan chemists went to such great lengths to
discover the secret of their healthy home-grown red wine that they sequenced
the genome of the Tannat grape from which it is made.
That was prompted by the discovery that those wines contained high
levels of procyanidins - a class of flavanols found in plants, fruit and cocoa
beans. Roger Corder, professor of experimental therapeutics at Queen Mary
University of London and author of The Red Wine Diet, made the discovery and confirms
that the Tannat wines contain three to four times more procyanidins than
Cabernet Sauvignon.
He says they - alongside the high concentration of tannins, which
combat the ageing of cells - are likely to be behind its health-giving
properties. Other scientists are excited about a compound found in the skin of
red grapes called resveratrol.
For many years, it has been hailed as a kind of wonder drug - an
anti-ageing compound, which could extend life, combat obesity and cure cancer. But,
so far, studies on resveratrol have taken place in the lab - as yet there is no
evidence that it can be effective in humans.
Cancer connection
Dr Emma Smith, science communications officer at Cancer Research UK,
says it is a mistake to drink red wine and believe it is doing good. "Red
wine only contains very small amounts of resveratrol and people shouldn't drink
wine in an attempt to get any health benefits. "It's important to remember
that, even in moderate amounts, alcohol increases the risk of several cancers and
has been estimated to cause around 12,500 cases of cancer a year in the
UK."
Researchers at the University of Leicester are, however, looking at
whether resveratrol, on its own and not in red wine, could one day be developed
into a cancer-preventing drug. Experimenting on mice in the lab, they have
found that a daily amount of resveratrol equivalent to two glasses of wine can
halve the rate of bowel tumours.
They now want to take their findings further and find out how the
compound might work in humans by carrying out clinical trials. Prof Karen
Brown, from the department of cancer studies and molecular medicine at
Leicester, says her research must not be misconstrued.
"We're not saying red wine can prevent cancer - we are looking at
the pure compound. "Alcohol is not good for cancer - but it just so
happens that red wine contains resveratrol."
Good pips
Even in red wine, Prof Roger Corder says there is little evidence that
resveratrol is an important ingredient. "It's a myth that resveratrol has anything
to do with the health benefits of red wine. "Most red wines contain only
negligible amounts of resveratrol and those that do contain some have too
little to have any effects."
Instead he says it's the pips, and not the grape skin, which are key.
When the grapes are fermented for several weeks or more, that is when
flavanols can be released from the pips and these evolve into more complex
molecules. But the bad news is that doesn't always happen with all wines, he
says. "Most modern style wines don't take that approach to
wine-making."
What people should focus on, he says, is drinking wine in a healthy
way. "It's very hard to say wine is a healthy drink when people consume
too much alcohol, at the wrong time of day and without food." The best way
to drink wine is in moderation with food, Prof Corder says. Taken in this way,
wine is more likely to have a beneficial effect on our health - not an adverse
one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23985540
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