Wine and your health - we ask Dr John D'Arcy
Cheers! Salut! Good health! Is wine as good for you as they say? Plus video
Robyn Lewis
On the beach, Margaret River wine region
There are a lot of confusing messages about wine drinking and your health, especially that of your heart. The wine industry is quick to latch onto anything that supports the belief that wine – and especially red wine – is good for you.
On the other side, the current government seems equally supportive of the view that drinking alcohol is bad for you, especially binge drinking amongst the young.
But if they can’t stop you then they’ll certainly tax you for drinking it. It would be nice to be able to quote their alcohol tax rate percentages, but these vary by type of drink - the lowest it seems is for brandy, then apparently beer, wine and spirits – but the rates are as impenetrable as a piña colada and even Google can’t find them. Perhaps the government don’t really want us to know.
However, one thing is clear, alcohol does have health impacts. Findings from the National Drug Research Institute indicate that alcohol consumption may increase the likelihood of certain types of cancers, and according to the Cancer Council over 2000 Australians die from alcohol-related cancers each year. Beer and spirits may be worse, but then again it may be because these are (or were) often consumed in smoke-laden environments.
Other recent findings show that people who consume one alcoholic drink per day – preferably wine - live longer (and possibly happier) lives than teetotallers.
So to cast some light on this confusion, we asked Dr John D’Arcy, Australia’s - Australia’s best-known media doctor, who is well known for his concern about heart disease – about his thoughts on drinking.
Is drinking alcohol good or bad for you?
‘Balance: I know it’s an over-done word but it’s true when it comes to booze. A little is great, a lot is positively harmful. There is evidence that it increases some cancers and that’s very true with cancer of the breast and also of the bowel.
I always find it interesting at dinner when special care has been taken in the selection of the wine and portion control is the order of the day. It’s amazing how you come not only the respect the food but also the booze.’
The Cancer Council point out however that there is no safe limit for alcohol, the damage can start with the first drink.
According to the good doctor, like most things it seems that the answer lays somewhere in the middle: ‘drink moderately’. But your moderate might be quite different to mine.
What is ‘moderate’?
According to the Heart Foundation guidelines, this currently means a maximum of two alcoholic drinks per day for men and one for women, and at least two AFDs (alcohol-free days) per week. (One standard drink is 10 g of alcohol, which means a standard glass of wine is 100 ml, equivalent to a middy 285 ml of beer or a nip 30 ml of spirits.)
Is this sexist?
Dr John: ‘It’s not really sexist, it’s true.’ Women should drink less simply because in general their body weight is less, and their metabolism is different.
And of course alcohol should not be consumed in pregnancy nor whilst breastfeeding as it affects the growing baby and especially its brain development. Nor should alcohol be consumed prior to driving or operating machinery as it slows your reflex rates.
However many of us grew up in an era when none of this was known and our parents frequently drank (and often smoked) their way through our childhoods, yet many of us appear to be unscathed. Some of us even binged when we were younger.
So, what are the facts about bingeing?
Dr John’s opinion is that ‘there is no doubt that these days there is an over-emphasis on drinking alcohol and it seems if it is no alcohol available then a function should be avoided.
What really concerns me though is the concept of drinking to get drunk and using a combination of spirits to do it.
(Young people) spend loads of time controlling their weight and eating well and then lose the plot on Fridays and take all day Saturday to get over it.
Even in countries which have had a balanced view on the use of alcohol - places like Italy - there is great concern that this bingeing and the increase in alcoholism is increasing.’
Dr. John, do you drink and if so what?
‘I love a beer at the end of the day and a couple of glasses of shiraz. On special occasions I’m really fond of finishing the day with a single malt.’
Is wine better for you than other alcoholic drinks?
‘There is no doubt that wine has more nutritional benefits that spirits or beer.
I also love the story about the First Fleet stopping off on the way to Australia to collect some grape vines. Naturally they were to provide the only anaesthetic that would be available all those years ago and how the first vineyards were often planted by doctors. They must have guessed about resveratrol, which I read the other day is produced even in green grapes.’
A lot of alcohol is consumed in social settings – bars, parties, dinners, conference gatherings etc – which is a big part of its appeal. Alcohol is known as a ‘social lubricator’. Without the odd glass a lot of people might be shy or more inhibited, and these gatherings could be pretty boring indeed, in fact people may not attend. They might even stay home and drink on their own.
Is it better to drink in company (in moderation)?
‘There is a greater tendency to overdo it if you drink alone - but many do. It’s up to the individual but there is nothing better when in company than to share a drink.’
How much of the benefits of drinking might be simply due to relaxation?
‘There’s no doubt on a Friday night a glass or two after work is a great way of winding down.’
Lastly, what about the heart, especially wine and the heart?
Many of us have heard of the so-called ‘French paradox’, where is appears that the incidence of heart disease amongst the French is lower than that of their neighbours or others on a Western diet.
This has been attributed to consumption of red wine, but it may also be because the French don’t tend to overeat – in general they don’t snack between meals, take longer to eat their food and don’t come back for seconds.
However it does appear that there are certain compounds in wine, especially in red wine, that have some preventative effect on heart disease. An anti-oxidant called resveratrol is one of a family of compounds found in wine that is currently being researched for benefits on the heart, on ageing, diabetes and general health.
Other studies suggest that moderate alcohol consumption helps protect against heart disease by raising HDL (good) cholesterol and reducing plaque accumulations in your arteries, although the mechanisms are still unknown.
On the other hand, drinking more than three drinks a day may have a deleterious effect on the heart. Heavy drinking can damage the heart and lead to high blood pressure, an enlarged and weakened heart, heart failure and stroke, and can raise your triglygeride (blood fat) levels.
So, according to the doctor ‘don’t take up drinking to prevent heart disease’. There are other, healthier ways to reduce your risk of heart disease like eating well, getting regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, or as he likes to say ‘moving your undercarriage!’
We asked Dr D’Arcy to summarise his views:
‘Here I go again. Balance! Alcohol used with the greatest of care is a huge benefit to our society but it takes very little change to turn a pleasant and liberating drink into a villain.
As much as I love a drink, more harm comes to communities because of alcohol excess than all the recreational drugs combined.’
Strong words indeed from a doctor who has seen the impact of excess alcohol consumption on individuals, families and communities around Australia. The Cancer Council of Western Australia puts it in perspective:
‘It may be that a small amount of alcohol taken regularly is protective against heart disease, but it is far too easy for that small amount to become a little bit too much.’
Which gives even more meaning to the phase ‘life is too short to drink bad wine’ – if you can only drink a maximum of 500 ml of wine (for women) to a litre a week (for men), it had better be good.
VisitVineyards.com promotes the responsible consumption of alcohol, by adults only (over the age of 18 in Australia).
VisitVineyards.com supports the Heart Foundation of Australia.
You can donate to the Heart Foundation directly from this secure link. All donations of A$2 and above are tax deductible.
Links:
ABC on National Drug Research Institute's research on alcohol and cancer
Alcohol taxes in Australia (large pdf)
Information about alcohol-related health issues and Australian Government policy
The Heart Foundation of Australia
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