Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the go-to resource for women seeking to have a deeper understanding of the role alcohol plays in their lives, women who are looking to drink less or not at all for any reason. I am your host, christi Walker. I'm a wife, mom and a joy-filled Catholic, and I am the Catholic Sobriety Coach, and I am so glad you're here Today. I'll be tackling the question is red wine good for your health? Now, I've been thinking about this episode for a very long time and I finally decided to gather all of my research and share some facts with you. Now, there's some good news and some bad news in my findings, but I promise to leave you on a high note for those of you who love their red wine, so be sure to stay until the end. Now, before I dive into this episode, I do need to say something to the effect that I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist. I'm just someone who's done a ton of research and is sharing my findings with you. I encourage you to do your own research as well, because, as you may hear throughout this episode, and find out on your own this episode and find out on your own. The research is always changing. New things are always found out, so just keep doing your best research so that you can make the decisions that are right for you and your health.
Speaker 1:Now, like you, I've heard all sorts of things being said about red wine being good for our heart health, and I will get to that. But when I began my research, I was a bit surprised to see infographic after infographic noting a few other benefits that I, honestly, hadn't heard of before. These included things like protection against Alzheimer's and dementia, cancer-fighting properties, even going so far to say it reduces cancer risk, help with depression, increasing bone density, it's good for your gut health and good for your dental hygiene. Now, there were way more than this, but for the sake of time, I'm just going to be giving more context and sharing information regarding these supposed health benefits what's true, what's not. I do want to say that this episode is not intended in any way to villainize alcohol or anyone who uses it. If you love your red wine, then I just hope that this will give you the information that you need to make good choices for you so that you can decide to drink or not drink, from a place of peace.
Speaker 1:Now, my goal here is to provide factual information that is often omitted when discussing the benefits. As you'll soon discover, none of these claims are 100% wrong. They just don't always tell the whole story. I'll be sure to let you know where I find my information so that you can do your own research. I'll have that in my show notes, as much of it as I can remember, and also throughout this episode. I do try to note where I found my information. Now, remember, anyone can post anything on the internet and I found most of these infographics and YouTube videos containing misinformation were created by companies that sell wine or other alcoholic beverages. So just be sure, when you are getting your information, that you get it from a neutral source who doesn't really have anything to gain about whether or not you decide to drink or not drink. I've mentioned before, and plan to do so in future episodes, marketing does have a dark side that weaves together fact and fiction to persuade people to believe what they, being the marketers, want them to believe. But we're not going to get into that today, letting you know that another reason the claims about the health benefits of red wine began to surface is because of something called the French paradox.
Speaker 1:The French paradox refers to the observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of heart disease, despite consuming diet high in saturated fats. This term was coined in the 1980s after people observed that the French have lower rates of heart disease than other nations, especially the United States. Now this phenomenon has often been attributed to the regular consumption of red wine, which is thought to contribute to heart health due to its antioxidants like resveratrol. However, this doesn't necessarily translate to Americans, for several reasons. The first is that there are dietary differences. The French diet is typically more balanced, with smaller portion sizes and a higher intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, which may contribute to more heart health than just the red wine alone. Number two are lifestyle factors. The French lifestyle often includes a lot more physical activity and less stress, which are both important factors in heart health. Moderation Red wine is consumed in moderation in France, whereas in the United States alcohol consumption can often be excessive, which can negate any potential health benefits can negate any potential health benefits. And the fourth reason is genetic and environmental factors. Differences in genetics and other environmental factors between populations can also play a role. So, overall, while red wine might be part of the French paradox, it's not the sole reason for the noticeable health benefit. It's also worth noting that, despite the lower risk of cardiovascular disease, they did not find that the French have a lowered occurrence of liver damage or cirrhosis. So there's that.
Speaker 1:It's also important that I explain a couple of things before we dive into the claims and clear up some of the confusion. Many of the supposed health benefits of red wine are said to be from resveratrol, which is a polyphenol. Wait, hold up. What's a polyphenol? I am so glad you asked. A polyphenol is a class of chemical compounds found in plants that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are secondary metabolites that plants produce to actually protect themselves from other organisms. So resveratrol is a polyphenol found in grapes and in some other plants as well, but mainly in the grape skins. So if that's the case, why is only red wine touted for its benefits and not white wine? Well, I learned through my research because I am absolutely in no way an expert on wine that the skins remain longer during the fermentation process for red wine.
Speaker 1:During the fermentation process for red wine, on the website Livestrongorg, they noted that because resveratrol isn't an essential nutrient, no required amount exists. Animal studies suggest that as much as 500 mg daily may be necessary to provide any health benefits. Red wine contains at most 12.59 milligrams of resveratrol per liter, so to get 500 milligrams daily, you'd need to drink almost 400 liters of wine a day. A 40 milligram daily dose of resveratrol may also have some health benefits, which was shown in a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in June of 2010. But even if a 40 milligram daily dose is sufficient, you'd still have to drink a little over three liters of wine daily to get that much resveratrol. There have been some pretty hefty claims about the ways that resveratrol can prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer and now, apparently, alzheimer's and dementia, which, honestly, are new ones for me. There have been in vitro studies and studies on animals, as well as human trials to back that up, but the amount a person would have to consume in red wine would have a terrible effect on their overall health.
Speaker 1:Do you happen to know what the guidelines are for moderate drinking? You might want to sit down for this, because I for one, was shocked, not to say that I think drinking alcohol is beneficial or healthy for you in any way. I just honestly couldn't believe how little was considered safe to consume. Now, when I think back to my drinking days, oh my goodness, and how much alcohol I would consume in one night. I am honestly blessed to be alive and talking to you right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, so here it is. First, women and men are very different. Most people know this, but you know, as my mom likes to say, it bears repeating. Now I will admit that I didn't realize that alcohol affects men and women differently, and when I was at my peak drinking experience, I always prided myself on being able to drink more than the guys, but of course I was so drunk I don't know if I actually did drink more than them, but I like to say that and say it often. Anyway, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes that even if a man and woman drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will usually have a higher blood alcohol level. And not only do women usually experience the immediate effects of alcohol more quickly than men, but they are also at a higher risk for alcohol's long-term effects.
Speaker 1:Now, women should consume no more than seven servings of alcohol per week. This might sound okay. To you. It might not really sound that bad, but if you are a generous wine pourer or you are known to add a few glugs of liquor into your favorite cocktail, you might not like what I'm about to say. So serving sizes for women are as follows A 12 ounce beer, that's one serving size. Or a five ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof liquor. Of course, stronger drinks contain more ethanol. You know there's craft beers and things that contain much, much higher alcohol levels, and the same is true for wine. So definitely keep an eye on the alcohol by volume when you're consuming alcohol, so that you can discern what you are drinking and how much, so you can make sure that you are meeting those requirements. Now for men, you can just double all those numbers when you see how little a serving size actually is. It's honestly no wonder that people significantly underestimate how much they drink. I really don't think that people always do this on purpose. I think they just don't understand how much they are actually drinking.
Speaker 1:Now, getting back to red wine and resveratrol, let's do a little math, which admittedly isn't my strong suit, but I'll use a calculator. So if what was said on the Livestrong website is true, if you do need to drink 40 liters of red wine to get the beneficial amount of resveratrol, you would need to consume 1,353 ounces, or 271 servings per day You'd be dead. There's nobody can do that. But the LipStrong website also points out that even if a 40 milligram daily dose is sufficient, you would still need to drink a little over three liters of wine to get that much resveratrol. This is equal to 101 ounces, or 20 servings per day, which still far exceeds the max recommendation and would just cause a whole host of other problems, as you might imagine.
Speaker 1:Now that we've discussed resveratrol and the recommended serving size, it should make discussing the following claims go a little more quickly. The first claim is that red wine offers protection against Alzheimer's and dementia. The claim states that the antioxidant resveratrol shows a strong ability to protect against cell damage and curb the effects of age-related mental decline. Now here's what the Alzheimer's Society has to say about alcohol and dementia. Now here's what the Alzheimer's Society has to say about alcohol and dementia.
Speaker 1:Evidence shows that excessive alcohol consumption increases a person's risk of developing dementia. Drinking alcohol in moderation has not been conclusively linked to an increase in dementia. If you already drink alcohol within the recommended guidelines, you do not need to stop on the grounds of reducing the risk of dementia. Despite some claims, drinking alcohol in moderation has not been shown to offer significant protection against developing dementia. So if you do not currently drink alcohol, you shouldn't just start drinking as a way to reduce the risk because, honestly, it has not been shown to offer a significant amount of protection.
Speaker 1:And then, as far as alcohol's effect on Alzheimer's prevention, they note that a recent study examined millions of individuals to determine if there was a link between Alzheimer's disease and alcohol consumption. The study that they're talking about found that while moderation consumption remember, moderate drinking means seven servings or less per week for women and 14 servings for men was actually linked to a slight, slight decrease in Alzheimer's disease. However, regular overconsumption of alcohol increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 300%. Of developing Alzheimer's disease by 300%. 300%. Regular overconsumption of alcohol increases by 300%. So, folks, that is a slippery slope. If you are not really keeping track of your drinks, if you aren't sure if you are drinking at or below the recommended guidelines, it's a slippery slope. This recent study examined more than 30 million Europeans to identify the largest factors determining whether an individual develops Alzheimer's or dementia, and the study found that alcohol was the largest non-genetic risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers were shocked at how significantly alcohol contributed. One of the lead doctors and authors of this study noted, we hypothesized that alcohol would play some role, but I don't think anyone expected the size of the effect to be so large.
Speaker 1:So while there may be some slight benefits for moderate drinking, I'd suggest sticking with other anti-inflammatory foods rich in antioxidants. Drink some grape juice and skip the ethanol. The next claim is that red wine contains cancer-fighting properties. Claim is that red wine contains cancer-fighting properties, even going so far as to say it reduces cancer risk. So does red wine contain antioxidants? Yep, and I found through my research that wine is the best option for any alcohol you can drink as far as antioxidants are concerned.
Speaker 1:But does it prevent cancer? I don't think so, and here's why. First, did you know that alcohol is categorized as a group 1 carcinogen? Others in that group include tobacco and asbestos. Now, according to the American Cancer Society, alcohol use has been linked with cancers of the mouth, the throat, the voice box or larynx, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum, and breast cancer. We also know that alcohol probably also increases the risk of stomach cancer and might affect the risk of some other cancers as well. And for each of these cancers, the more alcohol you drink, the higher your cancer risk. But for some types of cancer, most notably breast cancer, consuming even small amounts of alcohol can increase risk. So why does alcohol increase your cancer risk anyway? Well, dr Therese Bevers, a medical director of MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center, and Victoria Lee, a senior clinical dietician, have this to say there are many reasons why alcohol can increase your cancer risk, and these include acetaldehyde.
Speaker 1:Alcoholic beverages contain alcohol and when the body breaks down ethanol it becomes acetaldehyde, which Dr Therese Bevers says isa known carcinogen. She says this compound damages DNA and stops our cells from repairing the damage. This can allow cancerous cells to grow. Then there's hormonal effects. Alcohol can affect the levels of hormones, like estrogen. Dr Bevers notes that these hormones act as messengers that tell our cells to grow and divide. The more cells divide, the more chances there are for something to go wrong and for cancer to develop.
Speaker 1:Reduced nutrient absorption Alcohol makes it harder for the body to absorb and use nutrients that protect it from cancer. These. These include vitamins A, b1, b6, c, d, e, k and folate, iron and psyllium. These are just a few of the vitamins and minerals that are responsible for immunity, protecting cells from oxidative damage, reducing inflammation and aiding in DNA synthesis and repair. And then there's weight gain. Obviously, consuming more calories than your body burns leads to weight gain. Lee says that alcohol can contribute to weight gain from excessive calorie intake. Excess weight is linked to over 12 types of cancer. It also increases the risk of tobacco related cancers. So if you drink and smoke, you may be at an even higher risk for certain cancers, including oral cancer and throat cancer. Lee says that alcohol makes cells more sensitive to other substances that cause cancer. The combination of drinking and smoking increases the risk of developing mouth or throat cancer more than just drinking or smoking alone.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not here to rain on your parade. It's your life and you can certainly do what you want, but the key is to know what you're doing so that you can make the best choices for you and your health. However, if you have concerns about your cancer risk and prevention, the recommendation is to really drink far below what is considered moderate drinking or abstain completely. Okay. So here's the one we have all heard Red wine is good for your heart. We already discussed the French paradox and how that doesn't exactly translate to other cultures, especially here in the United States.
Speaker 1:In his book Drink the New Science of Alcohol and your Health, world-renowned professor of neuropsychopharmacology, medical doctor and psychiatrist, david Nutt, explains that there are a few ways that alcohol affects our heart health. The first is that drinking alcohol can weaken the heart muscles, so your heart becomes less efficient and less powerful as it pumps blood. This is a condition called cardiomyopathy. He also explains that what the alcohol is essentially doing is poisoning your heart the same way that it poisons your liver, and here's the scariest thing he said about that. He says that this can actually lead to heart failure. He also notes that even light to moderate drinking raises your risk of an irregular heartbeat, which is cardiac arrhythmia and can make you feel faint and short of breath. The other thing he said that is very important to know is that alcohol use is the leading preventable cause of high blood pressure and, as most of you probably know, high blood pressure leads to heart attacks and strokes. It's very dangerous. The good news is that there appears to be research that suggests the effect on blood pressure can be reversed if the person stops drinking. This is even for health. Professor Nutt explains more of the research behind all of this in his book, so I highly recommend grabbing a copy. He goes into great detail about health and so much more. This part about how alcohol affects the heart is just like tiny little section of one chapter. He packs a lot of science-based information into every single word contained in this book.
Speaker 1:Now, before we move on to the next claim, I do want to note that Professor Nutt and others suggest that there could be some potential benefit on the heart for minimal or moderate consumption of red wine. However, the benefit to the heart does not outweigh all the other risks associated with it, especially cancer, as we spoke about previously. Does wine help with depression? I'd like to say this is a big fat. No. However, I also recognize that drinking can impact our neurotransmitters and give us a feeling of calm, happiness and excitement, as well as suppress feelings of isolation, stress, sadness and anxiety. I know because I've experienced all of that and more so.
Speaker 1:I totally get that people reach for alcohol as a way to self-soothe or self-medicate, but this is a dangerous game. If you've listened to my podcast or are part of my Sacred Sobriety Lab, you've heard me say that alcohol is like packing snow around a problem. It helps for a bit, it buffers it. You don't really feel it, you don't notice it, but pretty soon the snow melts, the buzz wears off and you're left with a slushy mess and a whole host of other things that are going to be bothering you, in addition to the original problem that caused you to turn to drinking. Webmd notes that drinking will only make depression worse. People who are depressed and drink too much have more frequent and severe episodes of depression and are more likely to cause harm to themselves. Heavy alcohol use can also make antidepressants less effective. Let me give you just a little bit more information that I found on Clearview Treatment Centers about alcohol's effect on depression.
Speaker 1:Alcohol can also affect your body's functions in a negative way that further exacerbates depression symptoms. Alcohol can lower serotonin and neuroprenephrine levels, which help regulate mood. Lower levels of these chemicals can make a depressed person even more depressed. Alcohol temporarily cuts off the effects of stress hormones, and this can exaggerate your depression symptoms because it depresses the brain and the nervous system. Stress or drugs such as alcohol can activate a gene that is actually linked to depression and other mental problems. This gene can result in seizures, depression, manic depressive episodes and other mental health problems. Folic acid deficiency contributes to aging brain processes and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Depression is also common in those with folate deficiency. Alcohol disrupts sleep I think we all know that, but if you don't, it does, and it alters your thought process, which can increase depression symptoms. It's just not a good idea. It's not going to create lasting change and can actually make your depression much, much worse.
Speaker 1:Now have you heard that red wine increases bone density? I had never heard of that, but one source quoted it from a study, and I found information about that on the National Library of Medicine. The part that they quoted said a light to moderate wine consumption has been shown to provide several beneficial effects on the skeletal system, including reduced risk of bone mass loss and fractures. Wine is rich in phenolic compounds, strong photoestrogens and natural antioxidants, to which bone protection is mainly attributed. Now, that sounds pretty good, right, but they failed to add the rest of the information that was contained on this page, which is this the objective of this review was to give an overview of the exact mechanisms by which wine consumption is involved in bone protection. We found a great variety of in vitro research on the beneficial effects of isolated wine phenolics on the skeletal system, with a significant lack of evidence of their in vivo effects. In addition, we found almost no studies investigating how wine, a mixture of these phenolics dissolved in ethanol, affects the skeletal system. Our results warrant further research on this interesting topic, so it is by no means a conclusive study. However, beer was actually found to be better than wine or any other type of alcohol for bone density.
Speaker 1:The website creakyjointscom agrees with the information from the National Library of Medicine, but they also note that, even if the research on moderate drinking and osteoporosis is mixed, there is solid research that chronic heavy drinking does increase the risk of osteoporosis. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a 2018 Korean study found that heavy drinking was associated with lower bone mineral density. The prevalence of osteopenia is between 34 and 48% among those with alcoholic liver disease, and the prevalence of osteoporosis for this population is between 11 and 36%. In my humble opinion, I would say that there are probably a dozen other ways to increase your bone density that won't spike your blood pressure and raise your cancer risk.
Speaker 1:Is alcohol or red wine? Is red wine good for your gut? It can be. Is red wine good for your gut? It can be. The American Gastroenterological Association says consumption of red wine increases gut health, based on the diversity of the intestinal microbiome Researchers report in the January 2020 issue of Gastroenterology.
Speaker 1:White wine had only weak effects, whereas beer, cider and spirits had none. The researchers proposed that even infrequent red wine consumption benefits gut health, possibly via effects of the polyphenols and intestinal microbes. Overall, the article is actually quite favorable to the ways that red wine could be beneficial for gut health, but toward the end of the article it is noted that, although it is clear that modifications to the gut microbiota can affect health, there are challenges to studying the specific effects of red wine polyphenols. One challenge is the diversity of consumed wine and their polyphenol content. Another is that high consumption of alcohol has many adverse effects, including the development of cirrhosis. So it remains to be determined whether long-term trials of red wine could be safely managed in an ethically responsible manner.
Speaker 1:In this article and throughout my research, a little goes a long way. You don't have to drink every night. In fact, on decantercom it was noted that one serving every couple of weeks might be enough to reap the benefits. So I guess there is some goodish news in this section. But based on everything else I've mentioned, I think your best bet is to get those polyphenols from berries, nuts, dark chocolate and other sources. Also, eating yogurt and fermented foods are amazing for your gut health and much better for your overall health.
Speaker 1:Lastly, is red wine good for your dental hygiene? This is another one I hadn't heard before. Dental of Arizona. On their website it says the antioxidants in red wine may lower the risk of plaque cavities and gum disease by making it more difficult for bad bacteria to stick to your teeth. So cheers to all that.
Speaker 1:But red wine is also acidic, so it can wear down your tooth enamel, causing sensitivity and increasing your risk of tooth decay. Also, there is the fact that red wine can stain your teeth. Wine-stained teeth can be both a short-term and long-term issues. Drinking red wine will often turn your teeth purple in color during the short term, but the long-term effects could permanently stain your teeth. If you are a red wine drinker, you may find yourself dealing with wine teeth or wine mouth.
Speaker 1:Now I'm sure that there are some super-duper whitening products out there that can help take care of the stains, but the wearing down of the tooth enamel and increasing your risk of tooth decay is an important consideration. Delta Dental notes that there are some things you can do, such as brush your teeth. Brush and floss your teeth before drinking to prevent wine from sticking to the plaque on your teeth. To drink water between sips of wine. To munch on cheese and crunchy vegetables as you sip, because these foods can neutralize acids from the wine and scrub away stains as you chew and restore calcium and phosphorus. It is also recommended that you don't brush your teeth immediately after drinking wine, and apparently there are some things called wine wipes, and those aren't really recommended, from what I can tell either, because they contain hydrogen peroxide, which hydrogen peroxide is in a lot of teeth whitening products. But the regular use of them can damage teeth. So you'll just want to consult your dentist on about all of these things. You'll just want to consult your dentist on about all of these things.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, that was a lot. Did you hang with me? If you did? Congratulations, that was a lot of information. Now I did promise you some good news for you.
Speaker 1:Red wine lovers out there, wine lovers out there, De-alcoholized red wine contains all the same healthy polyphenols that regular wine does, but without as much ethanol like hardly any, or none in some cases, making it much, making it a much healthier choice. Now I know what you might be thinking isn't red wine without alcohol, just grape juice, but it is not. De-alcoholized wine actually starts out as regular wine before having some or most of its alcohol content removed. It is not really the same as non-alcoholic wine, which typically contains no alcohol to begin with. Now there are differences between alcohol-free wine, non-alcoholic wine and de-alcoholized wine.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to get into that today because it's already been a super long episode, but I do promise to chat about that in an upcoming episode. So thanks for sticking with me. I hope this has been helpful. Go ahead and give me your feedback in my send a text link that's in my show notes. I'll also have as many of those links that I referenced within this chapter in my show notes and I will talk to you again soon. Well, that does it for this episode of the Catholic Sobriety Podcast. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I would invite you to share it with a friend who might also get value from it as well, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing. I am the Catholic sobriety coach, and if you would like to learn how to work with me or learn more about the coaching that I offer, visit my website, thecatholicsobrietycoachcom. Follow me on Instagram at the Catholic sobriety coach. I look forward to speaking to you next time and remember I am here for you. I am praying for you.